Making lemonade...

So this is what I've been up to:

I got my Spanx

The pants work

-with the parka

-and the Spanx (not without)

And then there was the blouse...

After exhausting the possibility of ever finding a RTW top for this outfit, I dove into my BWOF's and my remnant pile...

First, I settled on BWOF 01-2008-125 blouse with pintucked sleeves. Then I found a nice piece of stretch off-white silk charmeuse... but not enough. Sent DH to F & S, they didn't have any. Found another piece, more light yellowish. Okay, time to be creative.

Out of the last piece I managed to squeeze the two pleated sleeves, one button band, and the upper collar (though it was cut on a grain I'm not sure what to call.) The first piece was about 1 3/8" long and 45" wide so not much room there either. Cutting this blouse took a few hours...

And this is what I ended up with.

Not bad if I may say so myself. A design I'd never would have thought of where it not for necessity.

The outfit is complete. And tomorrow I'm going to Laguna Beach for a little vacation. We used to live there- right on the ocean. It's so peaceful. I miss peaceful.

Some more photos on my mac page

Got Shoes- Where Are My Spanx?

I think I've finally lost it.

My good sense, that is.

If I ever had one in the first place.

I was gonna make a skirt out of this leftover piece of knit that I used for a top last year. My very first Pattern Review. Then, after putting together the parka... No no no!!! Unless, of course, I want to walk around like a giant shapeless blob.

The stiffness and airy bulk (?) of this fabric/design can only be excused by some super slender legs with no- and I mean NO- room to spare. That's when I got this brilliant idea to make a pair of pants in the same BWOF pattern I did my recent Black ones. Trouble is, I'm not twenty, and this is a knit (although it's got some kind of coating, no idea what the content is). So, before I complete my super-duper-tight-squeeze-your-butt-into-these pants, I need my Spanx. 

Funny how Bare Necessity (and I mean literally  as well, since that's where I ordered from) makes you stumble upon new inventions... After reading up on this stuff, I suppose I'm late to the party. Nothing new there. I live in Tinseltown, but might as well be in a shack in the mountains. That's how much I get around. Don't feel bad, I like I like. And when I do get out, like today, armed with a purpose, Rodeo Drive is five minutes away.

Waiting for my Spanx, I thought a pair of shoes would be a good idea. I was gonna order online, where I do most of my shopping. Even had a pair in my shopping bag at Zappos. Then DH walks in. I proudly show him my find, whereby he gets this look. "What?!", I say, actually quite irked since I thought I'd done a marvelous job. "They look too cheap", he says, looking over at the ensemble on the dress form. My heart sank. They were cheap, and that's precisely why I was proud. Go figure. Okay, I thought, you want sticker shock? Let me cruise over to Saks, Neimen, and Barneys. "How about these", I say, and he nods his head in agreement. Versace sandals, $900.00. "Will you be wearing them with other things?" ... Wow, he never ceases to amaze me. 

Bottom line; we went to Versace, they didn't have the same ones, but something equally glam- and on sale. 

So that's where I'm at: A pair of glorious shoes and a half finished pair of pants and a parka that still needs a zipper and a tie band. And no Spanx.

And no idea what to wear under the parka. Like I said, I may very well have lost it. 

Say It Ain't So!

Last night I went on a photo hunt. After mulling over the Dior dress, I wanted to see if I could find a runway shot. And if I got really lucky, maybe even one of the back. Ever since Kathleen posted on 'coffin clothes' last summer, I've been obsessing about the back. That's just me, obsessive I mean.

I went to Style. com, and found this:

I was so disappointed seeing the glaring mistake in Space v. Volume. 

Space= The Length.

The short length cuts off the flow of the drape, stumps the figure and also makes the draped hips appear too wide.

(The model is probably 100 lbs and close to 6' tall. Just consider how this will look on a normal person)

Volume= The Bodice.

Too full in midsection, no structure to balance the skirt, especially considering the heavy pull of the beaded side. In the ad, the model is leaning to the opposite side, which produces the  balance needed.

(Again, this will not be to a normal person's advantage)

After some thinking, guess what popped in my head? McMansions, of all things... They've been sprouting up everywhere here in West Los Angeles. Can't afford a big property? No problem. Just fill the space to the limit. Not that The House Of Dior can't afford the space :-)

All design need balance. As much as I go on about lines, it is equally important to consider space and volume. Just my NSHO.

The dress on the runway is not something I would make or wear. The dress in the ad is. What to do? Not sure. But it got me thinking, and that's (almost) always a good thing.