Monday 17 June 2013

DIY long vintage dress to dip hem tunic

Heya!
Thought I would share my latest dress transformation using a vintage St Michaels dress I found in a charity shop for £4. 
(Vans Authentics - Office, scrunchie- handmade)

I fell in love with the print and couldn't wait to make it shorter and more wearable. I thought I would do something different this time instead of just shortening it and cinching it in at the waist with a belt as I normally do with dresses like this. In my head I pictured a loose floaty smock/tunic style dress with a slightly longer hem at the back, that I could wear with lace cycling shorts and chunky heels. 

I started by getting rid of the elasticated waist which was stopping the dress from hanging loosely. This was hard at first as the elastic was sewn into the waist seam, so I had to make a new seam.
 I folded the dress over at the waist and sewed the whole way round just below the elastic. After this I could cut away the elastic and I was left with the flat, ungathered seam that I had created. I always overlock my seams and I sewed round this seam again just to strengthen it. 

This left me with waaayyyy more fabric than I had anticipated, and although I wanted it loose and floaty, it flared out like a tent, so I took it in at the sides. I did this by trying it on and feeling how much I wanted to lose each side. I then laid it out flat and pinned where i wanted to sew- I took out 2 inches from each side starting at the arm pit. This gave a much better fit whilst staying quite loose. 

Next I did the dip hem. I found the centre of the front of the dress and folded it down this central line and laid out. I then marked from the highest point at the front (try on and mark this first) and the lowest point at the back. Then i drew a sweeping line in between them to join them up. 
I then pinned the fabric up to this line and tried on. Once I was happy with the shape I overlocked and hemmed this edge. Overlocking makes the hem so much easier to turn on floaty thin fabrics like this.  I had a nightmare with this part because I stupidly started sewing next to a vase of flowers, managed to get the fabric caught round it and spilt the water all over the dress, my machine, the floor and myself. Far from ideal and I won't be making that mistake again!



Lastly I decided to do cut out sleeves. I laid the dress out flat and then measured 1.5 inches from the end of the sleeve and then cut a straight line right up to the shoulder seam. I then repeated on the other side and hemmed both. I just thought that added a bit more interest to the dress. 
And here is how I would wear it:
dress - vintage St Michaels 
leather bag - vintage
shoes - ebay 
lace cycling shorts - ebay
watch - Marc by Marc Jacobs
name necklace - ebay
lips- MUA lip liner in Red Drama and Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang 
What do you guys think? It was nice to do something different with a vintage dress and I particularly like the fact I can wear my new lace cycling shorts! Also I'm in love with this new vintage bag. Its the softest leather and cost just over a fiver from a charity shop. 

I am feeling very inspired lately after I went to the De Montfort uni open day in Leicester on Saturday. We visited the degree show and it was incredible. The standard of work was so high and it made me so excited for the future rather than scared and full of self doubt which is the effect some open days have had on me before. I'm trying to decide between a course like textiles for fashion, fashion fabrics and accessories or contour fashion (swimwear, underwear, corsetry). The contour fashion exhibition impressed me the most but I'm unsure whether that would be a good degree choice for me. I'm rubbish at small intricate things that need lots of little components and take lots of time. Oh well I still have a year at college to decide what I want to do. I'm absolutely distraught I will be a mature student by the time I get back to uni though. Oh life. 

Thanks for reading and remember you can become a follower of my blog on bloglovin (link below) or through google. It would mean the world to me!
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P.s. This is my last post with ombre hair. I just can't make myself like it. Its a nightmare to make my hair look nice when its bleached. I'm going to go a light natural brown so there's still a bit of a lightening effect towards the ends. My hair is trashed I need a good 3 inches off the ends wahhh girl problems. 

Sunday 16 June 2013

DIY American Apparel inspired scrunchies

Sunday afternoons were made for making scrunchies. I had so much fun making these and they are so quick and easy to make. 
I was inspired by the ones from American Apparel which are from £4.50-£7- a lot of money for something so easy to make. 

Photo from American Apparel

Here's how I did it:


I love the shiny purple one but its that annoying fabric that sheds everywhere. Looks like I have glittery purple dandruff. The black one though works fine!
I prefer scrunchies to hairbands because:
  1. They are easy and quick to make
  2. They reduce breakage because they are softer and don't snag
  3. You can put your hair up wet without breakage
  4. You can create some very big, voluminous messy buns you wouldnt be able to achieve with bands
  5. Adds an 80s/90s twist to your outfit and takes you down memory lane
  6. Easier to find in your bag
  7. If you turn up a skirt, dress, trousers etc. you can make one from the excess material to match your outfit- my scrunchie always used to match my dress when I was little ha
  8. A lot more interesting than a plain old hairband
What do you think? Would you wear a scrunchie?
Thanks for reading :)
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Tuesday 11 June 2013

Currently loving - chunky mid-heel sandals

I just bought the most beautiful heeled sandals! They are a pretty much exact copy of some by River Island that I nearly bought for almost triple the price!! Pretty delighted right now!


