window shopping in soho

Spring has sprung in SoHo!

L'Occitane

On my recent fabric shopping trip to NYC, I took a detour to SoHo for some window shopping. It's a cool high rent area famous for it's lofts and industrial past. The former factory buildings and warehouses look like tall wedding cakes to me. The don't make 'em like that anymore!

SoHo is short for "south of Houston" (pronounced How-ston- don't give yourself away if you're a tourist). It is bordered on the South by Canal Street where Chinatown starts.

click to enlarge the map

There didn't used to be so many chain stores, but all the shops make an effort with their window displays down here. I managed to snap a few with my suitcase full of fabric in tow (not recommended).

BCBG

BCBG at 120 Wooster: full-on spring with bright color and scarf pattern prints.

Lucky Brand

Lucky Brand

Lucky Brand at 38 Greene Street: Bright fuchsia balanced with neutrals and cheetah print thrown in. Love the macrame bag!

JNBY

JNBY at 75 Greene Street: I guess tutus are here to stay. The bright yellow + khaki + white is unexpected. I like it.

Tibi

Tibi at 120 Wooster: pastels made sophisticated by tempering with tan & black.

Kate Spade

Kate Spade at 454 Broome Street: as always, crisp, bright, & fun. It's hard to see, but the mannequins have tennis raquets in their hair ;)

Giggle

Giggle, the baby store for überyuppies at 120 Wooster: irresistibly cute & modern baby stuff.

Giggle

Giggle carries Jonathan Adler's baby bags, Dwell bedding, Tea company clothes, and the latest in high end strollers and gear.

Wink

Wink at 129 Prince: embracing the bright accessories!

Crew Cuts

Crew Cuts in the J.Crew store at 99 Prince Street: the kids collection can seemingly do no wrong. They are so good at their styling and modernizing preppy.

Club Monaco

Club Monaco at 520 Broadway: soft transitional colors that are perfect for right now, but I'll never do the sock + sandals thing.

 Liberty print at APC at 131 Mercer. That one's a classic.

Ralph Lauren

And finally, Ralph Lauren at 379 West Broadway, doing navy & white for early spring... again... but he can get away with it I guess. Still want to be her.

My next posting will be all about my new store crush in SoHo...

sewing a flower girl dress

In the spirit of the new season of Project Runway, I challenged myself to make Emma's flower girl dress (for Aunt Dana's wedding) in 1 day. Well that's not including the test muslin and I didn't make the pattern from scratch, but I succeeded in sewing a layered, lined, crinolined formal dress in about 11 hours!

We got all the bridal fabrics on our trip to Fabric Row in Philly last month. I normally like to sew with cottons & linens because they don't slip & slide all over the place. I don't love using tulle and having to gather miles and miles of it. I've never even tried sewing beaded and embroidered organza, but I was willing to try it because it was so incredibly gorgeous!

One time consumer: removing beads along the seam allowances and tying off the loose threads so the remaining beads stay secure.

Another time consumer: hemming the bridal satin underlay by hand. It just wouldn't look right done by machine. The raw edges inside were finished off with the serger.

On the outer layer, french seams in the organza overlay completely hide the raw edges.  To make a french seam, sew a 1/4" seam with wrong sides together. Trim 1/8" off the raw edge, then flip inside out. Sew another 1/4" seam with right sides together next to the previous stitching, enclosing the raw edge inside.

You wouldn't think a simple sleeveless lined bodice would be tricky to sew, but if you've ever tried it, you know what I mean. I've always sewn the shoulders first, then attached the lining to the bodice at the neck. Then you have to try to do the armholes after the bodice is flipped right side out which requires strange contortions especially if the shoulder is narrow. It's almost easier to just put a sleeve on. I decided to follow the directions that came with the pattern (discontinued pattern Butterick #4117) which calls for sewing the shoulders last. It worked well but still required some hand sewing to close up the armhole at the top.

Clipping and backstitching the neck and armhole seams is crucial to keeping the lining from peeking out the edges. I go one step further and trim 1/16-1/8" off the armhole and neck edges of the lining before sewing, so the pieces are slightly smaller than the shell and more likely to roll to the inside. I do this on collars too and it works great.

Finally: the skirt. I didn't think it was that full until I did my 2 stitch lines at the top and started to gather it in. It's always a challenge to gather that much fabric and attach it neatly to a small bodice. I basted it on by hand first to keep it from shifting and bunching. The less handling the better though, because boy does that bridal satin fray!

Help me! I'm drowning in tulle!

And then as if that weren't enough ruching, there is an attached crinoline underneath that gets gathered in to the same waist seam and has it's own ruffle of tulle- a 250" ruffle to be precise! It's absolutely necessary, though, because the poufiness that results is so fabulous!

On deck next: dapper little vests and dupioni silk neck ties for the 3 little ringbearers...

more shopping in duck, nc: boho finds

I guess you could say my vacation shopping cohorts and I spent a long time in the Urban Cottage store in Duck, NC. I already showed you the lovely sea glass-hued beach house decor they were featuring on one side of the store.

curtain panel

On the other side? Boho. Maybe I don't get out enough, but I get excited when I find pretty decor shops that are NOT Pottery Barn.

