In One Year, Out The Other

2013 saw some very lovely dresses, many worn by some of my usual favorite fashion icons. Here are some of this year's fashion highlights!

But seriously, one word: brocade. 

I staunchly believe that no best-dressed list is complete without Miss Lily Collins. Most any pairing of Peter Pan collars and black tights makes me very happy, especially combined with dark lipstick (and Lily Collins). I also love the trend of rich gold fabrics, but only when it's not overwhelming; I think this is the perfect amount of a such a luxurious material. 

 

Oxblood was a very popular color this year, for good reason. 

Though it has a simple silhouette, the color of this dress is what makes it stand out, especially when combined with Kaley Cuoco's understated hair and make-up. This color is one of my personal favorites; I own a number of items in this color, and generally pair it with a nice neutral, such as charcoal gray. 

 

Jennifer Lawrence is actually iconic. 

Oh, Jennifer Lawrence. Not only did she get the cutest pixie cut in Christendom, but she rocked this classic 50s-silhouette dress along with red lipstick the way red lipstick was made to be worn. 

 

There should be more cobalt in the world. 

I love the understated elegance of this gown. In the Age of Sequins, this is a nice change of pace. Its simplicity is perfectly complemented by the favorite hairstyle of 2013 - long, loose waves, here perfected on Alison William's long chestnut locks.  

   

Well Emmy Rossum is just adorable, so...

This dress reminds me of an Ice Queen, a la Queen Elsa in Frozen. I like how this dress is shiny and metallic, just enough to be elegant and eye-catching but not overwhelming.

And with that, I bid you all a fashionable '14!

Sari xoxo

Christmas Key Chain

Christmas is less than a week away and some of you might be in need of some easy gifts to give. One idea that I made for everyone in my family was a key ring. All you need is...

• fabric scrap of your choice
• interfacing
• circle stencil
• twill tape (a thin strip of fabric would also work)
• key ring
• fabric scissors and pinking shears

First, you need to find a circular object (a mason jar, a glass, etc.) and trace it onto a piece of paper for your stencil.

Second, cut out two circles using your scrap of fabric and one circle out of the interfacing. I wanted to add an applique onto my keychain, so after this step I sewed my applique onto the front piece of fabric using my machine (you could also hand sew it on).

Next, iron the interfacing onto the front piece of fabric. Sew the two pieces of fabric together, leaving an inch wide hole at the bottom. Cut edges of the circle using the pinking shears to prevent fraying.

Make a loop using the two-inch twill tape and key ring and pin it inside the one inch hole in the circle. Sew the hole closed, clip all the threads, and you're done! All that's left is to attach some of your key and then you're done!

Sarah xo

The Perfect Gift for Any Fashionable Reader

So, anyone who knows me can tell you I am a HUGE John Green fan (or a Nerdfighter, a commonly used term for those who read his books). My sister Anya is too( although not as obsessive), so for her last birthday I decided to make her a shirt with one of our favorite lines from my favorite book of his, The Fault in our Stars. 

 "My thoughts are stars I can't fathom                 into constellations" - John Green 

All I had to do was type up the quote into a word doc (citing the author, no plagiarism here!) and print it out onto a special fabric that can be transferred onto muslin using an iron. After you've transferred the type onto the muslin, sew it onto the shirt and you're all done! I just used a navy sweater that I bought at Old Navy. To make it a little more special, I used white embroidery thread and seed beads to sew constellations on the shoulders.

I thought the shirt turned out really well, and now, Anya can attract nerdfighters whenever she wears this in public! 

Putting a quote on a shirt or tote bag is the perfect gift to give any reader this Christmas!

Sarah

Xo

60's Inspired Dress

So, it's taken me a while (oops), but I've finally finished the dress I've been working on for about 2 months. I'm glad I finally finished it though because it looks really cute! I was really surprised at how well it turned out and how well it fits.

As you can see, it's a really graphic black and white chevron. The fabric is really soft too, almost a really thin fleece. It looks quite 60's since it is a shift shape. It would be a little boring without the zippers on the back and the sleeves. 

They are just simple zippers with a black faux leather trim around them. 

Since there is no color in the dress, I wore deep purple tights along with my black leather boots (which I just got recently for my birthday at Call It Spring). 

I hope you like the dress as much as I do!

Sarah xo

Knee Socks

It's that time of year again, when you can't even walk outside without bundling up in a jacket with a scarf and mittens without absolutely freezing. Luckily, I have an extensive collection of warm knee socks to keep me warm in this sweater weather. 

Two of my favorite pairs (both neutral, how typical of me) I wear almost every day.

