Jul 24, 2013 | Fashion
I can’t get this image of this chic woman at the Milan Fashion Week Spring 2014 out of my head – I pinned it to my Pinterest board recently and have been lusting ever since! Her outfit is totally next on my DIY list! It’s so perfect for Summery weather, and yet so incredibly polished. (And so DIY’able!)
Just pull your hair back into a low bun and pair with some sunnies you’ve DIY’d with some cut metal pieces (a la my DIY Alexander Wang Zipper Sunglasses tutorial) or added a couple white stripes with nailpolish or washi tape to. Cut the sleeves off a tight black T-shirt and chop is to rib-length. If you’re comfortable with sewing, the skirt you could make yourself from a basic pencil skirt pattern, using a graphic striped fabric (I swear Jo-Ann’s has something really similar to that lattice!). Add a black flounce to the hem using a curved piece of fabric, then applique over it with fruits cut from quilting fabric and use Heat N Bond to secure! (Like how I made my DIY Floral Applique Cardigan.) Pair with a pair of navy satin pumps and a dark green perspex clutch (you could totally use a clear lucite jewelry box and paint the inside with green glass paint) – and you’re good to go!
And if you’re not following me on Pinterest yet, please do! I’d love to see you there! Lots of outfits and DIY ideas to get inspired by:-)
xo
Carly
image via Fashionising.com
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Nov 12, 2012 | DIY
Create a quick butterfly clip with a faux butterfly decoration from the floral decor section of the craft store (at Michael’s Arts & Crafts, they’re with the fake birds, nests, twigs, and vase filler).
Have you ever noticed that the most eye-catching Fashion is all about the details?
Make a pretty wrapped bow bracelet with some dead-soft brass wire, available at any craft store, in spools in the jewelry-making section.
Wrap some contrasting soft leather or fabric around the tops of your ankle booties, tying in knots at the sides. Instant colorblocking!
Take the street style photos of Tommy Ton on the JakandJil blog, for instance. His amazing photos capture all the little details of outfits, accessories, jewelry, and all the tiny details about a time, place, and the fashion therein that make the viewers feel in the moment. Plus those little details that feel fresh and unique.
Scribble a favorite saying on your dark bag with a silver paint marker. (Practice first in a piece of a paper before committing to something permanent!)
(And ohmigosh I just realized whose bag this is! I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. It’s Vivi model Sara Mary‘s bag, signed by Jane Birkin herself!)
Re-string your front-laced heels with an unexpected material, like regular shoelaces, for a sporty look.
The detailing is what makes us individuals.
Click to Tweet the Above!
It’s a way to express oneself, to make that white blouse less standard, that LBD not just off-the-rack.
Cut a tissue-thin tee at the shoulder seams – then re-tie in little knots to create a peekaboo effect at the neckline.
Tack on some veil netting to something surprising, like a knit beanie (such a popular DIY!)
And the details are soooo easy to DIY. (Way easier than patternmaking, sewing from scratch, or even refashioning.)
If you’re into stitchery, make a hybrid coat from parts of other coats. No so much? Cut contrasting pieces of fabric – the add some Heat ‘n’ Bond fusible to the back, and fuse onto the front and inside lapel of a blazer you may already have. Instant facelift.
Make a one-of-a-kind necklace by twisting and knotting different-colored chains together, even incorporating some different materials, like cord or lacing. Add some charms to make it your own.
Practice looking for those details, and noticing what makes it different. If you see something you like, emulate, recreate, re-master, re-mix.
Click to Tweet the above!
Change the look of any sandal by adding a swatch of fun fur to the front (tack in place with a couple stitches under the lacing; the fur will hide it completely). This place sells some great, and very realistic, choices.
Do like Prada did and add chandelier drops to a plastic rainhat for some reflective rain protection.
Add Grandma’s crocheted flowers or doilies (or crochet them yourself!) to the front of a sweatshirt for a modern vintage feel.
You are the genie of your own identity.
Click to Tweet the Above!
xoxox
Carly
All photos from JakandJil.com.