I believe most of these printed items are by Karma Living, which reminds me of the Karma Design booth I drooled over in NYC at Christmastime.

These bright spicy colors make me happy.

Nearby in the same shopping complex, we stumbled upon  Confetti Clothing Company.

These cheerful sundresses by Flying Tomato are designed to look made from vintage linens.

Bucket o' summer scarves.

Some of those smocked dresses that are also skirts, by Hessi, I believe.

That's all the prettiness for now!

crafty bastards 2010: fall fashion

Crafty Bastards, it wasn't easy getting to you this year, but thanks to a good GPS and some perseverance, we made it. The fair took place on October 3rd, the same day of the Obama ralley. The Memorial Bridge was closed and traffic was snarled, but we made it!

printed & appliquéd felt headbands by Casey Dywer of Candy Thief

Mom came along again as my side-kick because we had such a good time last year buying Christmas gifts. If you care about supporting the arts, handmade, shopping local and finding unique things, you will really enjoy the new craft fairs out there today. The indie ones, like Crafty Bastards, have unexpected, quirky, and up-to-date items. If you go to one, keep in mind some general craft show etiquette. Don't go into someone's booth and say "I could find that cheaper at Target" or " I could make that myself". Have some common sense and manners! A lot more goes into designing, making, and presenting the work than you think. I guarantee you none of the artists is getting rich doing this. Support them. BUY something!

Malagueta by Rachel Sherman

As usual, there were many choices of jewelry, screen printed tees, bath & body, stuffed toys, and paper goods. I focused on fashion items this time. There is such energy and innovation going on in the indie world as you can see in this meticulously executed cut-out applique skirt and asymmetrically rouched top by Rachel Sherman of Malagueta.

Malagueta by Rachel Sherman

Vibrant appliqué and machine topstitch embroidery on another skirt from Malagueta. Rachel's skirts are all one-of-a-kinds.

So She Sews by Brooke Helfen

These clever tops are upcycled from sweaters by Brooke Helfen of So She Sews. The bottom rib of the sweaters now form the tops of the camisole. Ruffled rosettes are fashioned from the excess.

Supermaggie by Maggie Kleinpeter

A stunning face-framing felted scarf/wrap by Maggie Kleinpeter of Supermaggie.

 "Moths" by Supermaggie

In addition to felted scarves, Supermaggie screen prints images of nature on dresses, tees, and hoodies.

Rocks and Salt

Hats are back! Phil & Sara of Rocks & Salt rock the jaunty newsboy look. Hit their online shop for a taste of Brooklyn.

Eve Van Dalsen

Eve Van Dalsen's booth featured bags and belts made from remnants of leather that might otherwise have been discarded.

Eve Van Dalsen

Because of this, most of Eve's pieces are one-of-a-kind, and she carries a huge variety of colors and textures.

Lily Thayer Derrick and Coralie Meslin of Coralilie

Cheerful, one size fits most, wrap-around jumpers by Coralilie. Cute over a tee, they were almost sold-out before lunch. What the heck- it's still warm enough! Coralilie is Lily Thayer Derrick and Coralie Meslin of Baltimore.

Candy Thief by Corey Dywer

In addition to the pretty headbands at the beginning of this post, Corey Dywer of Candy Thief makes these happy pieced skirts that include vintage fabrics.


See you again next year Crafty!

boot lust, fall 2010

Every year at this time I start wanting a new pair of boots. I usually get sticker shock and talk myself out of it, but I'm really tempted this year.

Lands' End Girls' Tall Suede boot- $44.50 

I just bought these for my daughter from Lands' End. She still lets me dress her for the most part, so I didn't even ask her if she liked them first. I do tend to be one of those moms who dresses her kids better than herself, so do I let a 9-year-old get away with looking better than me this fall?

 

Frye Maxine Campus boot- $298

These are real condenders. They are casual enough without having rubber soles and look like you could tuck skinny jeans into them.

Frye Dorado Riding boot- $458

I sure do love a classic equestrian riding boot as well.

Frye Shirley Cuffed Riding boot- $428

I seem to be gravitating to Frye boots. I know I 'm dating myself, but I remember the Frye name being big when I was in high school in the 80's. They still make the boot everyone had back then. I never liked it, but I like all of these.

Frye Maxine Trapunto Harness boot- $368

 

Minnetonka Front Lace boot- $85

I remember these boots from high school also. Everyone had the moccasins with the beading on the front, but only the rebel types had these. I could see these now with leggings and a big comfy sweater lounging around the house. Price is right, anyway.

 

Born Yvette boot- $220

Perfect with a skirt or dress.

 

La Canadienne Passion boot- $319.95

Very similar to the Born boot. Worn with an a-line camel wool skirt with a deep inverted pleat in the front: divine

Juicy Couture Che boot- $349.19

I might even wear a plaid shirt if I had these.

Boden Chunky Leather boot- $278

Descisions...descisions...