Black heels £21.99 ebay, tan heels now £35 River Island

I literally can't wait for them to arrive! Although they have quite a high heel I think they would be suitable for stomping around in the day, as long as you weren't constantly on your feet. I'm a pretty small 5"4 so I'm always on the look out for comfortable low heels I can wear in the day to give me a few more inches!
But I also think these would be great for going out for drinks in the evening too. I do love a good all rounder shoe! 

My obsession with mid-heel chunky sandals started when I bought a pair of Forum Gladiators from Office. These have barely left my feet and just go with so much! I like to wear them with denim shorts, jeans, leggings, everything. They just add a bit of height and a edge to the outfit without the 'omg you've got heels on you've made a huge effort' look. (See me wearing them here with a vintage dress)

 I start my internship next month at Mint Vintage in Dalston, London, so Im on the look out for some more comfy heels with an acceptable heel for daytime. Hopefully I'm going to be helping styling models so I need every extra inch I can get! I hate being short :(

Here's some more chunky mid heels I'm loving at the moment!


left 'Kad' Carvela at Kurt Geiger and right 'Krimp' Carvela at Kurt Geiger

I love the ankle straps on all of these. Apparently because of my height I should steer clear of ankle straps as they can make your legs look short, but they just add such a cool look to the shoe. They help to keep it on your foot too; I have a tendency to just walk out of shoes. 


Do you like the mid heel trend? 

Thanks for reading :)

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Monday 10 June 2013

London weekend in Instagrams


1. First Class on the way there, 2. View of the shard from the flat, 3. Silver at Portobello Market
4. Goldsmith's Vintage and Garden Bar and Grill at Portobello, 5. Sex on the Beach at the Cornershop in Shoreditch, 6. Journey home.

This weekend I visited my oldest, bestest friend in London. She lives just off Old Street so it was really central and we could walk most places. 
We went to the vintage markets on Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Portobello Market on Saturday and then out for drinks in Shoreditch on Saturday night. 
On Sunday we biked around Hyde Park on the Barclays bikes. Then we did a bit of shopping down Oxford Street. 

I wish I had taken more pictures but lots of the stall holders were really funny about people taking photos of their stock! Such a shame.

Such a lovely weekend! So nice to get out of the routine and out of Ipswich for a change. Going to London always makes me so happy. I can't wait to spend two weeks there in the summer for an internship!

Thanks for reading! It would mean the world to me if you became a follower of my blog on blogger or bloglovin! 
Have a great week,

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DIY men's gold chain bracelet to necklace

Hello :)

I got this bracelet originally to use on my box clutch DIY but it wasn't long enough for a wrist strap. I always just assume men's bracelets will be enormous but this one wasn't sadly. (I got it off eBay for £2.99 including delivery).

I'm a big fan of the gold statement jewellery around at the moment. Everyday I wear my gold Marc by Marc Jacobs watch and gold midi rings and stacking rings- i feel lost without them. I thought I would use this bracelet to make a similar more daintier version of the chunky chain necklaces about at the moment.

Here's my step by step DIY. It's super easy to do using any old men's gold chain bracelet.










Sorry about the images being all different shades; I took a couple at another time of the day. 

I'm really happy with mine it makes a statement but it isn't too in your face like some of the necklaces at the moment. I think you could wear it day or night. 

Let me know if you have a go at making this, I'd love to see your necklaces!

Thanks for reading and hope everyone had a lovely weekend!


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Monday 3 June 2013

Half term in photos

Hello

I work at a Primary School which means I get amazing holidays as one of the many perks of my job (as well as tea and cakes on tap, and getting paid to play with kids). 
I had a lovely week; I managed to avoid Ipswich town centre for the whole week, spending 6 days a week there gets very, very tedious. I went shopping in Bury St Edmunds which is like my favourite place in the world. Just a beautiful place which is also great for shopping! 

I also went to the Suffolk Show, which I used to love, but I think I'm sort of over it now. It doesn't help when you're allergic to most of the animals and its freezing cold. Suffolk Show is only really good in the sunshine when you can drink cider with your friends and eat loads of food. 
Anyway here's a few pictures I took during the week:
















How cute are those bunnies? And how amazing are those cakes!! 

Has anyone else downloaded the Beautiful Mess App? I love it, you can add the cutest effects and doodles to your photos and write text on them. I used it to write 'summer' on the photo above: my friends' amazing pool where I spent my day on Sunday. Bliss!

Thanks for reading!
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