Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

... but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red...

Especially if I were wearing a pair of Jessica Swift Rainboots!

I went to high school with Jessica Swift, a woman who has grown into an incredible artist. She works a lot in patterns (which has been featured on fabrics as well, for all you home sewers!), and all her work is infused with her spirit of love and inspiration. It is no secret how much I love rainboots (even though we only get rain a couple months out of the year here in LA), and I can honestly say that the designs Jessica is kicking around are fabulous! Probably the coolest I have ever seen!

Plus, there is a secret extra bonus! Each pair of boots is designed with a special loving, inspirational message printed inside to remind you how fabulous you are each time you put on those fabulous boots!

Right now, Jessica is using kickstarter.com to get this awesome project off the ground. For a donation of just $100, you'll be sent a pair of boots once they hit the production line! Contributions of any amount from $1 on up are greatly appreciated and are being rewarded with other awesome Jessica Swift art. Just think how amazing it would be to help Jessica's dream come true and land yourself a truly special pair of boots!



I can pretty much guarantee that no rainy day or mucky puddle will get you down if you were wearing these amazing boots!

Easter Bonnets

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!
I love Easter because it is one of the few occasions we have in modern times to don a gorgeous hat, and I just love hats!

Victorian Easter Bonnets

Adorable, little girl, 1950s Easter bonnets

and the Easter bonnet I would buy if I had a good enough reason.

Fashion Challenge, Part I

Some days, you feel like you have nothing to wear... Well, there are a couple of inspirational ladies who have taken that idea and embraced it!

The first woman I want to introduce you to is Zoe from So Zo (of Stash Bustin' fame). She has created a "Me Made March" challenge in which she only wears clothes that she has made all month long. Down to the pajamas and a totally awesome leopard coat! This is a pretty terrific challenge, and I can only imagine how amazing it would be if this trend took off. I think that sometime soon, I will take on something similar, but for now it will probably have to be that everyday I wear something I made rather than self-made from head to toe... but someday I will definitely be up to giving this challenge a try!

Thanks for the inspiration, Zoe, and keep up the awesome work!

Project Trench Coat

Sometimes you lose a button in a busy place and you don't have any idea where you placed the little plastic baggie with the extra button that came with your garment when you bought it. (Exhibit A, missing button on left side of jacket, lost at a bowling alley during a holiday party).

But you don't despair because you know that you can solve your problem and dress up your plain garment with some cool new buttons for just a little time and effort and not much cash. (Exhibit B: square tiger-stripe amber, silvery and black buttons purchased for $1 each at Michael Levine's in downtown LA's garment district).


And the result is a slightly dressed-up, improved version of the original (Exhibit C). I ended up going a little more subtle than I had originally planned, but I feel like the result is polished but still interesting. I feel just a little cooler wearing my black Target trench now.
Of course, I could have avoided all this effort if I had just reinforced the buttons when I first bought the jacket, but I'm rarely that motivated. Also, while I was putting away the extra new buttons that I bought, I found the original manufacturer-provided extra button in my button stash (turns out I occasionally put things where they belong). But I'm OK with that, I like the new buttons much better.

Button, button...

Last night at a party I lost a button from my simple black trench (purchased at Target). At first I was frustrated because now I have to buy 10 new buttons (because what is the likelihood of finding one button that is exactly the same, even if it is a simple black button?).

Then I got excited... what a perfect opportunity to snazz up my simple black trench! Duh! So now I'm on a search for fabulous buttons that add just the right amount of splash but that won't take away too much from the neutrality of my coat (let's not forget that the whole reason I bought black was so I could wear it with almost anything).

I came across the store Cute As A Button and these are some of my favorites:




...but I might just end up cruising the vintage button selection on ebay instead.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

That's right, it's actually raining in L.A.! Word on the street is that it will continue all week. This kind of weather leaves me wishing that we had enough rain here to justify buying a bunch wonderful rain wear... but in the meantime I must content myself with my fantasy of having a closet full of these lovelies (my heart is pitter-pattering almost as loud as the rain outside):

Raincoats:








Vintage Galoshes:

And, of course, about a million pairs of Wellies:


Some rain hats:


And I would even try to bring back the Rain Bonnet (it's easier on the 'do):

Creative Costumes

Ever get tired of the Sexy (insert noun here) Costumes? (A sexy ladybug? Really? Is that necessary?) I totally understand the desire to unleash your inner vixen on this night when you can put on another persona for an evening an let loose a little. It's an old tradition (like Carnevale in Venice, Carnaval in Rio de Janiero, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, just at a different time of year)... put on a mask and leave your inhibitions at home. I myself have indulged in somewhat racy costumes over the years (a Moulin Rouge showgirl, Catholic schoolgirl, kitten, etc), but sometimes it is nice to stray from norm and do something out of the ordinary that is focused on creativity instead of wearing as little clothing as possible (in high school I worked at a fabric store and one Halloween a woman came in to buy several yards of extra wide elastic so she could go as the chick from The Fifth Element which I suppose is sexy and kind of creative at the same time... but also pretty stupid because Halloween in Colorado usually involves lots of snowfall or at least very cold weather. But I digress).

