Nov 6, 2009 | Fashion
With the Hilary Swank movie Amelia hitting theaters less than 2 weeks ago, you may have noticed a resurgence in aviator fashion recently. Despite the fact that movie is, er, bombing at the box office, the leather bomber jacket has become a trend in and of itself, being spotted on many celebrities recently such as Hilary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens, and Katie Cassidy. I think I’ll skip the $550 Miss Top Gun Aviator Jacket Katie’s wearing, though.
I saw the Forever21 Pilot Leatherette Jacket ($44.80) on some site somewhere, and wondered if the real thing indeed lived up to its rather crappy-seeming photo. With Forever21, you never know. Especially outerwear, which always seems to be made terribly (no lining, splitting seams, el cheapo outer fabric, you know). So I made my way to my nearest Forever21 to check out the goods in person.
And I didn’t even want a bomber jacket. I didn’t think it would suit me. The aviator look is something I didn’t think I could work, quite frankly.
But!
It was all over as soon as I touched the jacket.
It’s made well. Really, really well. Tons of details, heavy to the touch, soft plushy fleece lining (none of this crappy pilling that you find on cheap fleece), strong, topstitched seams, fabulous buttons, lovely cracked “leatherette”…even a nice leather-y smell. I can go on an on about how great this jacket is…and how it certainly should demand a higher price than its $45 tag. It could be sold for $150 at least, and no one would notice the difference. (I hope no one in Forever21’s marketing team is reading this, lest they get impure ideas.)
So I paired it with my tie-dye jeans (love the super-saturated color on them), my aviator shades that Hub tells me make me look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun (like in a bad way), and my over-the-knee Colin Stuart cordovan [whatever that is] boots from Victoria’s Secret. Too much? I look like I have my own personal turbo-prop stored in the backyard somewhere.
Love it!
xoxxo
Carly
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Nov 5, 2009 | Media
Another V Magazine spread for ya! (It published yesterday, so I’m a little behind…sorry.)
Natalie Portman was shot by Mario Testino for issue #62 of V Magazine, winter 2009/10 which hits newsstands today. She wears Calvin Klein Jeans with crystallized Swarovski elements on the cover. Claire Richardson styled her and the shoot took place in London. Natalie appears sexy androgynous and tough with her “pompadour” hairstyle.
A star at the age of 12, Natalie Portman could have found herself a victim of fast fame. Instead, the insanely talented, supremely beautiful, and intensely focused young actress has carved out a Hollywood career of stunning depth. Now she’s expanding her repertoire in the season’s war blockbuster “Brothers”, starring in her first-ever sex scene, and speaking her mind, as always.
Now I don’t what they’re talking about with the Calvin Klein jeans reference (must be in some other photos) but I am D.I.YING over her jewel-encrusted shoulder-thingies. Not sure where I would wear them, though!
What do all of you think? Is she fierce and fabulous? Or is it the stylist that is?
-Carly J. Cais
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Nov 3, 2009 | Score!
So Challenge #2: The Studded Ankle Boot is now LIVE on StyleList.com and Bluefly.com…
I’d love to have your vote if you liked how I styled it…
Plus there’s that $1000 Bluefly.com shopping spree up for grabs -AND you can vote every day to increase your chances of winning!
So please vote if you can by clicking the widget above or accessing the contest through StyleList.com or Bluefly.com!
Thanks for your support!:-)
xoxox
Carly
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Nov 3, 2009 | Score!
(silk crepe shirtdress, handmade necklace, marled chunky-knit wrap sweater, cross-body chain bag, Prada Ash Suede Studded Ankle Boots, script “love” and “dream” rings)
It took forever to find the perfect shoe to go with her ensemble for the evening. It was going to be a magical evening: dinner, dancing…something romantic and long-awaited. She had the perfect outfit already…
She planned to create something alluring, but edgy and sophisticated. A crepe shirtdress shot through with threads of silver and gold. A chunky-knit sweater in latte brown to keep the November winds at bay. Gold rings with cursive curliques: words reminding her to dream more and to love more. A cross-body chain bag with a brass doorknocker as an amusing detail. She even had the perfect necklace to offset the femininity of the look: a piece she had made herself after a trip to the hardware store, adorned with straight couplings and compression nuts in burnished gold (sourced from the plumbing section), strung on dove gray satin ribbon. (No one would ever realize!)
But the shoe was the piece de resistance; she needed something elegant and understated. Something on-trend but subdued…something to play up the feminine chicness of the outfit but not overpower the muted palette and gleaming accessories.
