in one of the recent threadbanger videos, zoh morrigan of morrigan NYC gives a how-to on how to make a pair of spats! oooh!! me like!
i've long felt that spats were a fun accessory, a visually interesting way to make one's shoe wardrobe go even further. they can be made out of any sturdy but flexible fabric, like say, canvas, denim, leather, patent leather, suede, and the like, which means they can be totally customized and made to suit. they are being shown off in the vid as being inspired by/made to compliment steampunk style(s), but in my mind's eye i can see them adding a little bit of interest to any look, really, from sporty to fairly feminine...
etsy love: wooly bison
whilst poking around on etsy looking for what's what in duffel bags these days (i love duffels at the moment! a bit of an obsession...) i came across these bags (one of which is a duffel, natch!) by etsy-ian wooly bison, who hails from seattle. all the handmade bags and accessories wooly bison creates are pilfered from secondhand/used wool suit jackets. such a smart, sassy (re)use of (what are normally often) staid, serious materials, no?
the duffels are super cute (!!!), but i am also grooving pretty hard on the navaho applique on the gray bag pictured above, as i am into folk textiles of the world (duh!); additionally, i gather that navaho and all things native american are currently having a moment at the moment...so i thought i'd let you whose aesthetic leans toward such things know about this lovely piece as well.
also, extra info for ya: wooly bison has a blog & a flickr page, which you can (now) peruse at your leisure.
(vintage) book peeks: golden hands bargello
for a long time i have been yearning to take books from my collection, and show you and share with you their interesting insides. not all of them are "fashion" related, but are inspiring all the same. i can't keep all this good stuff to myself! i want to share it! when i can find the time (i have so little of it these days, what gives? *sigh*) maybe i will share some peeks into my books with you. cool?
perhaps they will inspire you somehow, even if it's for something as simple as a clever color combination in the clothes you deign to wear or perhaps a personal touch you can maybe add to something you're making (clothes or otherwise)? or maybe they can just fun to look at!? i think so!
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most of the books in my library are craft, art, or fashion related. i am a book lover, a book addict. i especially love old books, and seek them out wherever i can: thrift stores, antique fairs, amazon, ebay, you name it. i love the old, sometimes forgotten tomes and styles of the past; old books are a lovely window into past styles, fads, and norms. so, so fascinating, no?
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here's a book i found at a thrift store this past week for one dollar: golden hands bargello.
looks like it's from the 70s. for those who don't know, bargello is a style of needlepoint embroidery, usually employing wool yarn, which is stitched to a canvas backing. you often see it adorning old pillows, ottomans, and the like, but it can and has been used to adorn clothing and accessories. decorator/ceramacist jonathan adler has famously used bargello on some of his pillow designs.
i love bargello for a bunch of reasons: it's graphic, it's textural, and there's a lot of potential for colorplay. i love bargello best when it's especially colorful...the more riotous the colors, the more i like it, as is my way! i have a small collection of bargello pillows, i would like to add to it over time, if time and money will allow!
anyway, here you go:
love this shot and all the pillows, immediately made me think of the interiors work of wary meyers (whom i LOVE):
love the bottom pattern here:
patchwork! yes!:
more patchwork, yes x2!:
this one is especially timely for me...i found a tiny little ottoman at a thrift this week that i want to restore/restyle/referb, and seeing this page (and the whole book, really!) totally makes me want to stitch up a little bargello topper for it!
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fun, eh?