You can fake a set-in sleeve by using any sleeve shape you want and inserting it into the armhole and add a soft sophistication to any garment by creating a sleeve that looks like it belonged there all along.
For this blouse, I chose a sleeve with a slight puff (as opposed to “pouf” which conjures up disturbing leg-of-mutton images from the 1980’s) is work appropriate while maintaining a floaty, ladylike charm. This technique works with sleeveless t-shirts as well.
For short sleeves, you'll need 1/2 yard fabric. Buy 1 yard of fabric if you plan to insert long sleeves.
J.Crew Skirt | LOFT sweater | H/M Coat | Nine West Boots | FOSSIL bag | Target Watch
Eight inches of snow for Easter week in my fair town. Not kidding. Rather than searching for Easter eggs, we'll be letting the kiddos and our dog, Zeus, out for a romp in the snow. Maybe they can make snow bunnies instead of snowmen. I mean, who said traditions can't be broken?
But seriously, no one will be wearing white.
You don't have to go all gung-ho and demolition crazy to update a golden oldie into an of-the-moment accessory. Most times, all that's needed is a small adjustment...like a perfect row of studs, for example. I've wanted to refashion my navy clearance shoes ever since I saw an entire row of studded spring flats at the shoe store. Mission accomplished.
Getting a book published is a completely surreal experience, so it all feels more official after getting a glimpse of the cover. It's like hearing your baby's heart beat for the first time--
oh yeah, this is happening for realsie! Got the final cover spread from the layout designer this week--one step closer to publication!
The
Chic Girl's Guide (that's chic, like the Arabian sheikh, not the Chiclet variety) will soon be available for pre-order on amazon.com, which means you'll be able to sneak a peak at inside content within a few weeks.
Pinch me now.
Old Navy Skirt | GAP button-up | J.Crew Cardi | Nine West Boots | Target Watch | FOSSIL Maddox Bag
I'm still a DIYer...I promise.
It's just that after doing one sewing project a day during 20-ish straight days for
The Chic Girl's Guide, I sorta got burnt out on the whole sewing thing--but just sorta, so don't worry. I'll totally have more DIY projects comin' your way. It's just taking my a moment to ease myself back into a sewing routine.
In the meantime, I wanna congratulate EMILIE LEACH for winning the Shabby Apple Giveaway!
It seems emerald is everywhere this spring (in a way that has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day). The Pantone 2013 Color of the Year is lush, radiant and so very, very...awesome--the perfect shade to bridge the weather weirdness between January and April. So how are you wearing your green?
It's a Shabby Apple giveaway! I always love, love, love to browse the
Shabby Apple website for
modest dresses that have all kinds of personality, color and silhouettes.
Shabby Apple is offering one reader a $35 gift certificate to use for a purchase on their website.
These are my current faves. Much yumminess.
To enter the $35 gift certificate giveaway:
1. Like Shabby Apple on Facebook
here.
2. Leave a comment with your contact email.
(Winner will be chosen using random.org)
I haven't checked with any doctors, but I'm pretty sure it's physically impossible to feel unhappy while wearing a shirt dress, and the great ones are so hard to find at a moderate price point. I don't know why a shirt dress feels different from simply tucking a blouse into a skirt, but it just does. When you combine two pieces to create a dress, it's just so...permanent. You never have to worry about the kiddos pulling things out of place while they twist and turn in your lap.The shirt is always in place; the skirt never rides up. Result: Much yumminess.
This is a super-easy cheat to create a well-fitting piece you can style in a hundred ways, rain or shine. You'll want a blouse that has a small amount of extra room at the waist.
I used a blouse that was torn out at the waist and couldn't be worn anymore. This project gave me the chance to up-cycle it.
Ralph Lauren Dress | GAP Jacket | FOSSIL Maddox Bag | c/o RedEnvelope Watch | Steve Madden Flats
I'm reeling.
When I began to read Behind the Beautiful Forevers, I thought to read a book about people who were different from me, whose circumstances were so far removed that I might mentally struggle to put myself into their emotional space.
Then I discovered that the slum of India is the same as the realm in which I function. There is nothing much different between us. I live in a white-sided house in a presumably more progressive country, yet the stench of discontentment is appallingly similar to that in the open swamp where people live in plastic-bottle huts.
Even here, parents excuse and protect their children from hard work.
Grown men break their mother's hearts.
The disillusioned seek to spread their bitterness.
We are not so different.
Even here--maybe even especially here--surrounded by the dissenters, the complainers, the liars and the abandoned...it can be blisteringly hard to be good.
*Major soul-searching ahead.
"If the house is crooked and crumbling, and the land on which it sits is uneven,
is possible to make anything lie straight?" -- Katherine Boo
Kristina J. Copyright 2014
