22 weeks tomorrow. hiding it.

i can hardly believe i’m standing right now…as i mentioned in my (not so) random links post yesterday, i’ve felt very sick the past few days, suffering from a beastly head/chest cold.

but i need to leave the house: i’m on a mission to drop off some shoes at the cobbler. and buy new bras, as being pregnant precludes such purchases. *sigh*

-red-orange vintage enameled hoop earrings: thrifted
-red-orange vintage flower pin: thrifted
-purple, red and lavender striped merino men’s sweater worn as a scarf: thrifted
-gray sweater coat: thrifted
-purple knit tunic: old navy maternity
-black leggings: AA
-black boots of amazingness: frye

another week gone by, another batch of wonderfulness. behold!

spring may have sprung, but around w_r, black still reigns.

this here is the ORIGINAL and OFFICIAL weekly wardrobe_remix recap of the latest and the greatest from the wardrobe_remix community, from yours truly, the creator of wardrobe_remix!

any wardrobe_remix photos that find themselves here showcase great style + great photography = the two meet and merrily marry to make a perfect expression of YOU and your singular personal style! and i’ve said it a million times before, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it…the ticket is the confidence and sureness you exude when you express yourself the way that makes YOU feel most comfortable. that confidence shines through and is captured on film. so whether you’re wearing couture clothes from the finest designers, mass market threads, thrifted stuff, or even a shirt you found on the side of the road…rock it! it’s ALL GOOD and it’s ALL WELCOME in wardrobe_remix!

No Signposts:


shopaholic supergirl:


emilie who?:


dj bardot:


sherbet tone:


DrusticHarrington:


and Nancy says:

thanks to everyone who’s been posting about wardrobe_remix or featuring fashions and folks from the group in their own blogs or websites. thanks for getting the word out. i am glad that wardrobe_remix inspires you! remember to give credit to the people in the aforementioned photos (if you use them in your blog posts, etc.) and to wardrobe_remix itself. it’s good internet/blogging karma! (plus it actually goes with flickr’s terms of service and a little thing called copyright!)

remember: you can click on the photo of any of these terrific wardrobe_remix(ers) to learn more about their photo or outfit, explore their flickr photostream, and beyond. all of the photos are owned by the awesome people who are depicted in them, of course!

join us over at wardrobe_remix and show off your awesome EVERYDAY trendbusting and trend-SETTING personal style!

spread the word!

and see you there!

sorry so quiet this week. this time it’s my fault…i’ve got a beastly head/chest cold and pretty much zero energy. bah.

but here you go! tons and tons of links to make up for the lack of post-age on my part!

-not many fashion announcements of fashion lines get me all excited and stuff, but damn, i’m looking forward to the much talked about marimekko/h&m collaboration, available in h&m stores starting in april 2008 (via the telegraph). beats all that target/go-international stuff by a mile, i say! marimekko! mid-century modern finnish goodness! WOO HOO! let’s hope it lives up to the hype, i might actually cave and buy some. *crosses fingers*

see also: a preview of the marimekko/h&m collection at nitrolicious

-marc jacobs and his designs for his various labels have been so hit and miss/been boring the hell out of me for most of the last several years/seasons (what happened to all the good stuff he was churning out in the early 2000’s? i miss the old, unfit, more creative marc! come back, old school marc jacobs!). one of the more interesting things he’s churned out of late were the LEGO accessories he showed during the spring 2008 show. such a thing is so easy to copy it’s silly! c’mon, who’s he kidding, anyway??

so on that note: morgan of panda head shows you how to DIY your own marc jacobs-esque LEGO belt on a recent post on brightest young things…in this case it’s WAY better than dropping a gazillion bucks for the real thing.

get a gander at what those studious smarties over at university of california at berkeley are wearing right now by checking out this slideshow of such over berkeley.edu. those berkley beauties have also launched their own fashion mag, bare, that comes in a quarterly format.

