Turns out I'm a little late to the game on the whole "Capsule Wardrobe" thing, but I figure a great idea like this is something you can pick up any time. I stumbled across the blog un-fancy.com and was totally inspired by the author's style, chic looks and realistic way to pare down her wardrobe.I definitely struggle with over-shopping. It's not so much that I buy a ton of expensive stuff, more so that I tend to buy random crap just because it's "only on sale for one day" or "kind of my size" or "ridiculously discounted in the Target clearance section" (my weakness).In fact, here's a confession: I recently purchased a pleather mini skirt at The Gap outlet because it was only $4.00. I mean, come on. You can't beat that! And while I love the idea of a pleather mini, the only one they had was a size too big. "I'll take it!" I thought as I threw onto a growing bundle in my arms. "I'll just trim down the sides."I still have plans to try to slim down that skirt but it really made me realize that I was just buying things because they were inexpensive. Not because they were high-quality or something I'd wear often. Reading Un-Fancy helped kick-start another closet cleaning.I've purged my closet a few times in the last year. This time I found several pairs of pants that I hadn't worn in at least 4 years, a bunch of ratty t-shirts and a few nice dresses and sweaters that I had never worn simply because they didn't fit right. Of course, all found in the clearance section.I've decided to try out a winter capsule wardrobe even though we're halfway through the season. After doing a bit of online shopping (and returning things that just weren't right) I combined my new items with pieces I already own to create this winter capsule wardrobe. Of course, as a designer, I tend to think best when I have a visual, so creating the actual clothes and putting them together into outfits was key to figuring out what I should keep/buy.
So that's where I'm at with it! Everything that I purchased was, of course, on clearance. But I really tried to only buy things I would wear all the time and if they didn't fit I brought them back. I'm excited to stick with my capsule and see how much wear everything gets. These outfit layouts are going to be my cheat-sheets for when I'm feeling uninspired.
project
Review of Simplicity Sewing Pattern 1801 Misses' Dresses Cynthia Rowley Collection
It's been a while since I've posted about a sewing project. Partly due to the fact that I haven't been sewing much and partly due to my newest side project...Parker Natural Care! After about 6 months of making my own products (everything from lip balm to deodorant) I decided to start a natural skin care company to share my products with the world. So far 'the world' is just friends and family, but it's growing!Anyway, my latest venture in sewing was spurred by a fabric. A beautiful, lightweight rayon challis from fabric.com. Honestly, the fabric probably wasn't the best for this project, but it still worked out. I ended up having to fully line the dress in order to make it somewhat opaque and I had to be really careful when ripping out gathering stitches because the challis is pretty delicate and shows snags easily. Also the wrong side and right side are virtually indistinguishable except in certain light.I cut a straight size 14 of this pattern after checking the actual waist measurement and making sure there wouldn't be too much ease. I figured with the way the top and skirt is gathered the fit should be pretty forgiving. That was pretty much right on, although if I make this pattern again I will probably adjust the neckline to make it higher and take a little out of the shoulder seam and a little out of each waist seam.[responsive]
[/responsive]That said, this dress is very wearable and it's super light and flowy. Perfect for summer! Actually, the looser waist is kind of nice, too, so I don't feel like I have to suck it in all the time :)[responsive]
[/responsive]There was nothing too crazy about this pattern except for the side zipper and in-seam pockets. I've done in-seam pockets before but it was a little different when I had to sew a zipper into the side of the pocket. The instructions were clear, though and I didn't have an issue with the pockets. Of course, I put the zipper in on the right side instead of the left. Oops. Just a learning experience for the next time, I guess![responsive]
[/responsive] Bonus:I had my phone set up to take a few quick pictures and set the 10 second timer. Didn't realize that it also took 10 photos in a burst, but I thought they look pretty cool as gifs.[responsive]
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Painting the Studio
So remember those paint swatches from the last post? Here's the result! Well, the in-progress result. The color is called "Magnet Dapple" by Valspar. Weird name, I know. My only concern is that the dark blue color will make the space a little too cave-like. But we have four two-bulb flood lights that will go up in place of the 80s track lighting.The color is a little hard to capture, but it's kind of a darkish denim blue. I'm pretty excited to start getting all of my supplies and everything set up.[gallery columns="2" link="file" ids="364,363,362,361"]Some navy blue room inspiration (from Pinterest, of course) :
A Tour of Our New House!
It's been a while. But trust me, there's good reason for that. Brad and I have been working on buying a house! Here's a tour.[su_youtube url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8x1Zi2axHY&"]Click here for photos!http://flic.kr/s/aHsjC5B34NAs you can see from the photos, there is a ton of work that we are doing and still needs to be done. It's kind of a dusty mess right now, but at least it's our dusty mess!