The first pair is black with little brown fox faces on them. It's impossible To resist anything with cute little animal faces on it. 

The second pair is a dark charcoal grey with small brown buttons on the side. I think I wear this pair every other day, or whenever they aren't in the laundry. This outfit I pretty typical of what I wear on a daily basis. 

Here's a close up since they blend in with my leggings 

I got both of these at Urban Outfitters which has a great selection of socks to choose from! 

Hippie Chic

Hello friends!

If you live in or around the Boston area, you should definately visit the "Hippie Chic" exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. The collections contains more than 50 outfits typically of 70's hippie wear. 

The collection is split up into outfits influenced by different eras and cultures that were popular during the time. My personal favorite was the section influenced by the 1920s. 

Another great section was the Indian inspired one. Bright colors, metallic jewelry, and flowing fabrics; what's not to love?

This exhibit ends November 11, so get there quickly before it ends! 

Fabric Store Visit

We decided to take a little fabric store detour today and ended up at Fabric Place Basement in Natick, MA. It doesn't matter what I go in for, it is impossible not to get to distracted by some shimmery fabric or sequined trim. All I needed were some zippers and black pleather trim but, inevitably, I ended up spending 15 minutes looking at appliqués. 

They were on sale! It was impossible to resist. 

And of course I had to look at every single trim. Even though I knew what I wanted, I had to look at all of them because they are all so pretty!

I am currently working on a project (hence the zippers and trim) and hope to have pictures up soon! 

Xo

DIY Animal Sweater

Hello everyone! It's officially sweater weather, and one of this fall's popular trends is the animal sweater. Many high end brands such as Burburry and Miu Miu have pioneered this trend, but they are most likely out of your price range. Today I'll show you how to make a cheap, yet just as adorable, animal sweater. 

1. Get a plain, inexpensive crew neck sweatshirt. I got mine on sale at Old Navy. 

2. Print out a picture of your favorite animal in the size you want. I just searched "cat silhouette" in google images and found the one I liked. 

3. Cut it out and pin onto the fabric of your choice (which, for me, was a solid black broadcloth). I ironed interfacing onto the back to prevent fraying. 

4. Cut out the animal following the outline of your stencil and pin to the front of your sweatshirt. 

5. Use a zigzag stich to sew on your animal. This was the most difficult step. If the zigzag is too hard, you can use a simple straight stich. 

6. I felt my sweatshirt was still a little plain, so I added some stretch lace to the armhole seams in the front. The stretch made it a little harder to sew on, but I just pinned the lace on and tried my best to prevent it from stretching too much. I used a straight stich using my machine. 

Voila! You now own an adorable animal sweater for a tenth of the cost, and you can brag about how you made it yourself. I've worn this sweater with denim jeans, maroon jeggings, and, today, a graphic print legging and it looks great everyway. 

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

Xo

Back to School

Alas, the summer has come and gone, and it is time to go back to school. I've been procrastinating and putting off getting ready for as long as I could, but today, I finally got all my stuff together. 

Every year, instead of buying pre decorated journals, I buy plain journals and choose how to embellish them. For example, last year, I bought patterned duct tape to match each journal and put a strip down the side. This year, I bought some metallic sharpies and went crazy. 

Here's my Gatsby inspired AP US journal. All it took was a black journal, a gold sharpie, a ruler, and a lot of patience. I used The Great Gatsby movie poster as my inspiration and drew away. 

For this journal, I used a bronze colored sharpie and a coral (althought it looks bright pink) journal. This one makes me think of Sleeping Beauty for some reason. I guess it's because they're roses? 

This one is my favorite: giraffe love! I just looked up a picture of giraffes on google images and drew two of them facing each other.  Who doesn't love an adorable giraffe? Especially one that's kissing another giraffe. 

Good luck to everyone starting school tomorrow or anytime this week!

Fall Fashion Trends

Hello Everyone!
As what is most likely the last post before my freedom is gone and I go back to school, I thought I'd do a post on my favorite fall fashion trends to try out soon.
5. Velvet
Velvet just makes me think of royalty: luxurious, elegant, yet still wearable in small doses. Wearing a floor length gown of velvet would seem too costume-y for everyday wear.

4. Bright Blues
This season, one of the "it" colors is blue, whether it be a vibrant cobalt or a soft sky color. Be bold and wear it as the centerpiece of your look with a dress, or wear it in small amounts with earrings or a necklace.
  
3.Pastels
If you're thinking pastels are just for spring, you would be wrong. Wearing all pastels, however, can be overwhelming, so choose a signature piece like a coat or a bag.
 
2. Grunge Revival
Plaid, beanie hats, graphic tees... it's all fashionable again (shoutout to Northampton)! Pair with dark plum lipstick and you're all set for the fall.

