Current obsession.... lace-up boots

While window shopping in Copenhagen, I fell head over heels for a pair of lace-up, wedge boots. unfortunately, we were in Copenhagen on Sunday and most of the stores are closed all day (super bummer)! So naturally, I've been searching for something like them since I've been back. I want them to be tan or brown, hit a little above my ankle, and be weatherproof enough to withstand the rain and snow I encounter here in new jersey walking to class. 

Matisse Gretchen bootie - $77
I love the style of this boot. The leather cap toe and cuff detail is totally my style  but the body of the boot is canvas-y ... not sure how that material would fair in weather (possibly a deal breaker).

Seychelles 'Wildlife' Bootie - $149.95

I love everything Seychells. I own several pairs of their shoes and they're always top quality and very comfortable. These look a little short for me (awkwardly cut off at the ankle... not a cute look) but I love everything else about them. Plus they're in stock at Norstroms, which has a phenominal shoe department and easy returns policy.

BCBGeneration Kadeer Bootie - $149.00
These are a little funkier than I usually go for but I'm really drawn to them. Suede usually isn't weather friendly but isn't terribly hard to weatherproof with a spray which is easily found at sporting goods stores or at some shoe stores. 

Betsey Johnson Aviator Wedge Bootie - $190
These are totally cold weather friendly with the shearling lining and leather outer. Plus they're Betsey Johnson! Xi pride! (for those of you who don't know, Betsey Johnson and I are both Alpha Xi Delta's). I love that these can be worn folded over or regular and they have a nice balance of girlie and rugged style.

Thoughts on wedge boots? Which are your favorite? and most importantly, which do you think I should get?

I'm baaaccckkkk

Sorry for being MIA for so long (bad blogger...) but I'm finally back from vacation and getting settled in at school. 

My vacation was AMAZING! We flew from Newark to Stockholm, spent a day and a half there then boarded Silversea’s Silver Whisper for a fantastic 10-day Baltic cruise. For anyone who enjoys sightseeing but is stressed out by travel, I HIGHLY suggest going on a cruise. This one stopped in St. Petersburg, Russia (with a day trip to Moscow), Helsinki, Finland, Meriehamn, Finland, Visby, Sweden, Copenhagen, Denmark, Warnemunde, Germany, and ended in Hamburg, Germany. We ventured off the boat every day either on our own or with the boat’s excursions. The sights were amazing and I took some really great pictures (considering I am a terrible photographer). And, I even made friends! There were a few passengers around my age (which is rare on these types of cruises) so naturally, we bonded and caused a little trouble. I also made friends with a few staff members (ok… bar staff) that we spent time with, including my lovely French pen pal who I plan to visit next month when the boat passes through New York City.

So without further adieu, here are some of my favorite pictures of the trip:

Sailing away from Stockholm, Sweden

Awesome church in Moscow, Russia

Me in front of the Kremlin Church. Moscow, Russia

Helsinki, Finland from the water

Apparently this is a famous sculpture... Helsinki, Finland

My adorable grandparents and a windmill in Meriehamn, Finland

Church ruins in Visby, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

Me with the famous little mermaid statue in Copenhagen, Denmark

Tivoli gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark

The lock on the Kiel Canal

the troublemakers

with my pal/bartender Oliver

My adorable french pen pal

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Sorry about my lack of posts but I have been super busy with last minute things for my vacation which, officially starts today! While that is super exciting for me, it means I will be absent from my blog for two weeks. But I PROMISE that I will have tons of fun posts when I get back in early September. 

Until then, 

Stay classy

Have Luggage, Will Travel

It should be no surprise that I have a thing for vintage and vintage inspired things.

Since I’ve been preparing for my upcoming vacation I took a peek at what etsy has to offer for vintage luggage. They have some very pretty pieces and while I would love to use vintage luggage, it is just not practical for modern travel. Most vintage suitcases have no wheels and are significantly heavier than their modern counterparts. Still, I love the look and if I could, I would design a line of vintage inspired luggage. 