And I guess I'm getting pretty picky here, but I also have a strong distaste for costumes from a package. They are cheaply made, overpriced, and you're almost guaranteed to be dressed exactly like someone else at the alcohol-infused costume party you will be attending. And remind me to tell you the "one size fits most" story sometime...

Anyway, my hat is off to the folks who come up with clever, fun, engaging, creative costumes like these:

You can see this guy loves to have a good time, and he managed to keep his clothes on to get the message across.

This one is hilarious for babies because we all know they enjoy the privilege to...well, pass gas with carefree abandon. Although, on second thought, it may encourage people to sit on your baby. Which would be bad.

These folks have combined naughtiness with modesty and have also pulled off an awesome couple's costume, which (although it may be considered trite by some) I am always a fan of.

If there's anything I like better than a couple's costume, it's a group costume and this family has pulled it off beautifully. Especially because Junior's get-up can transition right into p.j.s for bedtime while mom and dad stay up to party with the adults.

Whatever you end up wearing for Halloween, I hope you have a terrific time and I'd love to hear about all your costumed escapades! If you're feeling short of ideas, check out this awesome list for ideas.

Not exactly sewing...

... but I still want to give some airtime to the crochet project I finished today. I learned to crochet granny squares in 5th grade, but never learned anything beyond that and never learned the names for the stitches. The other day I was on etsy searching for a nice, cozy winter hat and I stumbled upon this pattern upload for a beginner level crochet newsboy cap. So, I paid for the download (a very reasonable $6) and trucked off to JoAnn for some yarn and hooks (sadly the locally owned yarn store has gone out of business). In almost no time I had made this! It is so far from being perfect, but I'm proud of my first non-granny-square crochet project and had to share! If you like crochet, or think you might want to learn, I highly recommend this project. Or, if you want to take the short cut, just buy one from Heidi's Hats!

My First Halloween Costume

When I was about two years old, I got to dress up for Halloween for the first time and try out trick-or-treating. My mom dressed me as Buster Brown, an advertising icon from the early 1900s. Apparently I was not interested in the trick-or-treating, but perhaps this is where my life-long love of playing dress up and creating costumes was born.

Buster Brown was an excellent costume choice by my mom. It has the "cute" factor that you want for a young child's costume, it is simple enough that it can likely be recreated with pieces you already have at home, it is comfortable and (this is important in October in Colorado) it is warm. Those are all important considerations to make when selecting a costume for your children.

What was your first Halloween costume? What are your favorite memories from your youthful Halloweens?

DIY Couture: Instant sundress

"Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit."
- Aristotle

Yesterday I desired a sundress. I did not have a sundress in my closet. My means did not permit me to procure a sundress. What's a girl to do?? Then I saw it... the blue three-tiered skirt with the elastic waistband that I've had for a couple of years now. I like this skirt because it is comfy and full, but the thick elastic waistband was not terribly flattering and I never seemed to have the right thing to wear with it. So yesterday was the day that the skirt became the sundress! This is an insanely easy way to recycle an old wardrobe piece into something new and fun.

If you have a good strapless bra that you like to wear or you're fortunate enough not to need a bra, all you need to do to turn a skirt with an elastic waistband into a sundress is hike the waist up over your breasts and put a sash or belt around your waist.

I, however, don't do strapless without a serious foundation garment. So, I simply opened up the side seams on the top tier to make armholes. I slapped on a belt, in a moment of inspiration (or lunacy, you be the judge!) I turned the belt buckle to the back to add a little interest. I slapped on a brooch and--voila!-- I'm ready for my husband to take me out to dinner. Now, if only finding a babysitter was this easy...

Bring on the kaftans

It is July in Los Angeles. The heat is getting intense, temperatures are nearing 100 degrees in our concrete jungle. Let's face it, tank tops and shorts don't make much of a fashion statement, and they don't even keep a person very cool, leaving your skin to bake in the blazing sun. So, I got to thinking, "What Would Jesus Do?" Not in a religious sense, but in the sense that he lived in a hot, dry climate in a time before hot pants and tube tops. So after poking around a little, I learned that the key to beating the heat may be to wear more clothes, not less. Long, loose-fitting garments in light colors made of natural fibers (think linen, cotton, silk) will keep the air flowing and shade your body from the sun. That's why inhabitiants of the Middle East and North Africa wear kaftans. I went on a mission and found a really lovely selection of stylish and comfy looking warm-weather wear at eShakti. These good people will even customize your order for you to ensure the most flattering, comfortable fit for your body.

I've put a few on my wishlist...

One for taking my kids to the park
One for going to a fancy dinner
One to wear around the house
And one or two for a night on the town.

If a kaftan isn't in your future, you could always just get naked and stand in front of the fan with a spray bottle of water!

*Image courtesy of Hijabi Couture