1. Revamped "New Look"
My favorite look of the season is the revival of Christian Dior's "New Look", the classic 50's silhouette. Think voluminous tea-length skirts and small waists!

DIY T-shirt Time

 Do you ever find just a plain t-shirt in your closet and try to come up with a way to jazz it up and embellish it? Here are two cute ideas to turn your boring t shirt into a piece of art.

The first idea is to cut out individual flowers out of a fabric of your choice and handsew them onto the neckline of your t-shirt. I bought a plain grey shirt at Target and used some random polorfleece scraps to cut out the flowers.  I layered some of the flowers (placing smaller ones on top of the larger ones that were in a different color) and sewed them on with grey thread.  Easy, simple, and look how cute it is!

 Anya calls it her "Ophelia" shirt (as in Hamlet)

The second shirt was actually created by my sister and my mother, so I guess I'll give them credit :) This creation was made using, again, a plain t-shirt, tulle, and some small seed beads.  You have to twist the strips of tulle so that they make one long, skinny piece, and curl it up so it makes the flat, round shape. You can then use a sewing machine to sew over the flower in an X shape so that it keeps the round shape.  Anya then sewed on some seed beads by hand just to add some sparkle.  

yay flower crowns

There you go! Two easy tutorials to make when you have a plain t-shirt. If you get stuck trying to come up with a different embelishment, you can always check Pinterest!

All Dolled Up

Today's blog post is a little different from my usual. Instead of writing about and photographing clothes for humans, today is all about dolls.

look at all those lovely soulless eyes

As some of you may know, I've been to El Salvador a few times to volunteer at a children's afterschool program and at an eye health clinic. All year round, my family and I collect toys, books, school supplies, and all sorts of things to send to the kids in El Salvador (who are awesome and include some of our best friends).

We found some old, sad dolls at the Boutique at the dump in my town (where people abandon things they don't want - we've found some really cool stuff there (like one time I found a barely used Coach bag (that was a great day))).

We brought them home, hugged them to make them happy again, and made them some new clothes. (I really wish I remembered to take a "before" photo, because they looked horribly bedraggled to begin with.) We used the same pattern for each dress - a simple tunic style - and used different fabrics to bring out each doll's unique personality. Anya took on the brave job of brushing out their hair, and discovered that most of them had such awful hair, almost all of them got haircuts (coincidentally, as this was all occurring, we were watching the makeover episode of America's Next Top Model).

After our What Not To Wear-esque intervention, the dolls ended up looking much shinier and lovlier. We hope these dolls end up with a happy little girl :) (or boy, we don't judge)

Peplum Party!

Hello Everyone!

This week we bring to you the ever-popular peplum top. Seen everywhere from the red carpet to the streets, the peplum top is extremely versatile and can go with anything from a maxi skirt to casual denim jeans.   

  

I love all three of them!

Using McCall's M6724, I made two adorable peplum tops out of two different jersey knits, one a

 turquoise, lightweight knit, and the other a bright pink, slightly heavier weight. 

 Paired with frayed cutoffs and scruffy Converse, this top completes this perfect outfit for a casual summer day. You can even ride a bike wearing it!

We paired this top with my everyday dark wash AG jeans from Anthropologie and a pair of boho fringed moccasin boots.  I love the color combination of the turquoise and warm brown. It's one of my favorites! 

These tops are quite easy to make, it's only three pattern pieces. A little bit of pinning and a couple of stitches and you're all set! Super simple, yet totally adorable!

Flea Market Finds

Hello Everyone!

So this past Sunday my family and I took a little trip up to Portland, ME and what do I see hanging up on multiple poles? This sign of course!

How pretty is it?

Now, my family knows that I cannot resist a clothing sale, especially a vintage clothing sale.  So we ventured onward and eventually found the site of the sale (it was inside an old building apparently. Who knew?)

Inside there were three glorious levels of vintage clothing, appliances, bowling shoes, pins, typewriters, and more (Although the two things I bought happen to not be vintage).

The first item I acquired at said flea market was a short sleeved cashmere sweater from Ann Taylor, bought for a mere 12 dollars.  It's so soft, but what makes it so pretty and unique is the back. 

It reminds me of this little article of clothing from my childhood...

oh ballet sweater. How I loved you so. 

The second piece I bought is even better. 

This is a BCBG Max Azria Runway Limited Edition skirt that originally sold for $218.  I bought it for only $18. Such an amazing deal. It's a little bright (at least I'll stop traffic), but so cute! I love the bow on the side. I would have loved it even if it was still $200. 

Until next time!,

Sarah