I would add my own flair but the pieces would look a lot like these:

via overstock.com
Spinner trunk- large carry on size, lightweight, slim exterior pocket for travel documents, interior compartments for shoes, liquids/toiletries, and clothes.

via Pierotucci
Doctor Bag Weekender- discreet wheels and retractable handle, detachable interior laptop/document sleeve. Perfect for the quick business trip or tech-savvy weekend warrior.

via Kate Spade
Duffel- casual and versatile bag for everything from road trips to bringing laundry home.

via etsy
Hatbox carry-on- slim exterior pocket for travel docs, zippered pockets for tech accessories plus plenty of space for your in-flight needs like a sweater, a book, and snacks.

All of these pieces would be re-imagined for the modern, savvy traveler. They would be constructed out of the lightest, most durable materials and fitted with convenient pockets and compartments. I think the rolling trunk would be made out of that lightweight plastic most new luggage is made out of nowadays with either patent (well faux patent) or nylon straps and silver hardware. The other bags would be made in materials to match but the best part is the juicy exterior colors and fun patterned lining.  

speaking of what to do next...

Speaking of what to do next... I've been thinking about what my next sewing project is going to be. 

I would love to make another dress from the fabrics I picked out from Joann’s website but those are special order and take a few weeks to be delivered (fail). So I started thinking about the fabrics that are accessible to me, since I frequent every Joann’s in a 30-mile radius (I might as well take a little trip down to Philly to explore the real fabric shops but I’m not quite ready for that yet). Nothing was really coming to me so I gave up for the night and started watching watching reruns of Sex and the City on E! One of the episodes was American girl in Paris (I think I saw both parts une and deux), which are by far my favorite fashion episodes, and one dress in particular caught my eye....

The tutu dress! Something about it is so fun yet completely chic. For some unknown reason I started thinking about how I could make my own version and how easy it would be since I already have a bodice pattern that would work. I was almost completely convinced when I realized that aside from Carrie Bradshaw in Paris, who could pull this off and where could you wear it? If I made a version for myself, it would most likely be confined to the closet, only coming out so I can swish around the house in it. So the debate rages on maybe I'll make it for my future designer portfolio?

musings on what to do next

I'm set to graduate with a BA in Anthropology next May and I've started to seriously think about what I would like to do after graduation. I've always said that I would continue education in my field and get my masters and possibly doctorate since my dream job is a museum curator/part time professor. But since I’ve started sewing, I realized I have a tremendous amount of natural talent for designing clothes. As a little girl I said I wanted to go into fashion, but I also said I wanted to be an astronaut, a vet, and a teacher (so I wanted to be Barbie, and I kind of still do. I don’t feel like my education is over, there is still so much more I want to learn and experience). 

If I peruse fashion, I would like to start my own label, not a high-end fashion house but a moderately priced label that makes classy and timeless clothes and basics (like what Gap and Banana Republic were a few years ago). My motivation for designing and sewing my own clothes was my frustration with the clothing that was available to me, it was either not my style, too trendy (harem pants anyone? gross. sorry manrepeller), or wouldn’t fit my body shape (my bust, waist and hips are three different commercial sizes). What makes me want to pursue this talent and expand it to a commercial enterprise is that I know I’m not the only woman out there facing these struggles. Although I have such gusto for this, I still don’t know if I really want to go through with it.

But by far, my biggest dilemma is that I want to pursue both, I would like to continue my education in anthropology AND dabble in fashion (I still want to be Barbie with all those different careers).  Unfortunately, this makes choosing schools infinitely more difficult since I must look for two quality programs. I’m thinking about moving back to the bay area and going to school in san Fran. Hopefully I will find everything I’m looking for there. 

Speaking of Fabrics

I am an extremely picky shopper and have to be completely IN LOVE with something to buy it. Usually this means stalking things on line for a while before I buy it otherwise I'm completely impulsive and end up buying things I don't need/want/like.

Anyway... here are a few fabrics that I'm seriously considering...