To that end, she knew she had found a match with Bluefly.com‘s Prada ash suede studded boots. In a beautiful taupe velvet (so not completely matchy-matchy), the high heel was to-die-for – and the gunmetal studding caught the light in a darkly dangerous glitter. They were perfect – and would soon whisk her away on an evening to remember.
The ensemble was not for everywoman; just for those who wanted to be remembered.
Thank you and I’d love to have your vote on StyleList.com!
xoxox
Carly
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Nov 2, 2009 | Score!
Are you an aspiring designer?
Are you fueled by adrenaline, able to rise to any challenge thrown at you?
Do you see Project Runway as a competition for wimps?
Then irreverent, in-your-face STYLE WARS may just be your ticket to fame and stardom.
Sign up to compete in the
US Style Battle Championships 2009
“A guerilla Project Runway” -The Los Angeles Times
“If Fashion had an Olympic Sport, it might look like Style Wars” – The Chicago Sun-Times
“The start of one designer’s rise to stardom!” -San Francisco Chronicle
Fusing the intensity of a rap battle with the glamour of high fashion, House of Diehl’s STYLE BATTLING™ is a fresh new fashion competition that pits designers head-to-head to cut, slash, twist and tape, creating fashion LIVE in 5-minute knock-out rounds.
With 15 shows worldwide, Style Wars has jumpstarted the careers of young designers with the guts and the talent. Can you make new looks from recycled clothing and household objects? Can you cook a look faster than Pat Field on PCP? Are you a take-no-prisoners talent? Then, this is the competition for you!
It’s DESIGN OR DIE as the crowd and a panel of celebrity judges decide who stays in the game, and who bites the dust. The battle selection committee includes designer Claw Money, celebrity stylist Rebecca Weinberg, model Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, producer Dallas Austin, and more!
Past judges include Catherine Malandrino, Agent Provocateur’s Joe Corre, and Mick Rock.
Think you have what it takes?
And don’t miss Style Wars live on tour this Fall!
Nov 4 LIV @ Fontainbleu Miami
Nov 7 Don Hill’s New York
Nov 13 Opera Atlanta
Nov 18 Cinespace Los Angeles
Nov 21 Mezzanine San Francisco
STEP UP. BATTLE LIVE. WIN MAD PRIZES– INCLUDING A FEATURE IN SURFACE MAGAZINE!
So get those applications in – or if you happen to be in any of the above cities on the Style Battle dates – drop by to take a gander at the freshest, craziest improv fashion competition around.
-Carly J. Cais
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Oct 31, 2009 | DIY
Tie-dyed denim is ba-a-aaack this season (sure you probably thought you’d never see the day) but it’s a blotchy, abstract dye that’s all over the runways…and all over celebs and fashionistas in the know. (And what I got knocked for in Challenge #1 in America’s Most Stylish Blogger competition. Whatever! If you haven’t noticed this trend – insert your head back in its hole in the sand.) Whether you embrace it or stay far, far away – using the crumple dye technique on your fabric is fun and virtually hassle-free (compared to some other tie-dye techniques that involve rubber-banding, stirring fabric for 15 minutes continuously etc.).
This is an image from Victoria’s Secret most recent catalog…and you can buy the sweater here but the skirt strangely seems to be unavailable. And I want that skirt.
So I used Tulip Permanent Fabric Dye and a denim miniskirt I found at the thrift store to create an abstract, funky dye-pattern.
The first step was bleaching the skirt to remove the color. This was accomplished by soaking in a hot water & bleach solution (ratio like 8:1 or something like that)…for like 8 hours. Had I used full-strength bleach (or a smaller ratio of water to bleach), the process would have been much quicker, but it also would have caused rusting on the metal embellishments on the skirt (zipper, grommets etc.), weakened the fabric fibers and seams, and even perhaps burned holes in the fabric or given the piece an orange tint. So to be safe I diluted.
Most of the color was removed by this method. Ran it through the wash cycle (with detergent) to get rid of any remaining bleach.
Now it’s time for the dye!
Following the instructions, I created a dyebath of Black fabric dye…and dipped the skirt into it. I then pulled it out quickly, crumpled it on top of a spread-out garbage bag, and spooned dye from the bath onto certain areas of the skirt. Hmm…it didn’t work so well. By giving it that initial dip in the bath, I found that the skirt soaked up a base gray color that wouldn’t show any darker black areas like I had intended. Ohwell. Frustrated, I poured some bleach (undiluted this time) back on the skirt in certain areas. After a few minutes as I watched some areas of the skirt lighten to a muddy brown, I washed the whole thing in cold water, then threw it in the wash cycle of the washing machine (sans detergent this time). And this is what I got:
Definitely not what I was going for. I then wet the skirt, crumpled it up again on another garbage bag, and spooned black dye from the dyebath onto certain areas of the skirt, crumpling as I went. I left it for a short time, covered in garbage bag, then pulled it out and ran cold water through it. Back to the washing machine (no detergent) and into the dryer, and I got this…
It’s hard to see, but the skirt is more gray-and-white-tinted than before.
