A warm coat is a must in the Northern climate I live in (Portland, OR), and it’s tough to find a good coat that goes with a number of different outfits (and that isn’t a huge amount of money). Of course, something that one wears daily from September-June of the year should be an investment piece, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a significant chunk of change. If you can time the purchase of such a piece to a seasonal sale, or buy from a retailer that offers great brands at affordable prices, then half the work is already done for you.
I love checking out the coat selection at Macy’s because as a national retailer they carry select brands such as Steve Madden and Nine West, that are both trend-driven but easy on the wallet. Plus, they offer sales all the time! (And they’re offering one right now, in fact!!)
Many of their brands (including designers such as Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Vince Camuto, and DKNY) also offer styles that are exclusive to Macy’s – meaning you won’t be wearing the same topper as 3 other random people at the holiday party.
I fell in love with this two-toned Nine West coat, that I’ve been wearing nonstop since it arrived. The shape is beautiful and the colorblocking instantly dresses up even the most beat-up pair of jeans beneath. It’s very high-quality for the price, and the stiff outer wool is withstanding the abuse I throw at it without losing its shape or collapsing. It’s now my go-to work cover-up, that can go from the studio to a client meeting seamlessly.
For an edgier feel (or dressed-down casual wear), a puffer vest is a great piece. This Style&Co vest is supremely affordable at just under $41, featuring a removable hood and great hardware details. It’s perfect as a layer for when it’s not too chilly out, and thrown over or under another coat it’s amazingly toasty.
Ordering from Macy’s online is super-simple (orders over $99 ship free!), and my package even came with a slip to rate their packing job (!). Macys.com even has this cool feature where you can create a poll of items you like, and share it on Facebook with your friends to get their input. Social sharing at its most fun!
Now that my personal coat shopping for this season is complete…I can now focus on the next hurdle: Christmas gifts!! Eeek!
Stay chic~
Carly
FTC Disclosure: I received 2 coats from GigaSavvy, for review purposes. I have not been compensated in any other way for my review. The opinions above are 100% my own. If you’d like to know more, please check out my Disclosure Policy.
Found on CraftSnark, a really awesome website with a ton of snarky posters and graphics depicting what it’s really like to be a craft blogger. Start reading the posts and you’ll get addicted. Or at least, I am addicted. It’s.all.SO.TRUE.
And yes, often companies contact me offering me free products to use in a tutorial on my blog. When it’s itemized line-by-line like that….the time investment and financial investment doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Thank you CraftSnark!
Whip up some sparkling, shimmering ornaments super-quick, and with only a couple of supplies! This can even be a great project for kids to work on their fine motor skills.
Materials:sequins in leaf shapes or snowflake shapes / pearl-head pins in red or pearlized / round styrofoam balls (you can paint them different colors before using if you don’t like the white showing through) / glitter ribbon
Tools: glue gun / scissors
How to:
1. Cut a short length of ribbon, enough to go around the styro ball and create a hang loop.2. Use the glue gun to attach around the ball at the center. Loop the end of the ribbon over itself and glue together to hang.3. Use the pins to attach sequins all over the ball. For the holly ornament, use 2-3 leaf sequins strung on one pin, and for the snowflake ornament, use 1-2 sequins on one pin.4. Keep adding pinned sequins until the ball is completely covered.
Hang on your tree, pile in a bowl, attach to a garland or a wreath – however you decide to display these pretty ornaments, they’re sure to be the star of your holiday decorating!
I’ve partnered with Echoed.com that produces this cool new application called “Stories.” It’s an application that allows users to upload their own photos and write a “story” about the photos, vote on photos you like, and share content. Kind of like Pinterest but with more space for adding information, and space for different angles or descriptive photos. Plus it’s hosted right on your own site, so it creates a beautiful array of user-submitted content available to any visitor to see immediately.
You can now view DIYs submitted by Chic Steals readers (and submit your own!) in the bar appearing at the bottom of my site window. Press the double-down arrow to hide it. Reload the page to view the bar again. Click See All Stories to view all the DIY projects submitted by the community and get some great inspiration! Up-vote projects you like, and leave comments. I’m dying to see what all of you are making – and it’s a great way to get your DIY’s featured immediately on the front page of my site.
To promote this partnership, Echoed.com is offering a giveaway of a gift card to Michael’s Arts & Crafts to help someone create that fabulous DIY. Here’s how to win:
One Lucky Reader Will Win a $25 Gift Card to Michael’s
{just in time for the holidays!}
How to Enter
1. The Stories app appears as a gray bar at the bottom of your browser window while looking at my site. Click on the RED BUTTON on the right that says “Add Your Story.”