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Sep 9, 2010 | Life
So as many of you probably know already, I was in Tokyo for two weeks in early July to visit my in-laws. Hub and Lil Tot went two weeks ahead of me while I stayed behind to look for our runaway cat; sadly, I didn’t find her so went to join my family for the last little bit of our vacation.
So here are some of the photos we took while there… (this is super-long, just to warn you! And totally ignore the commentary if my dry sense of humor grates on ya.)
(more…)
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Aug 11, 2010 | Fashion
Out with the old, in with the new: Street Style and its Chic Factor. Goodbye People Magazine…hello, American Apparel lookbook collaboration with Lookbook.nu users and Style Sample Magazine.
Could it have just been a few short years ago that we saw the rise of those snazzy, hyped-up boutiques that advertised their products “As Seen on Audrina Patridge and Kim Kardiashian!” — Paris Hilton as style icon — and celebrities and demi-lebreties fueling consumer mania? Once upon a time, the public was hanging on to J. Lo’s every move, snapping up heeled Timberlands and the latest Juicy Couture velour tracksuit (as seen on Pamela Anderson!). But times are a-changing, it seems, and the wave of interest in A-listers has waned (perhaps in part due to a flailing economy, general disgust towards Hollywood salaries spiraling out of control, the emergence of celebrity stylists and their minions to the media forefront *ahem, Rachel Zoe*, the rise in popularity and box office power of indie films, and more exposure to the PR vehicle behind every star, just to touch on a few factors in all this). Though what the Stars are doing and Wearing is still hot fodder for many blogs, magazines, talk-shows [and the E! channel’s programming]… the people watching today are smarter, have more access to information than ever before, and have begun to turn away from the carefully constructed circus of image. Now it seems we’ve entered a completely new era: that of the EveryMan (or, more specifically, EveryWoman)…and now everyone seems to be sitting up and taking notice.
Heralded by the runwawy success of street-style photoblogs such as The Sartorialist and JakandJil.com, and personal style-sharing sites such as Lookbook.nu and Chictopia, in the last 2 years alone there has been an online explosion of sites on the internet devoted to the style of the stylish unknown: the girl (or guy) who has that certain je ne sais quoi about them.
Women check out these blogs and see the Beautiful Stranger. They check out her outfit details, hairstyle, and makeup. And sometimes, such style can lead to an impromptu purchase by the onlooker. And retailers are increasingly taking notice of this street cred influencing consumers.
What with ModCloth sponsoring outfits for many bloggers (so much so that the term “ModCloth Robot” has been floating around the blogosphere for awhile), StyleList and Bluefly’s search for America’s Most Stylish Blogger last Fall where they sent the participants items from Bluefly and had us style them in our own outfits, Ann Taylor LOFT’s campaign partnering with Jessica Schroeder of WhatIWore, and most recently, the newly-launched scrolling functionality of The Gap 1969 Stream photo collage of both models and regular people wearing their Gap jeans.
The bag Emily designed in collaboration with Coach, from Cupcakes and Cashmere
Well-read blogs are beginning to wield huge influence – with the bloggers elevated from just another stylish person online to luxury bag designer [Emily Schuman for Coach], front-row Fashion Week attendee [Tavi Gevinson at Dior Fall/Winter 2010], shoe design collaborator [Jane Aldrige with Urban Outfitters], and campaign model [Rumi Neely for Forever21], just to name a few.
It’s no longer just a handful of corporate websites out there – it’s all over the place that we’re seeing the beautiful, almost anonymous stranger showcasing her personal style (which seems so much more attainable to the average person, right?).
Even the Wall Street Journal has picked up on this trend with their recent Seen on the Street: Strangers as Style Icons article (which is an interesting profile on the BeautifulStranger.tv website).
Since I just received Banana Republic’s “Life at Work” Fall catalog (see above), replete with photographs of their products shot on the backs of what appear to be regular people (along with their job descriptions next to them – and not just “model” mind you!)…just how strong a trend Street Style has become is an issue that’s been on my mind lately.
So here it’s opened up to you: is Street Style the new litmus test of What’s Fashionable? Do you pay more attention to the celebrities and A-listers, models during their down time, or what that cool-looking Beautiful Stranger is wearing in some street snapshot somewhere? Is Street Style the new determinate of chic?
xoxox
Carly
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