:: make do + mend ::
I admit, I’m not the best when it comes to restraining myself from buying yet another piece of vintage clothing (or pattern… or fabric…). But as of late, I’ve been going through my wardrobe with a critical eye as I prepare to move after The Wedding. Besides weeding out things I really didn’t wear, or just wasn’t too keen on any more (ah… fashion phases!), I found a couple pieces that I had forgotten about. Things that on their own were a bit lackluster.
The first was a cute, bubble-gum pink sweater shell. Very vintage, and very me. I think I found it at a thrift store this spring for a dollar or two. Besides the fact that it’s a wool/Angora blend (I tend to be a bit of a snob when it comes to sweater content; I really can’t stand synthetics or blends against my skin!), it was very “me”, and just screamed 1940’s sweater girl. Alas, it just wasn’t completely doing it for me. So after I spied Marcine’s ultra-cute Doris Day cardigan on her Flickr last week, I knew this was the perfect solution!
I originally intended it to spell “Ladybug” (my nickname), but I miscalculated my spacing. lol. So instead it spells “Lady”, and coupled with the sweet brooch that Emma sent me last week, it looks really darling, don’t you think? I think I need a nice, high waist skirt to wear it with. Incentive to finish that dress-to-skirt tutorial I promised last month…
The second item I repurposed was a pin I bought early this year while on a thrifting trip to Maryland. I love the ornate style, but it was something that was far too big for me to wear in any way; it just never “meshed right” (something necessary for all outfit components, imho) with anything. I snipped the pin back off (though I guess I could have left it on… just in case I changed my mind! Oh well.), added a chain and some vintage faux pearls I had in my stash. I love the result!
Finally, I have been a bit obsessed with finding some sensible, 1940’s-like shoes. Certainly the Remix wedges would work (any style–honestly! haha!), but alas, they are far out of my price range. So you can imagine my excitement when I found that Chinese Laundry had a similar style of wedges for sale! Better yet, I managed to find them on Ebay for about half of what the CL site wanted. *dances* They arrived the other day (after about five days of me checking their tracking progress at least three times a day… impatient much?), and they are perfect. Like, to a T perfect. I wore them all day Thursday, and they’re sooo comfy too. Which means no more excuses on my part for not wearing shoes that don’t cause foot pain. hehe!
Everyone has been super-duper inspiring this week; I’ve probably been spending far too much time online drooling over everything. lol. I hope you enjoy this week’s round up of inspiring spots on the web…
- ♥ Jen just finished an adorable 1940’s pinafore sundress
- ♥ colorful and fun vintage Japanese matchbox labels [ via ]
- ♥ Blaze shows you how to create a portable palette
- ♥ fantastic typography inspiration!
- ♥ this clever thread catcher looks awfully handy… [ via ]
- ♥ I love this simple idea for making an oversized needle sharpener [ via ]
- ♥ Nubby makes a case for becoming a Twitter addict
Ta-ta!
Posted on July 18th, 2008 to creativity, fashion, refashion, weekly inspiration.
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:: to market, to market… :: »9 lovely thoughts to “:: make do + mend ::”
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Sal says:
YOU are my hero. I’ve embellished a tee here and there, but never taken the plunge and altered a sweater. Love the “lady,” lady!
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jessica says:
you are great, i love that sweater!
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dayna says:
that sweater turned out so so lovely!
xox,
dayna desastre -
Jennifer says:
Cute sweater! I think it’s even cuter that it just says “lady” as opposed to the full “ladybug” you intended.
I’m so glad that you found a pair of shoes that not only fits what you wanted style-wise, but is also comfortable! What a rare but fortuitous combination these days.
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Theremina says:
I love the embroidery idea. I’m currently altering to fit a black blouse with a white peter pan collar, which reminds me of something my grandmother would have worn to go to primary school, and now I think I’ll embroider it too, since it would add to that feel! Only question is: what to embroider? I don’t want it to be my name, and I don’t know what else it could be. My boyfriend suggests to write “Black” in white thread to confuse people ^^
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bestie says:
oh my, that is the prettiest sweater, ever! the color’s perfect and you’re right — it is so YOU! great job customizing it.. i love the pin-turned-necklace, too. you are a diy star.(:
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Andrea says:
Yay, the sweater looks great! Thanks for the ideas, as always
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Blaze says:
I love your pink sweater! So cute!!
I am back home, so I’m shipping you some mail today!! I hope you have a fantastic Monday!! xo! -
Jennifer says:
thank you for including me in your list of inspiration – you inspire me as always!
btw, i’ll be posting about something soon that you’d probably be interested in! (i found a site that is way too exciting.)