2. Register with your email address, Facebook login, or Twitter login.
3. Upload a photo of a Holiday-themed DIY you’ve done into the app. It can be a photo of any project that is holiday-appropriate (ANY holiday, even Halloween or Fourth of July!). It can be fashion, food, crafts, decorations, kiddie project…ANYTHING.
4. I will be randomly selecting one entry from the submissions (once the entry period is closed) as the winner.
Rules
Entry period is from now until midnight PST on Tuesday, December 3, 2012.
Winner will be randomly chosen from the entries posted until then.
Anyone over the age of 18 can enter – and you can enter multiple times, with a photo of a different DIY each time, to increase your chance of winning!
Giveaway is open to anyone, worldwide.
DO NOT post separate entries that use photos of the same project. Each time you “Add Your Story,” make sure it’s a different project!!
Total entries allowed: as many holiday-themed projects as you want!
Good luck!
xoxo
Carly
FTC Disclosure: I have not received any compensation for this post. One $25 gift card to Michael’s Arts and Crafts will be provided to the winner of this giveaway, courtesy of Echoed.com. To see my Disclosure Policy, click here.
A silly photo from work last week; I’m just playing on the photography cyc. Man, does it need to be re-painted!!
I have had a completely perfect holiday – and all because Lil Tot has been sick with a cold since last Sunday. Which sounds completely horrible to write.
I’m not rejoicing that he’s been sick; but because he’s had to stay inside I’ve canceled all the birthday parties and events we’ve RSVP’ed to, and spent a wonderful 4 days cooped up at home.
I can’t remember the last time I did that!
I felt like I really needed this indulgence, because the next 2 weeks are going to be utterly crazy for me. I’m not sure how I’ll survive until Dec. 8, since I have about 5 HUGE things happening Dec. 5-Dec 7. If I can only get through the next two weeks in one piece…
But over this Thanksgiving break I’ve gotten a solid 9-10 hours of sleep a night, cuddling with poor Lil Tot as he hacks away. Thanks to all the rest I’ve been able to avoid getting what he got (though Hub got it instead of me; a rarity). While being at home I’ve gotten a head-start on holiday DIY’ing, holiday baking, holiday decorating, and we even took a family photo for our Christmas card.
My latest DIY recipe for a delicious holiday treat…will be sharing soon!
I’ve read some piled-up magazines and even got halfway through a favorite book of mine (and I haven’t read a book in ages!) I cleaned up all the dead debris in the garden. I’ve declared a moratorium on my computer and used it as little as possible these past couple days…and in fact, today I just opened it 10 minutes ago. I’ve stayed away from browsing on the Internet and kept mindless TV programs off.
Getting back to crafting – yay!
Instead, I’ve played a ton of board games with my son, taught him some new card games (and gotten a little too hooked on Klondike solitaire, unfortunately;-), played Wii party with him, read him stories, and even done some kiddie crafts with him (we made a prince marionette based on instructions here!). With the whole family home (and 2 members sick), we’ve all been taking it easy and re-connecting. I’m also on cloud 9 because I FINALLY cleaned out my DIY supply drawers that I have not gone through in FIVE.YEARS. It was a huge mess, and I feel so much calmer for tackling it.
Lil Tot is finally almost completely better so will be heading back to school tomorrow, and Hub and I go back to the daily grindstone. But all in all, I couldn’t have wished for a better Thanksgiving holiday.
Do any of you “re-charge” by un-plugging and spending time with family? What’s your secret to finding that balance?
This first book, DIY Couture: Create Your Own Fashion Collection contains the instructions to create the base pattern for 10 unique pieces, each of which has an amazing 8 variations included within (and for those who are keeping track, that’s a whopping 80 different garments that can be made from this one single book!)
The basic pattern (or “block”) for each style is actually created by doing a ruboff (or copy) of an item of clothing you already have in your closet that fits the way you’d like it. The instructions are detailed, illustrated, and very easy-to-follow. There are no patterns to copy, cut out, or notch; you’re just making a pattern (or drawing directly onto your fabric) for your finished pieces…a huge timesaver in the long run. (But trace onto paper or oaktag to keep your blocks for all the variations you could do for each Collection!)