-a curious but slightly non-sensical body art trend that reminds me of those strangely popular inner lip tattoos: tooth tattoos! (via offbeat ink)

-vanity sizing: why does this still persist?? (via the seattle times) why can’t we just pick a number for a size and stick with it? NUMBERS DON’T MATTER, whether something FITS you does. sizes are a joke. if i ever have my own line of clothing (ha!) it’s all gonna just have measurements (bust, waist, hip, whatever’s applicable to said garment)…none of this arbitrary random number crap.

-inspiration, ahoy! outsapop has posted 99 pages of clippings from her inspiration book. i suggest following her suggestion: also check out the inspiration book flickr group. some time ago (years now? wow.), i also posted some snaps of my favorite pages in my fashion clippings book (they start w/ that photo, scroll through). maybe i’ll do that again. what catches our eye says so much about us, just like what we wear, collect, eat…and everything else!

-cycle chic is hitting critical mass! (pun intended) it’s a good thing too: biking is good exercise, and good for the environment. forgo the odd spandex shorts, people: you can and should look stylish while pedaling around! make the effort! garner inspiration from the likes of london’s cycle chic, copenhagen cycle chic (who’s been mentioned here before, back in november!), and flickr’s velocouture.

see also: this round-up of ridiculously cute bike baskets on cool hunting

and check out: wardrobe_remix’s own madebytess, one of the most fabulous fashionistas on two wheels (or off!)…

-william good (the san francisco area goodwill venture that restyles discards that i mentioned here this past fall) is looking for a new lead designer. if i had 3 years of actual factual design experience, i might apply! perhaps you or a friend qualifies? spread the word.

quick quick and dirty dirty:

-i don’t give a crap if shrugs are ‘out’, this nob hill shrugy pattern thing on knitty is lovely. and something that a preggy person with an ever-expanding belly like mine could actually wear *right now*. ‘cept in a bright color or somethin’, natch.

-a video about how “buttons are made” (via craft:). starring indie goddess miranda july. hee, hee, hee!

-a tutorial on linoleum printing on indie fixx. do it up on some fabric and make yourself some clothes out of it! yeah!

-these mary jane baby booties are so twee they make me squee!! i plan on making several for le girl bebe with various bits of leftover yarn (of which i have much).

again, send me your links! heard or seen anything cool around the nets you want to share? tell me and i just might put it here in a future (not so) random links post.

(need some ideas? send over bits of interest or suggestions on websites, cool links, other people’s blogs, and news that others might find interesting too…fashiony, stylish things of any of those descriptions that you just can’t keep to yourself!)

i’ll post the highlights some of your sent-in links in another future post! (thanks to those who sent some my way!)

please tell me i am not the only one who gets really, REALLY sad when his/her sewing machine is broken!?

*sigh*

it’s been a while. i know! so sorry.

better late that never, i always say!

so, here’s the latest installment of etsy love!

this time around, it’s all about DrikaB!

i discovered DrikaB via a very recent post on the exceedingly tasteful and lovely design blog creature comforts. thanks to the etsy profile page found on DrikaB’s etsy shop, i learned that the maker of these beautious bags is a brazilian transplant who resides in the san francisco bay area. hey, right near me!

DrikaB states that “her primary goal is to keep making things that are practical and fun”, and her line of handmade bags are certainly true to that self-motivated directive. ‘colorful’, whimsical, and ‘designed decidedly different’ are descriptives that i’d deign to assign her work. i love her modern sensibility in the use of materials and the pattern-play she employs, and even the decision to use a heavy burlap-like strapping seems genius to me…it ups the texture stakes, and provides an almost utilitarian feel to the bags that contrasts nicely with the graphic fabrics found in her work in abundance. perfecto, people!

