Spring(field)/Summer '09

Score! A big fat fabric score, to be more precise. A friend who works for the Springfield clothing label, based here in bcn, was having a clearout at work and belled me up to let me know some fabric pieces were going begging. I was there at her offices with an empty suitcase almost before she had put the phone down. Their leftover bulk fabric samples from their Spring/Summer '09 range is now forming the basis for my own personal S/S '09 garment creation offensive!

Behold the results of the first assailment:

I used this pattern gleened from Burda World of Fashion 07/2008 magazine:
It's come out pretty big, in fact you don't even need to undo the back zip to get it on and off, but I'm pretty happy with the results when worn with tight jeans:

The fabric is feels super-nice, and I love the print. It's got in seam side pockets, for which the BWOF instructions were rubbish, so I turned to this Burdastyle How-To for assistance. I added a front ruffle/bib type affair to accentuate the curved yolk:

The overall style of this top combined with the fabric print reminds me of garments by the Danish clothing brand nümph, of whom I am a big fan. Onwards, to the next assault......

Pattern Crush

I'd like to admit to sometimes having pattern crushes. Once I've seen a wantable creation online, or sometimes multiple creations using the same domestic pattern, then I'm unable to rest until I have it in my possession. In theory I should be able to recreate the pattern myself from scratch, but a combination of distrust of my skills and laziness invariably makes me reach for ebay, rather than the pattern cutting paper and set square. But purchasing the pattern is just the first step to developing the crush. I will then use the pattern a squillion times, varying the fabrics and making style/fit modifications, until I fear that, despite these changes, people will start to notice that my wardrobe effectively consists of only one generic garment.

I wrote here about my Built By Wendy #3835 crush. To date I have made four variations of that pattern. Another long standing pattern crush is with the Simplicity #4589:

The first two interpretations I made were given to friends without documentation. However, I would like to share with you the second two. Both were made from small pieces of fabric aquired for 50p from a bargain bin in a shop on Goldhawk Road, whilst fabric hunting with my gal Michelle and some other random crew from the Sewing Group I used to organise in London. The first version I lengthed to be more of a tunic. I think the simplicity (excuse the pun) of this garment provides a good foundation to show off the beautiful floral print. The back of the garment uses the plain part of this sheer fabric. The whole thing is pretty foxy and a tad revealing:

I was in a rush making this garment, and subsequently must give props to my mum for hand-binding the armholes with self fabric for me:

Then second is a flutter sleeved affair, that has already seen a fair few outings so far despite being only a month old. The fabric is some sort of amazing glazed cotton (?) that feels super-slinky:

This time it was I who got to work hand-binding the armhole, using a blind technique taught to me by Mumma Edwards (she's the last word in hand-binding, it would appear):

These tops were quick to sew, mainly because of the lack of fastenings, and super-wearable, mainly for the pretty loose fit. But I know what you're thinking: all well and good showing us them on some mannequin Zo, but we want to see how these things fly in real life. Well here's my main girl Vic modelling the floral number when she came to visit in February:

Taggery-Pokery

Things seem to be getting a bit viral round here these days. The lovely Christine has seen fit to tag me in a questionsaire thingy. And what's good enough for Christine......

These are the rules:

1. Answer the questions, but replace one question with a question of your own; and also, add a question of your own. (I decided to delete a feww and add two new ones).

2. Tag eight other un-tagged people. (I've reinterpretted this as one).

Add the most recent picture you took to the top of this post.

What is your current obsession? Bicing (the city communal bicycle system)

What are you wearing right now? Faded black skinny jeans, misshapen stripey top and cosy baggy grey cardi, it's a midweek look, nothing worth writing home about.

Do you nap a lot? I live in Spain, it's pretty compulsory here, although I've always been a fan due to my inability to sleep properly most nights.

What's for dinner? We just came back from our language exchange/dinner. We had vegetable soup and amazing chicken and date things on skewers.

What are you listening to right now? Portishead, a live version of Dummy.

What is your favourite weather? Spring weather like today, warm and sunny with clear blue skies, it feels so optimistic after the grey winter. Also conditions that make for great sunsets.

What's on your beside table? Handcream, tissues, alarm clock and book. Exciting times.

Say something to the person/s who tagged you. Hi Christine! I think you should be subsidised so all you have to do all day is make beautiful clothes and photos that provide inspiration for the rest of us.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Here in Barcelona so that me and my boy are secure and won't have to spend so much time worrying about paying the rent!

Favourite vacation spot? Jeez, that's so tricky. I find San Francisco very inspirational, but am hoping to visit NY and Mexico within the next couple of years.

Name the things you can't live without. I've learnt that I'm able to live without an awful lot, but that life is much better when I have certain luxuries around, like my sewing machine and wine. So only really the ability to speak to my friends and family, ideally in the flesh.

