Since my posts about travel wardrobe planning and creation are really all about the clothes, I wanted you to see this blog, AirportsMadeSimple. In addition to practical information about airports, including weather, international travel help, and even tips on traveling with your pets, they have some fantastic packing lists! Check out the “her” packing list; this has everything you could possibly want or need, starting from what should go in your carry-on (from reading material to face spritzer), up to and including antibacterial wipes for hotel room and jacuzzi. I do believe they’ve thought of everything!
Category Archives: Wardrobe Creation
Changing Their Clothes: The Reinvention of 5 Classic Labels
Pringle of Scotland, Belstaff, Kenzo, Moncler, Pierre Cardin: 5 long-time fashion labels are reinventing their classic images with 21st-century style. Take a look at this slideshow, courtesy of Refinery 29.
Pierre Cardin, shown in July 2012 (click on the photo to go to the slideshow)
I find this so inspiring— if a company like Pringle, which has been around since 1815 (!), can not only keep up, but also add something unique to the ever-changing fashion landscape, surely we can too! And it shouldn’t require completely doing away with the old; Pringle has, for example, taken the classic tartans and argyles from their style archives and given them a fresh modern twist. Moncler started out making outerwear for mountain climbers, which it has now morphed into a sporty-chic fashion line! And Pierre Cardin, known in the 70s for his futuristic fashion vision, has softened those stark silhouettes into looks that brilliantly combine ease and structure.
Let’s take inspiration from these fashion icons, and look at our existing clothes in a new way. Okay, maybe those distressed (not to say tortured) jeans have seen better days, but they could be worn with sleek-heeled boots, close-fitting cabled sweater, and a colorful motorcycle jacket (don’t forget sunglasses!). That classic print wrap dress? Even though it never really goes out of style, it might still benefit from an update, courtesy of ombré tights, fringed suede booties, and a topping of faux-fur vest.
Me? I have a little black dress that I can’t bear to toss, but since I’m moving away from wearing black, I’m thinking maybe accessories (jewelry, gloves, maybe a capelet) in a palette of many shades of grey (much more flattering on me than black), with a single pop of really bright color would make this dress work for me; I have a large, deep gold bag that would be perfect with the greys.
What’s in your closet that could be reimagined? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Fresh from Fashion Week: Multimedia Looks!
I just got this link from Shopbop. It’s a slideshow of some amazing multimedia effects, creative combinations of textures, colors, and silhouettes. Yes, these are high-fashion looks, so I send this along primarily as inspiration— just think about incorporating a single idea from these total looks.
For example, in the first photo (the model with the golden statue, below; clicking on the photo will take you directly to this page of the slideshow), maybe you love the idea of the sky-high burnished-gold boots, but simply don’t get how you can work them (let alone the entire outfit) into your pick-up-the-kids-stop-for-groceries-make-dinner days. Try applying the concept instead: glimmering bronze-finish statement earrings, or perhaps a great belt with a big, gleaming golden buckle.
Via Shopbop: One of the multimedia looks in this inspiring slideshow. Continue reading
Santa Fe Wardrobe: P.S.
As a follow-up to my Santa Fe wardrobe follow-up, I thought you might be interested in a few stats about my Santa Fe travel wardrobe:
1. Out of the 9 main items I packed (not counting swimsuit, sleepwear, etc.), I made 6 of them myself:
a. The deep olive green silk twill Origami skirt;
b. The pale sage green wide-legged linen trousers with deep taupe herringbone racing stripes;
c. The print silk crepe de chine one-shouldered tunic;
d. The cap-sleeved sage-and-lavender-print knit top;
e. The print jersey V-neck dress;
f. The hand-knitted one-sleeved entrelac wrap (also my original design)
(The ones I did not make are the jeans, teal knit top, and asymmetrical print top.)