DrikaB bags not only look super sturdy (seemingly sewn PERFECTLY, people, no dubious ‘deconstructionist’ look or excuse in evidence here!), they also appear to be nice and roomy. i saw one tote measuring a generous 16″ by 18″, for example, allowing the lucky owner of such a bag to pack it with a day’s needs with utmost ease. the insides of her bags (the totes at least) are complete with pockets for whatever one likes…pads? pens? wallets? you decide.

and DrikaB is prolific! examples of her past designs can be found on her etsy sold items page. what lucky folks those current DrikaB bag owners are! just like a creature comforts…i’m almost about to cave and snap one of these stunners up myself! think one of those totes might make a good baby bag?? (haha!)

want more? check out DrikaB
viva etsy!

again, it’s been a bit slow lately with the fashion news, especially that of the business-y, culturally significant variety.

anywho, i still have links for yoooo, albeit of the more crafty and DIY variety. which is always, always good! right? right.

-here’s the way to excite a long time vintage pattern junkie like myself! via burdastyle comes news of a commercial pattern archive hosted by the university of rhode island. said archive contains 25,000 scanned patterns, and the oldest of those patterns dates back to 1868. you can peruse the archive of these vintage patterns via a CD they have for sale. a small price to pay for a vast education of fashions of the last 150 years, i think! (more information on the u of ri’s COPA website.)

-laupre has a how-to on how you can make your own sewn ‘legwarmers’…some sassy buttoned ones that to me look more like spats. spats are so, so chic, methinks. who doesn’t like a piece of leather or fabric that can turn a chic shoe into a boot (so to speak!) in a second? (via craft:)

-onegirl, a fellow blogger, maker, and crafter, is expecting a baby girl too! and it’s just my luck (and your luck too, maybe!?), as she recently posted a listing of links of patterns to knit some sweet, easy little sweaters totally suited for little girls (and really, little boys, too!). more patterns for baby wearables can be found on knitting pattern central as well. baby needs to be chic too, and nothing is more chic for baby than a handmade sweater, right?

and, hey…i’m putting out a call for YOU to get involved with this link fun!:

send me your links! heard or seen anything cool around the nets you want to share? tell me and i just might put it here in a future (not so) random links post.

not links to promote your own blog, really, ya?

but..more like bits of interest or suggestions on websites, cool links, other people’s blogs, and news that others might find interesting too…fashiony, stylish things of any of those descriptions that you just can’t keep to yourself!

got it? good!

comment away!

holy hannah! holy cow! jeebus!

the goodness just keeps getting…gooder?

there were so many awesome photos i wanted to post, but couldn’t post them all! so i went with a few extra this time…for your delight and perusal. thus proving, as always, how MEGA wonderful wardrobe_remix is! dontcha agree?

this here is the ORIGINAL and OFFICIAL weekly wardrobe_remix recap of the latest and the greatest from the wardrobe_remix community, from yours truly, the creator of wardrobe_remix!

any wardrobe_remix photos that find themselves here showcase great style + great photography = the two meet and merrily marry to make a perfect expression of YOU and your singular personal style! and i’ve said it a million times before, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it…the ticket is the confidence and sureness you exude when you express yourself the way that makes YOU feel most comfortable. that confidence shines through and is captured on film. so whether you’re wearing couture clothes from the finest designers, mass market threads, thrifted stuff, or even a shirt you found on the side of the road…rock it! it’s ALL GOOD and it’s ALL WELCOME in wardrobe_remix!

softspoken:


coquelicot sleep:


emilie who?:


shopaholic supergirl:


hique:


becktress:


laska.wanilii:


the snail and the cyclops:


ryfka:

thanks to everyone who’s been posting about wardrobe_remix or featuring fashions and folks from the group in their own blogs or websites. thanks for getting the word out. i am glad that wardrobe_remix inspires you! remember to give credit to the people in the aforementioned photos (if you use them in your blog posts, etc.) and to wardrobe_remix itself. it’s good internet/blogging karma! (plus it actually goes with flickr’s terms of service and a little thing called copyright!)

remember: you can click on the photo of any of these terrific wardrobe_remix(ers) to learn more about their photo or outfit, explore their flickr photostream, and beyond. all of the photos are owned by the awesome people who are depicted in them, of course!

