Fashion, Flowers, and Food

Saturday had all the makings of a great BBQ: great food, great company and great weather. Today I'm posting photos of flowers from the fam's garden and the top 3 picks for my BBQ attire.


This little summer dress I picked up second hand. It's made of light weight cotton, the bright print livens up this classic shirtdress. In the future I will throw a yellow belt around the waist and wear neutral colored flats to give it an Anthro inspired look.

Raspberries!

This was the outfit I wore to the BBQ. It's composed of the Assemblage Tank from Anthropologie , a vintage belt, my couture skirt, and yellow cutout flats from ciao bella.




This outfit looked sloppy, so naturally I didn't wear it. The dress is Converse One from Target, the cardigan is Three Dots from Anthropologie, and the belt is Linea Pelle from Anthropologie. Maybe it would have looked better sans belt... Oh, well.

My New Invention

I went to my local fabric store and scoured the clearance area looking for an inexpensive fabric to use for a new skirt pattern. It's a highwaisted, gathered skirt with pockets (I love pockets in skirts and dresses). I found this ethnic print that I liked, but it felt like raincoat material. So, I am calling it the 'Skirt Slicker', since I can wear it out during wet weather and not have to worry about getting drenched if I forget my raincoat (Hmm, I wonder if there's a market for these?).



The skirt wasn't too difficult to make, and the pockets were a breeze. I did have to lay the material out on the floor because the pattern had to be cut single layer (because of the 'nap'), but other than that it was easy.

The next skirt I made was super easy. I'm going to make another one when I get my sewing machine back from the shop. I used a free pattern I found online and the fabric was on sale, so the total cost to make it was only $8.00 (that includes thread, zipper, fabric, interfacing, and the free pattern)! You can't beat that. I really like the seersucker, plaid fabric (quintessential summer style) I'm planning on wearing it to the first BBQ of the summer.



Enjoy your weekend!

Milk and Sugar

Now that my sewing machine is out of commission (for the time being), I will take this time to post photos of the skirts I have already completed.

The skirt below is the very first piece I sewed. It is a simple A-line skirt, and the pattern is labeled "Very Easy", however, it is NOT very easy to someone who has never sewn before. With the tutelage of Erin (our instructor) we completed our skirts in about 9 hours in class. She taught us what all the symbols on the pattern meant, how to pin and cut out the pattern, and translated what the instructions were talking about in each step. I highly recommend taking at least one class if you have never sewn before. It helped me tremendously and now I am able to follow instructions for new patterns I'm working on.

So, the fabric I chose for my first skirt was a light blue and white seersucker (great summer fabric) and white lacy stuff for the bottom trim. I wanted the trim to go behind the hem and just peek out the bottom, I thought this would give the skirt a little bit of a vintage feel. I liked the way it turned out, but I should wear a slip or petticoat under it in the day light hours, otherwise you will see my undies.



I wore this outfit to my boyfriends birthday dinner, we went to a fab sushi place and sat in one of the private rooms (super fun). The top is from none other than... yes you guessed it, Anthropologie! I paired my couture skirt and designer top with a little grey cardigan (from Zara)and yellow cutout flats (by Ciao Bella).



Oh yeah, the title of this post is 'Milk and Sugar', here's why I chose that title: Through its etymology, seersucker gives us a glimpse into the history of India. The word came into English from Hindi sīrsakar, which had been borrowed from the Persian compound shīroshakar, meaning literally "milk and sugar" but used figuratively for a striped linen garment.

Vintage Inspired

The metallic dots of the textured fabric give this simple, yet darling, dress a unique touch of richness. From the dainty straps and gold rimmed buttons to the eye catching collar, these little details add character to an otherwise ordinary dress... and I think it is lovely!


This little number is from the UK Anthropologie website. It is described as a vintage maritime frock in the softest buttercreme knit bells from a jaunty naval bodice.


This is the Shifting Buttons Skirt by Edme & Esyllte, $118. The length of this high waisted circle skirt gives it the 1950's vintage vibe that this post is all about. The print and colors of the cotton fabric make it modern and oh so in style. I especially love the fabric covered buttons that run almost the full length of the skirt. Again, I think Anthro hit the mark with the perfect blend of vintage & modern, and added little details that put this skirt at the top of my 'most desirable Anthro items' list.