What would you like to have in your hands right now? Some new Built By You patterns.

What is the last movie you watched? Waltz With Bashir. Pretty high-brow, but I can't pretend I understood it all.

Name three movies that deeply impressed you and that you still think about. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Zeitgeist: Addendum, and U-Turn.

How do you spend your time on public transport? On the metro I read a book, when using bicing I focus on trying not to get killed.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? My folks sofa to be with them and drink wine, chat, and eat Cadbury's Dairy Milk.

What do you wish to accomplish 5 years from now? To be making at least part of my income from sewing, be living in a warehouse that we have converted ourselves, to be growing most of our own fruit and veg, and be shit-hot at speaking Spanish! Oh, and have an extensive wardrobe full of envy-inducing self made clothes!

Put a picture here of your current hometown/city:

I tag Occasional Martha. If you don't fancy it lady, fair enough, no pressure!

'Chain, chain, chain, chain of blogs'

Well I'm feeling pretty spesh right now. This state is particularly pleasant considering the arse couple of weeks that have recently passed. A quick run down: losing a load of work with no warning and reaching new levels of skint that I previously only could imagine I was capable of, plus dealing with the subsequent accompanying fear whilst new work was being procured. THEN getting evicted after less than four weeks in our flat, and losing our subtantial deposit through no fault of our own. Fear not, good times will soon be upon us once the latest escape is complete. Then I can get back to contemplating and creating, and filling this blogs raison d'etre.

So I was super grateful to receive the above award from the lovely Occasional Martha. My interpretation is that it's an award for 'Services to Blogland'. Well, she wrote a summary about this blog that was so nice it made me all warm inside. I have decided to celebrate with something else that makes me warm inside:

I've discovered a pretty tasty red Vermouth (renamed Nan-juice by me, as the flavour reminds me of my nan, which is strange because Gin was her poison) from the 'budget' supermarket chain Dia for a mere €1.75! Skintness is the mother of discovery, but I warn you, the hangovers are particularly vicious. That is the nature of this beast, what you save in cash, you lose in vitality the next day.

Well, the rule of receiving this award is that I must pass on the honour, so here are my ten choices, in no particular order:

1, Michelle, my girl from London, has a beautifully perfect blog called Naughty Little Peacock. Her style and creations are fantastical, magical and eclectically influenced.

2, I've been checking out Cheap Opulence for an eon. The content never fails to amuse or fascinate me and somehow every image she includes I find hugely inspirational.

3, I came by Sweet Sassafras through Wardrobe Refashion, when she posted about her self made vintage inspired wedding dress. Her creations and blog are a window to beautiful pre-WW2 stylings. Her new sewing patterns project is a very exciting development that I'm following with baited breath.

4, For some time Christine was a mythical creature who existed on Burdastyle displaying her amazingly perfect garment creations through amazingly perfect photography. Well, guess what? She's real, lives in London, and knows my mate Michelle in one of those 'it's a small world' type ways!

5, I have to include Wardrobe Refashion, because my discovery and involvement in this blog/pledge has genuinely changed my life and way of thinking about fashion, and consumption in general for that matter.

6, For Me, For You provides me with a regular reminder that there's more out there in the world from which to draw inspiration than merely clothes alone. The author acts as a filter for beautiful and interesting things that saves the rest of us a lot of time!

7, In a similar vein to Wardrobe Refashion, Sew Retro is a community blog, rather than a single author affair. I'm not actually a member, but have been visiting the site for doses of vintage pattern/fabric/garment pornography for a number of years.

8, I know this is a Sisterhood award, but I need to make an exception. I also must admit to a sizable obession with the comedian and writer Dave Gorman. I have been lucky enough to see him in the flesh a couple of times (at radio/TV recordings and book readings, if I'm a stalker, then I'm a legit one!), I even spotted him wandering around the east London market where I used to have a stall once. Anyway, his blog is interesting and witty, and at times laugh-out-loud-til-you're-crying funny.

9, A Dress A Day has kept me entertained whilst I blatantly should have been working on more occassions than I care to admit. I love the way Erin fully indulges and celebrates her dress sewing obsession. Her posts are so diverse and perfectly crafted, I am amazed she has any free time left for sewing at all. Plus, she is side-splittingly funny.

10, I have no recollection of how I discovered Yard Sale Bloodbath. However, it indulges my predisposition to nose into other peoples unwanted belongings, which goes some way to patching up the massive charity-shop-and-bootsale-shaped gap left in my life after moving away from the UK. It's a bit like looking into a parallel universe, as I'm sure I'd spend my weekends in a very similar fashion if I lived in the USA.

Thanks again Martha!

Creation House-Keeping

Time for a little house-keeping. Seeing as my sewing equipment has arrived and I have already been sewing up a storm, I thought I'd get up to date by presenting for your viewing pleasure some garms that I made earlier.

