Jul 9, 2009 | DIY
I’ve been DIY’ing my heart out over here – and I meant to post this on the 4th of July, but as usual, I’m behind. So here it is, this safety-pinned tank, inspired by one I saw in a Japanese mag of yore:
You need:
*1 white tank top (2×1 rib)
*40 black small safety pins
*20 silver medium safety pins
*2 soft-feel iron-on transfers (I chose a black eagle, not because I wanted to, but because they were the only black iron-ons at the store. Jo-Ann’s, I curse you!!)
DIY It:
Easy peasy. Use a seam ripper and blunt scissors to slash one of the shoulder-straps in the center. Pin the slash and around the neckline of the tank with the black safety pins, haphazardly, crossing them over, etc. Add some silver ones for visual interest (I folded down and scrunched the other side too, just for the helluvit.) Transfer both iron-ons following the directions. Hand-wash. Or never wash. Whichever.
Punk? Yup. Patriotic? Kind of – not intentionally. But I thought it appropo for the 4th, so that’s what I wore.:-)
Hope you guys had a happy 4th! (That is, if you celebrate US holidays…;-)
-Carly
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Jul 6, 2009 | Fashion
So sorry for the lack of posts over here…it mostly had to do with me being sick as a dog for over 2 weeks, with the weirdest cold I’ve ever had, that morphed its symptoms every 4 days, and started off with a 102 degree fever and yellow pus coming out of my eyeballs. Okay, TMI. But watch out for that cold – it’s a bad one!
Though I’m still teetering on the edge of “almost well but could definitely relapse any moment,” I wanted to at least share these advance images from V Magazine issue #60 – The Beauty Issue with you guys. (Yes, it’s been in my inbox since July 1st…I’m really sorry I’m just getting to it now.) Anyhoo, for all my lovely Chic Steals readers… (more after the jump…)
The new issue does not hit newsstands until July 7th, but here is a first glimpse at one of V’s inside spreads of “Donatella After Dark” (above).
The queen of evening glamour has never shed away from making a statement – in her work or her personal style. For women who want to embody the fearless VERSACE spirit this season, there’s no shortage of ways to do it.
Text from V Magazine, Photography: Sharif Hamza
And here are two advance shots of the male models, Ludwig and Matt, in the V Magazine “Eight Portraits” beauty portfolio photographed by David Sims.
Love the second dude’s hair…there’s a certain twinkiness I’m going to try to replicate with my own hair style tomorrow…and probably utterly fail.
Viva la spike!
“A Touch of Class” photographed by Willy Vanderperre, Styling: Olivier Rizzo, Model: Iris Strubegger
Designer labels like Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere, Prada, Miu Miu, Chanel, Jil Sander, Ann Demeulemeester, Giorgio Armani, Jean-Paul Gaultier are included in this story.
I’m loving the femme fatale vibe to this shoot…and am itching to get my hands on a copy since that designer list is like a dossier of my faves. How about you guys – what do you think?
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Jul 6, 2009 | DIY
Designers appear to have reached into their desk drawers for inspiration this spring, pulling out the New Wave accessory du jour: staples, pins, and zippers utilized in a variety of different ways: exposed, in contrast-color, haphazardly applied as trim, or twisted into 3D shapes. Interestingly, the largest zipper manufacturer in the world, YKK, was one of the official sponsors of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC (even the lanyard for the press badge was a zipper). From the staples on Victor & Rolf’s beautifully cut wool jackets to Sex Pistols-style safety pins and cheeky punk jewelry by Tom Binns – thanks to this hot 2009 trend, low is the new high, and the functional…fabulous.
The hardware-heavy, craftsy felt-flower cuff by Marc Jacobs inspired us to staple, zip, and pin our own…here’s how:
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
– large piece of stiff black felt (8.5″ x 11″)
– black thread
– decorative thread or staples in gold (check the scrapbooking section of the craft store)
– 1 decorative button
– heavy-duty gold snaps (2 sets)
– gold soutache braided trim
– 1 heavy-duty jacket zipper (black with gold teeth)
– gold safety pins (1 large, 15 small)
– clear, flexible plastic (like from a vinyl tabletop cover)
TOOLS:
– snap setting pliers/hammer+die for the snaps
– stapler
– needle
– felt or fabric glue
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. MAKE THE PARTS Cut the felt into 2 abstract, oblong flower “petals” 2 flower “petals”. To make the triangle-shaped petals, cut the plastic into 2 diamond shapes. Cut the zipper into 3 lengths, each piece measuring 10″ long. Fold each length in the center to make a rounded petal shape; secure the inside with 2 gold staples (or hand-sew stitches in decorative thread).
2. MAKE THE CUFF AND BASE From the felt, cut out the base of your flower parts: a circle measuring approximately 1.25″ in diameter. Then cut a 2″ wide strip that is long enough to go around your wrist plus a 3/4″ for overlap for the snaps. Use snap-setting pliers (like Dritz), or hammer and die to set 2 snaps (and their counterparts) into the ends. Because they are strong, we chose shanked snaps; alternatively, you could use sew-on snaps.
3. ADD THE EMBELLISHMENT Using a needle and thread, hand-sew your parts onto the felt base. Start with a felt petal, then a zipper petal, then a plastic petal in a corkscrew design; repeat, attaching each new petal on top of the previous one. Wind the braided trim in and out of the petals in a figure-8 pattern, securing in the center with a few stitches. Then hide all of your stitching with a button sewn into the center. Pin safety pins haphazardly around the edge of one of the felt petals; thread 10 smaller pins onto the larger pin and attach. Complete the look by adding yet more staples or decorative thread.
4. ATTACH BASE TO CUFF Glue felt base to the center of the cuff. Secure further by sewing around edge of the circle base with decorative thread.
To let the cuff rock out on its own, wear with something demure…or do a full-on Marc Jacobs style, with a nipped-in shrunken jacket, mismatched obi belt, super-long denim pencil skirt, and teeny porkpie straw hat set akilter.
Still have questions? Email me at CarlyJCais AT FashionTribes.com. Otherwise, happy DIY-ing!
– Carly J. Cais
(runway photos via style.com)
(As posted on FashionTribes.com)
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Jun 27, 2009 | Fashion
If you haven’t heard of FFFFOUND! (and I hadn’t, just cuz I’m last to hear about everything) head on over there and browse around. I fell in and couldn’t get out for hours. And all while I should be sleeping to try and get over the most godawful cold known to Mankind. The images just made my jaw drop. Seriously. Big time sink. Love it.
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Jun 22, 2009 | Fashion
Well, chickadees, it’s taken me a little longer than I thought to total up the entries…a staggering 109 of them, to be exact! Thank you so much to all who entered (sure beats the hell out the entries for my first giveaway at post #50…6 people entered!) and a triple thank you to all my new followers and friends of followers who stopped by to check this blog out. And now, drumroll please…as chosen by Random.org, the winner is:
Entry #97: hondaray6
The winner has been notified and thank you to everyone…stay tuned for another giveaway at post #200…I’m heading to Japan for August so I shall pick up some Japanese fashion and accessory goodies while there!
Congratulations hondaray6!!
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