2. The only things I bought specifically for this wardrobe were the following (everything else I already had, including sewing patterns):
a. Fabrics for the linen trousers and cap-sleeved knit top;
b. The jeans
(I also bought the pewter jersey to line the bronze dress, which ultimately did not make it into my suitcase for this trip. All other fabrics came from my stash.) Continue reading
Santa Fe Wardrobe: A Post-Trip Review
Now that I’m back from Santa Fe, I realize that I need to follow up on my previous posts about creating my travel wardrobe for this trip. (See the following if you want to catch up: Santa Fe Travel Wardrobe: Color Palette, and The Fabrics & Projects. I also posted ideas for shopping for this wardrobe: Shopping! and Shopping 2: $49.95 or Less! Meanwhile, I’ll get all these photos ready to show you.)
Honestly, I’m a bit surprised that my actual travel wardrobe turned out almost exactly as I planned it; I’ll give more details about the changes as we go. First, here are photos of the pieces I packed: tops, bottoms, dress.
The tops; it’s unusual for me to wear prints at all, so you can see I’m trying to push myself! (I made the one-shouldered silk tunic and the sage and lavender cap-sleeve knit top.) Continue reading
Zip It, The Epilogue: Non-DIY Zipper Pulls!
Here’s a great place for hand-made zipper pulls: Lubun Bay Jewelry on Etsy!
Gwen’s zipper pulls and stitch markers, in her Etsy shop, Lubun Bay Jewelry!
In addition to zipper pulls (for just $2.50!!), Gwen makes beautiful jewelry, and stitch markers for knitting and crochet. And she can make your zipper pull in the color of your choice! Go and visit her on Etsy!
(And if you’d like to try your hand at making your own zipper pulls, check out my super-new tutorial!)
Changing Your Closet: What System Works?
Closet confession #1 (yes, there will be more): I reorganize my clothes regularly, partly to remove the things that no longer work for me, but mostly in an attempt to find the perfect system. Care to make a guess as to my success rate?
The way I’ve generally organized my closet in the past has been by type, i.e. skirts together, dresses together, etc. Here’s how my wardrobe (at least the parts that hang) looked using this plan:
My clothes (the hanging ones), grouped according to item type.
The Accidental Shopper
Today, on my way from one errand to another, I decided to take a different route. (This is common for me.) Well into this exploratory drive, I realized I was going to go more or less right past one of my favorite fabric stores in Portland: Mill End Store, which announces itself as having the largest display of fabrics in America. (I’ve been there. I believe them. How did I get so lucky as to end up in this city??) So, natch, I decided to pop in.
Now, since I hadn’t planned a fabric-shopping foray, not to mention that I had just been in this shop a little over a week ago (and I had purchased plenty of impulse items then, thank you very much), I had no shopping list, no plan, no agenda. Dangerous stuff for a fabric lover. The only decision I made before entering was that I would act as if I was there for the very first time, and simply browse. (This is something I usually avoid like the proverbial plague, since it frequently leads to the aforementioned impulse purchases.) Continue reading
Santa Fe Wardrobe, Shopping 2: $49.95 or less!
You know, when I was working on the original Santa Fe shopping wardrobe in Polyvore for yesterday’s post (Santa Fe Wardrobe: Shopping!), I must admit that I didn’t even look at the prices of any of the items, with the inevitable result that some things were crazy-pricey, while others were amazing bargains. While it is certainly a whole lot of fun to “shop” with no regard for budget, it occurred to me that it might be interesting to see what I could do if I only used items that cost $50.00 or less, including accessories, which can be difficult to find with that price restriction (at least if you want decent quality). I’m surprised at all the great options I found in a fairly quick search!
(By the way, for any of you who may not be familiar with Polyvore, it’s a super-fun place where you can shop, follow other users whose style you admire, get inspired, and create your own collections! There’s also a widget to put in your browser toolbar that lets you copy anything you run across online to your place on Polyvore, to add to your own sets and collections. Try it!) Continue reading
Santa Fe Wardrobe: Shopping!
As promised: Santa Fe Wardrobe, the shopping edition!
I like to start by “shopping my closet”. I know, I know, it’s much more fun to go out and get new stuff, but hey, it can also be rewarding to unearth something you haven’t worn in (she said with a blush) over 2 years, and find that it works perfectly with your travel wardrobe color palette! So into the closet I go, and find all these pieces that fit not only the color palette but my actual clothing needs for my trip to Santa Fe:
Lightweight Silk/Mohair Sweater (hand-knitted by yours truly) Continue reading
Changing Your Clothes 