First up, the above pictures are of a blouse I made last year from the JJ Burdastyle pattern. I have loved pretty much EVERY version of this pattern I have seen on Burdastyle, and produced my own from a tablecloth bought from a charity shop in Leigh for a mere £1! My mum helped fit the blouse better, and I'm lazy so I 'reinterpreted' the sleeve band/button fastening into a less time consuming cheeky elastic casing affair. The buttons are super-cute little flowers. As I recall, it was my ex who suggested stitching them on with yellow thread to look like the centre of the flowers. I remember laughing my arse off that he had conjured up an opinion about sewing. After I finished laughing I realised it was a very good idea and quietly got on with it. Anyway, it's a pretty spring-like creation so I'm sure it'll be getting a lot more wear in the coming months.

Next up are two dresses that were whipped up from the same pattern from the November Burda World of Fashion magazine (AKA: BWOF, FYI!). These were created whilst I was back in UK for christmas. I had been so starved of sewing that I was virtually panting whilst making them.

The 'day' version is made from a dark grey wool blend, and the 'evening' version from a stretch dark blue/grey satin. These creations serve to remind me how different the results of patterns can look simply by altering the fabric. Which is why I've learnt not to judge the illustrations on manaufactured patterns, or the photographs in BWOF, and to go straight to the technical drawing so as not to cloud any potential that may be hidden under hideous fabric choices!

Anyways, the satin version got it's debut on NYE. The only photographic evidence is from the end of the evening, I'm clearly exhausted from all dress-based compliments I'd received. Really.

Ok, that's a bit of backlog dealt with, new garms are coming, watch this space......(well, the space directly above this post).

Who knew I could create ANOTHER post based on these sites again?

There has been months of waiting, planning and preparation. Awaiting the new arrival so that the future can begin. The inevitable next stage that has been waiting in the wings. The last part has been the most uncomfortable, for sure. ‘Get on with it!’ I’ve wanted to scream. Well, not long now, next week it’s due....

MY SEWING STUFF!!!!!!!!!!! I can start the process of realisation of all my plans from the last seven and a half months. Umm, well, the plans that actually involve sewing anyway. Spring, the season of new beginnings, coincidentally is also just around the corner (I’m not going to claim an involvement , spring usually rocks on up around this time). So I’ve been checking out what my inspirators have prepared for the coming season. Check this cheekily wearable dress by Built By Wendy:

I know what your thinking: 'Nice, though something feels familiar'. Correct, well done. The top part is JUST LIKE the Anda dress pattern available on Burdastyle. You may or not, depending on whether or not you have seen me in the flesh over the last two summers, remember my African fabric interpretation:

The Built By Wendy discovery has encouraged me to revisit this pattern. I'd say the main fault with my last Anda attempt was that my gathering was neither particularly empire line (under the bust), like this fantastic interpretation:

or particularly waist line, like this beauty:

This purple version also shows how well this pattern translates into stretch fabric. Hmm..... 'Why the hell are you worried about elastic/gathering placement, Zo?', I hear you saying now, 'Haven't you seen the Burdastyle member Spasmodic's creation?'. My, you're mouthy today! But you've got a point:

Well, aside from the tasty assymetric front pleats and a self-belt, what else does Built By Wendy have to bring to the table in terms of Anda-esque design variations? POCKETS! That's what.

Fashion Tradeshows: A Brief History

A couple of weeks ago I was in the privileged position to be the holder of a press pass at the Bread & Butter fashion tradeshow here in bcn. See that beautiful view in the picture above? That is the view from the press lounge. I managed to find a brief second between scoffing free sandwiches and cava to take the shot. Tough times!

Now, this wasn’t the first fashion tradeshow I have attended. Previously I have attended some in Paris and London, but not for a number of years, and certainly not with the amount of access that the press pass, company cards and my nearly-thirty-years-old increased confidence gave me. In fact, the last clothing tradeshow I attended was actually through being part of the catering, from which I was able to ditch my BBQ company uniform, and stalk the stalls with my mate pretending to be buyers! What I was attempting, aside from eating as many free sweets from the stands as possible and generally having a nose around, was to get lots of contact info from which to apply for jobs. This, in hindsight, was actually pretty stupid, as I wanted to work in production, and the people there were from sales departments. But anyway.

This time I wasn’t after a job. I have a job now. I was at Bread & Butter to report on up and coming brands and to take photos of the freshest products. I got my work done, then got to have a good look around, even, between you and me, using my company cards to secure a few extra interviews for my own ends (eg, see the previous post). The tradeshows I went to in the past were before I actually properly worked in the clothing industry, and had knowledge of what it was like from the inside. I remember walking around, having ditched the catering uniform, aching to be part of these brands. It is so nice to be able to say that I no longer want to be part of any of them. The role I desire is on the outside, using the industry for inspiration and ammunition in equal measure.