join us over at wardrobe_remix and show off your awesome EVERYDAY trendbusting and trend-SETTING personal style!

spread the word!

and see you there!

my online pal, writer and crafter/designer susan beal (of west coast crafty fame) just came out with a gorgeous new jewelry-making tome called bead simple, which is jam-packed with information, instructions, and a huge selection of projects that promise to make the making of jewelry with beads and baubles super-easy, and the results of such making stunning.

the thing that really sets bead simple apart from the pack, i think, is the clean, modern feel of the art direction of the book as a whole. well-lit, thoughtfully-arranged photos and simple illustrations abound, and are coupled with easy-to-understand instructions. as a complete work, the book is a superb, approachable launch pad for any reader/crafter’s creativity and idiosyncratic personal style.

another facet of the book that i feel takes it to another level is the inclusion of reams of projects created by a cabal of crafters whose names are well-known to those in the know: jennifer perkins, leah kramer, and many, MANY more. this gathering of creative folks gives the book a diverse feel…ensuring that there’s something for everyone as far as projects and inspiration are concerned.

some of my favorite projects from the book include…

this riotously colorful bracelet formed from deliciously disparate beads (by jennifer perkins):

i’m a vintage button fangirl, so why this one caught my eye is obvious:

and…full disclosure: i have a project in the book as well! it’s these low and swingy ‘pop organic’ earrings, that can be found on page 55 (should you possibly be interested).

thanks, susan, for allowing me to participate and create a project for your book! i’m so proud of you.

while lazing about on my couch in a moody, pregnant haze several weeks back, i happened to spot a show in the comcast line-up called glamour’s 50 biggest fashion do’s and don’ts. though such programs aren’t my favored fare (i usually end of watching odd science or medical shows actually!), i gave into my morbid curiosity (and laziness, yes!) and tuned in to see what the “experts” therein would choose to bash or bolster.

it all seemed pretty ridiculous…it was mostly a show made for the express purpose of slaying the sartorial choices of celebs, or trashing the clothing choices of us commoners…fashion was the target du jour for a litany of comedy and quips, really.

OF COURSE, many of the ‘don’ts’ they offered up had me disagreeing, and defiantly and audibly talking back to the TV (which of course just wasn’t listening or responding! hah!). i couldn’t help myself!

what really got me going was that i noticed 90% of the segments on the show were ‘don’ts’. it was as if barely anything was proper and right style-wise to the folks participating and making the show…about the only “allowable” fashion do’s included things like owning and wearing a prissy set of pearls and a ’smart suit’. boring, staid stuff was about the only thing that seemed to be tolerable enough to score a coveted ‘do’. anything experimental was a comedic target, a joke…thinking outside the box with your self-expression = not allowed, says glamour. unless you wanna be laughed at.

see, i don’t think much can be written-off wholesale, fashion-wise…because inevitably, there will be that one person (or many people!) to whom that piece or look will be completely natural, perfect, and just work. a person or many might wear that piece in a new, experimental, innovative way…and that’s the kind of thing that i love about fashion. i adore those people who persevere, pushing-forward with fashion fearlessly…they are the ones who help to define new paradigms that will change the minds and eventually effect the wallets of thousands if not millions. otherwise, how would anything change??

mistakes are inevitably going to be made along the way with such experimentation. and…so what? it’s part of the game of style! it’s supposed to be FUN, not so freaking regimented and serious. “messing up” or going out on a limb can be delicious. such experimentation rarely hurts anyone.

of course people have opinions. they love certain things. and conversely, they have things that they find aesthetically distasteful. it’s totally okay to not be into something, and to be really into other things. that’s great! it’s part of finding one’s personal style, tapping into one’s design sense. it’s what makes us all different, makes the world an interesting, varied place…that inherent diversity of perspective and taste. if everyone or every person was the same, in their style, or otherwise, the world would be a really boring place.

so yeah, the show was mostly garbage. but the whole premise of the program got me thinking…and going off on a critical little fashion tangent. and i started brewing a bunch of questions in my brain.