Though it’s not “Couture” and you may not end up with a pattern that’s precisely exact to please the discerning patternmaker, you end up with something that is close enough for the purposes of the home sewist or DIY’er. You can make your blocks using a minimum of tools (usually just marking chalk, pins, and a ruler…no French curves or flexible ruler needed!), and more importantly, since you’re making them using something you own that fits you already, every variation made from that block will also fit you. No grading or difficult patternmaking needed!
The “Collections” are grouped into specific styles of variations on the blocks, with funky-sounding names like “Coffee Classic,” “Acid Candy,” or “Monochrome Art.”
Though an entire collection may not be to one’s specific taste, you can easily mix-and-match the style, cutting, and details of the pieces to create exactly what you want. It’s the best road map you could ever want when it comes to DIY sewing.
I love that the style and silhouettes of the pieces are very on-trend and modern – and you can easily tailor the look of anything to mimic other pieces seen on the runways or in retail stores. Fashion that looks high-end but is totally attainable with your own skills!
For every DIY’er interested in sewing, for every aspiring designer, for every sewist who wants the quickest route from concept to finished product: this book caters to you all. Though this is tailored more to the sewist with intermediate skills, even beginners can try their hand at the simpler projects and work through the different pieces to gain skills and confidence.
Rating: (4 out of 4)
Overall: An amazing resource chock-full of ideas and how-tos, using the simplest of techniques to create beautifully on-trend and modern clothing. A MUST for any sewing or DIY library! (And a great Christmas gift for the fashionista in your life!)
Have any of you guys checked out this book, or visited Rosie Martin’s site? What do you think of a sewing book that has you draft patterns from clothes you already have? The perfect intro to sewing – or not precise enough to be called patternmaking?
xoxox
Carly
FTC Disclaimer: I received one copy of the book DIY Couture for review purposes. I have not received any other compensation whatsoever. The review and opinions above are my own. To read more about my Disclosure Policy, click here.
Around this time of year we all want our homes to be festive and bright; our holiday table filled with cheer. These DIY glimmering, glittery Christmas napkins adorned with ornaments and made with Tulip Shimmer Sheets can help serve up a wonderful meal as a sparkling accessory. Plus, once the cutting’s done, application is a cinch! Here’s how to make your own:
It’s amazing, inspiring, to the point, and life-changing. Besides it being a great book for anybody who habitually does anything creative, I figured, what better topic than forChic Steals??
I know the name of my blog can sometimes be misleading. As many of you know, it ended up being called “Chic Steals” simply because it started out as a place to house the articles I wrote for FashionTribes.com…which were all called “Carly’s Chic Steals and Fashion Deals of the Week.” That whole title was too long to use as a URL, so I shortened it to Chic Steals. I love to do DIYs inspired by what’s trending now…and yes, I often create dupes rather than my own version. I like to provide the how and the tools to people out there – to get inspired and make their own pieces. It doesn’t have to be an exact dupe either…the great thing about DIY is that the degree of customization is up to you.
Now if you were going to sell anything that is an exact copy of someone else’s work, or sell the tutorial somehow, then that gets into a gray area.
The driving thoughts behind this blog are that we are all still learning. Here is the how – now go off and make it yours. Remix, remaster, remake. And try, try again until it’s something you like.
Make it for yourself. Make it to give someone else. Share the knowledge and the skillset.
I’d highly recommend this book to anyone. It’s a great pick-me-up for when you’re feeling tapped out of creativity, and a great reminder to keep going. And to get better. I always read a little bit, then have to rush off into a project because I’m so.goshdarn.INSPIRED by what’s written here. It’s a great little Chanukah present or stocking stuffer for the artist in your life as well!
As some of you may know, I’ve been working part-time at a local video production company and stage rental house. We did a promo video for thePortland Saturday MarketFashion Show (Hustle & Bustle) last month, and I wanted to share the results.
I did all the titling and motion graphics for the piece, so I’m showing off a bit.;-)
Carly J. Cais I am a DIY’er, designer, sewist, maker, and marketer. Chic Creative Life is where I share what I do, and help others bring their unique style into their own lives.
A warm coat is a must in the Northern climate I live in (Portland, OR), and it’s tough to find a good coat that goes with a number of different outfits (and that isn’t a huge amount of money). Of course, something that one wears daily from September-June of the year should be an investment piece, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a significant chunk of change. If you can time the purchase of such a piece to a seasonal sale, or buy from a retailer that offers great brands at affordable prices, then half the work is already done for you.
How to Enter
by Austin Kleon.