 Pkaufmann at Joanns
I would love to use this for a little 60s fit and flare dress

Robert Allen at Joanns
I'm not sure how I feel about the flowers being flocked, but I think it would make for a cute dinner or cocktail-ish dress

Pkaufmann at Joanns
This would make such a cute day dress. It could work in spring, summer and fall (I'm all about versatility, I hate putting clothes away because they are "out of season")

Croscill at Joanns
This is such a fun print! I'm 95% sure this will be my next purchase.

Waverly at Joanns
I love everything Waverly and this print is no exception. I have a feeling this might be fuzzy like sofa material but I think it would make for an adorable fall/winter skirt to be paired with opaque tights and knee high boots. 

So you may have noticed that all of these fabrics are home decor fabrics. People don’t usually sew clothes from home decor fabrics but I kind of fell into it. Before I even knew the difference between fabrics (when I was still buying fabric at Wal-Mart just to experiment), I was drawn to the heavier weight. The weight just feels better on my body, holds its shape (for fuller skirts), doesn’t blow around (no free peep shows here!), and is much more durable than flimsy cotton. When I started going to Joann's, I found that although more expensive, the home decor fabrics had the best patterns. My only concern is that some of them don’t wash well on the regular setting. I'm a pretty good laundress and plan on doing a test on scraps of fabric washing on gentile with mild detergent like Woolite. Dry cleaning is really a last option for a broke college student.

My day off

Yesterday I picked up two fabulous (and slightly out of my comfort zone) prints from Joann's at Oxford Valley and today I got creative and came up with two new dress patterns to try. One is going to be a mad men-esque v-neck dress while the other is a slim and summery 60s inspired button up dress. I'm intrigued to see how these dresses turn out.... I really wish I could figure out a way to get pictures of my creations. But alas, I will have to wait until I move back to school, or maybe I can get some good outfit shots when I go on vacation next week (no promises).

In other news, I'm totally addicted to my new Pinterest account! If you haven't checked it out yet, def go take a look. It's a great way to visually store, bookmark, and share images from the internet (basically a blogger's best friend). It's really coming in handy for collecting fabrics I’m interested in from different sources. 

I have the urge to blog but have no desire to write

via The Paris Apartment

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Grace Kelly

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Jackie O

via The Paris Apartment
If only I had a space as chic as this...

via the Boom Boom Club
I highly suggest you check it out if you're ever in London. It's a unique and memorable night out.

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item #1 on my fantasy wishlist is a What Katie Did Sophia corset

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My sewing inspirations

My sewing has been coming along great! but since I still haven't found a photographer to show you my creations, I'll share my inspirations.

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I love this look. I like the vintage feel and full skirts. While it's too late in the summer for me to make a white eyelet skirt, I have made a few skirts in this shape (with pockets!)

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The styling on this shoot is impeccable! I love everything about this, soft waves, cat-eye sunnies, red lips, and of course the dress! The bold pattern on the simple silhouette is fantastic and totally inspired my fabric choices. 

image via etsy
I've been really drawn to this marigold/saffron yellow lately.  I can't pull the color off but I love the idea of a simple dress with a applique focal point. 

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Also a vintage-y look. I like this one for its simplicity and interesting fabric pattern. I haven't attempted this type of dress yet but I bought a similar patterned fabric yesterday. 

image via Lookbook
I love the army green skirt with the tulle petticoat peeking out from underneath. The mix of the hard army green with the soft tulle just seems so unexpected. I can't wait to try this look when it gets colder. 

image via anthropologie
After doing a few full pleated skirts, I think it would be fun to try this slimmer shape. 

image via anthropologie
The neckline! It's a little more of a summery look but with the right fabric it could transition into fall. 

image via anthropologie
Not a fan of the color but the idea is fantastic. 1 part military, 1 part trench coat, and 1 part professional suiting. 

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The neckline, pleats, and boarder print on this are fantastic. It's so dreamy and romantic. I've never even thought to work with boarder prints but if I find one that I like, I might attempt my take on this dress.