(Kenneth Cole new york sweater, DIY Old Navy denim mini-skirt, Sam Edelman Zoe boots, unknown puffball ring)
Somehow I never look quite the same as the Victoria’s Secret model does. Hmmm.
And EVERYONE needs a puffball ring. It’s just a Fact of Life.
The final product: the tie-dyed skirt. I definitely wanted it to be black & gray…but this stone blue/gray/little bit of brown thing is cool, too. You just never know when you’re dying denim and working with bleach!
In reality Tulip One-Step Fashion Dye would make more sense for this project, especially since you’re applying dye directly to the fabric. But I used what I had! Perhaps I’ll try another application to make it more black at some point in the future, but I’m kind of satisfied with what I have now.
Also, if you’d like some different fabric-dyeing projects to try out (just in the nick of time if you’re still stuck on ideas for a Halloween costume!) download the free Fun with Fabric Dye eBook from FaveCrafts.com…This eBook features 28 free fabric dye craft projects organized by 18 different dye techniques, with step-by-step photo instructions. Not only does the eBook include a great variety of stylish clothing craft projects for all ages, but it also features home decorating projects, accessories and holiday projects too.
Definitely try your hand at the DIY tie-dye denim mini…just don’t dip the whole thing in the dye after you’ve bleached it out…crumple and spoon, my friends!
Happy DIY’ing…and Happy Halloween!
xoxox
Carly
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Oct 30, 2009 | Fashion
Oh, ASOS. You taunt me with your fabulous, fashion-forward designs that are so utterly affordably…until I factor in the $15+ shipping fee. Well, not this weekend!
Is it wrong to spend $300 just because I’m saving $15??
-Carly J. Cais
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Oct 29, 2009 | DIY
So, were you watching the last Sex and the City movie close enough to notice those adorable half-gloves Carrie was wearing while using a pay phone in one scene?
Such a subtle difference to the regular wrist-length leather glove…but oh so cute. The gloves were actually from Ines Gloves, available for $147.
Ines gloves…so cute…but oh so expensive too. Why does this hand model lady have such hairy arms? This confuses me…and dissuades me from wanting to spend that $147 for some reason.
But we wouldn’t think of paying that much for such a simple accessory, now would we?
So why buy when you can D.I.Y.?!
Enter a typical pair of wrist-length leather gloves (mine I got at the Buffalo Exchange for $8). Wish that they were gray or brown…but c’est la vie. (I didn’t want to go through the whole rigmarole of painting them with leather paint…or worse yet, attempting to dye them. I don’t even know if that would be possible with black gloves. In any case.)
By using the photos on the website as reference, I sketched the scoop shape using an eraseable fabric pen onto the gloves. 
You can see the white lines on the gloves…I tried a couple variations before deciding on the shape. Always make sure your pencil comes off of leather BEFORE you draw all over your gloves!
Add 1/4″ seam allowance below the line, and cut with a pair of sharp shears. Behold the scoop shape!
Cut with a pair of sharp shears. I don’t have leather scissors, for some insane reason. Oh yes, because they’re ridiculously expensive and I just squandered my available funds on some new sewing scissors.
Using Loctite Vinyl, Fabric, and Plastic Glue, turn under that 1/4″ seam allowance and secure it to the underside of the glove. (Barge cement is a be-otch to work with since you have to wait 15 minutes after applying it before sticking your surfaces together…a total hang-up for a DIY’er in a rush like me…) ‘Tis necessary to glue the seam allowance since leather gloves are usually made from a thin and soft lambskin…which rolls and shifts uncontrollably as you sew it on a home sewing machine…unless you’re an all-star with sewing lightweight leathers, I’d recommend gluing it down to get that clean seam first!
The seam allowance glued (for the most part) down to the inside.
Then, using a leather needle (medium-weight leather, since we’re going through two thicknesses + two thicknesses of the lining), edge-stitch about 1/8″ from the edge of your gloves to secure that hem. (sorry no photo of the stitching…couldn’t work with the sewing of something black, with black thread, in a might-as-well-be-pitch-black poorly-lit sewing room.)
You’re done! Step back and admire.