(some sensical, some not, i admit! such is the nature of my brain lately!)

-why is there so much fear involved with fashion/style? why is there so much fear surrounding the possibility of being seen as a don’t? what’s going to REALLY happen to you if someone dislikes what you choose to wear? why is it a big deal to “screw up” with fashion or style? does it really matter in the BIG scheme of things?

-if everything even remotely edgy is a ‘don’t', then what exactly is a ‘do’ anymore? are there actual, factual rules one should follow with fashion? is it better or easier somehow if we all look exactly the same?

-who makes these do and don’t lists?
where does the authority of these individuals REALLY come from?
what kind of background does one require to be an expert in this arena?
and also, can there really be any ‘experts’ when fashion and style are such subjective subjects?
AND, why should we take these alleged arbiters of style seriously if their ‘don’t’ list this season completely contradicts their ‘do’ list from last season?
what is the agenda of these list-makers?

-better yet, who HEEDS these do and don’t lists?
do people appreciate the ability to not have to think for themselves?
is it easier to just sit back and do what one is told to do?
do people realize these lists are as subjective as the style of the person creating them?

-is there anything in fashion or style that is unequivocally a ‘don’t', that absolutely no one should attempt? is anything absolutely a ‘do’ that applies to every single person? (this one is similar to one of the above questions, i know…)

- what is all this ‘don’t-ing’ and ‘do-ing’ really all about? is it just about getting us to buy new stuff? is it merely cultural? do we just eventually tire of things aesthetically, collectively? is that fatigue to be expected, perhaps? does the fatigue of some alleged arbiters really make it ‘wrong’ for the rest of us?

if you feel like it, pipe up! i’d love to hear your thoughts (as usual).

as i mentioned in the most recent wardrobe_remix(ers) o’ the week post, i’ve been quite busy this week with personal stuff. mostly work, dr. & midwife appointments, and the like. and just resting some. so i am a little slow with things like etsy love posts and such, and for that, my apologies! will of course resume posting with some regularity soonish…my backlog of to-be-posted posts can attest to the fact that i have at least been making a stab at this blogging thing! life just happens.

but on with the obsessions:

-the biggest one, the one that’s been unspoken to a large degree and as yet unmentioned here but HUGE for me this week: we found out that we are having a little GIRL! i am so insanely happy about that, i can hardly even speak. now that i’ve had a little tiny peek at her (via ultrasound this past monday), i’ve fallen in love with her even more, and i feel like i can actually start preparing for her arrival with the making of twee baby dresses, knit or crochet garments, blankies, and other needs. i had sort of had a moratorium against making such until this juncture, out of fear (long story). the little sea monkey seems happy…she’s kicking me with vigor regularly for a couple weeks now!

-finding clothes that actually fit. i’ve finally started to bust out belly-wise and regular jeans and skirts just don’t cut the mustard anymore. if you can believe it, i was still wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans somewhat comfortably up until about a week ago (with some clever macgyvering, natch). but such rigging measures have finally lost their efficacy. *sniffle* i’m slowly acquiring new garments that more comfortably accommodate my changing shape. i am wanting to write about my experiences thus far and more about pregnancy style. i hope to do so again sooner rather than later. so many ideas, yet, so many things to do and too little time! ha.

-going to hawaii at the end of april. oh yeah!!! looking way forward to that. resting and relaxing on the beach, woo! with a ginormous belly, woo! it will be good. i need a break from life and i think that little vacay will be just the ticket for me and the mans (and a calm before the storm that shall be a new baby in our lives).

-and, reading. voraciously. right now it’s born in the usa. it’s deep, it’s medical, it’s kinda political. it’s sort of my regular fare at the moment (baby/birth literature). unsurprisingly.

(ok, it’s almost all baby- or pregnancy-related. oops!)