LEATHER-SEWING TIPS:
Use a longer stitch than you normally would when it comes to leather…and a good tip when sewing leather is to crank the needle forward manually so that it has pierced the leather completely…BEFORE pressing with the presser foot of the machine to sew your line of stitching. Start sewing with the needle already in the leather to say it another way. Also, you can’t go super-fast or super-slow…there’s a happy medium where your machine’s feed dogs advance the leather at the right speed, the needle punches through the leather without jarring and hitting the needle plate, and the needle goes in vertically and doesn’t hit the bobbin case. Too fast and the aforementioned problems will crop up; too slow and the needle won’t punch through the leather. It’s different for every machine – just something you need to experiment with. (Of course, if you’re using a heavy-duty/industrial machine for sewing leather, you can completely ignore what I’ve just written.:-)
When starting your line of sewing, DO NOT BACKSTITCH. Go all the way around the edge, then back into the first ONE or TWO stitches you did at the beginning of the line. Backstitch ONCE. This will create a nice, professional look to your stitching.
Also, do not start stitching directly on a seamline. This will usually cause the needle to jar and hit your presser foot/needle plate/bobbin case. Sewing machine needles for leather (for the home sewing machine) are pieces of s$#@. They will snap willfully at ANY irregularity of thicknesses in your material; or bend and not punch the leather vertically at certain speeds…ugh. Buy more needles than you think you need!
Can’t wait to work these in a new outfit…the leather glove is THE must-have accessory this Fall, so rock it while you can!
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxo
Carly
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Oct 29, 2009 | DIY
Few things add edge to a look like bits of metal leering out from an unexpected angle; in combination with swingy fringe, the trend has continued to stomp down many a runway. 
Adding a touch of tough to pieces you already have in your wardrobe is a fun way to freshen up your look. But be careful: there is a wrong way to stud and fringe your basics, so we’ve put together this helpful little primer on Badass Embellishment Skills 101.
To sex up a boring black leather tote, this is what you’ll need:
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Oct 28, 2009 | Fashion, Media
A preview of Willy Vanderperre’s resort story in the next V Magazine issue #62 which comes out November 3rd, featuring Miranda Kerr in her much–buzzed–about high fashion turn. Also featured is model Ana Beatriz Barros.
The theme of the story is sort of “postmodern pinup,” a subversive take on sexy, courtesy of Olivier Rizzo. Miranda Kerr is best-known for being an Australian supermodel, the girlfriend of actor Orlando Bloom and a Victoria’s Secret angel.
V Magazine, issue #62 – www.vmagazine.com
“PIN ME UP, PIN ME DOWN”
Sex, meet deconstruction. Deconstruction, meet sex. The cruise collections get smart with a postmodern take on pinup dressing, featuring Victoria’s Secret weapons Miranda Kerr and Ana Beatri Barros
Photography by Willy Vanderperre; Styling by Olivier Rizzo
Don’t you just love the idea of wearing lingerie over a one-piece bathing suit and a sweater??
xoxox
Carly
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(Forever21 Pilot Jacket, Newport-News scrunch neck turtleneck, Aviator sunglasses from I forgot,
With the Hilary Swank movie Amelia hitting theaters less than 2 weeks ago, you may have noticed a resurgence in aviator fashion recently. Despite the fact that movie is, er, bombing at the box office, the leather bomber jacket has become a trend in and of itself, being spotted on many celebrities recently such as Hilary Duff, Vanessa Hudgens, and Katie Cassidy. I think I’ll skip the $550 Miss Top Gun Aviator Jacket Katie’s wearing, though.
I saw the Forever21 Pilot Leatherette Jacket ($44.80) on some site somewhere, and wondered if the real thing indeed lived up to its rather crappy-seeming photo. With Forever21, you never know. Especially outerwear, which always seems to be made terribly (no lining, splitting seams, el cheapo outer fabric, you know). So I made my way to my nearest Forever21 to check out the goods in person.
It’s made well. Really, really well. Tons of details, heavy to the touch, soft plushy fleece lining (none of this crappy pilling that you find on cheap fleece), strong, topstitched seams, fabulous buttons, lovely cracked “leatherette”…even a nice leather-y smell. I can go on an on about how great this jacket is…and how it certainly should demand a higher price than its $45 tag. It could be sold for $150 at least, and no one would notice the difference. (I hope no one in Forever21’s marketing team is reading this, lest they get impure ideas.)
So I paired it with my tie-dye jeans (love the super-saturated color on them), my aviator shades that Hub tells me make me look like Tom Cruise in Top Gun (like in a bad way), and my over-the-knee Colin Stuart cordovan [whatever that is] boots from Victoria’s Secret. Too much? I look like I have my own personal turbo-prop stored in the backyard somewhere.
Love it!
