Real Life: Live & Unscripted

The Perfect Twirl Dress... Vogue 8765

Do you ever purchase fabric and hold on to it FOREVER, just waiting on the perfect pattern?

I allowed this fabric to speak to me. It told me to grab the best twirly dress pattern I could find, because it would surely be perfect lol

I can't express how much I love this dress. It's amazing how I find myself falling in love with sewing even more. I thought I would have a hard time finding balance between family, church, fun, traveling, Adrienne's Essentials, Stitched9 and just ME time but it's so easy. I think I'll do a video on this later this week lol. 

Back to the dress lol.

I love the retro vibe of this dress. I'm finding myself loving vintage items more and more. You will see so much more vintage inspired dresses on me soon.

I'm still incorporating bits of the Patone Color of the year in my wardrobe. I'm TRYING not to allow this color to totally take over but uhh, just wait until you see the next couple things lol

I decided on pink or a shade of radiant orchid accessories. I love these earrings and necklace. I wore my favorite tennis bracelet and I took a classic black handbag.

My shoes I adore. They are Anne Michelle Rapture from DSW 

Only $40 bucks! They are super comfy. These will get a LOT of wear.

Let me leave you with a couple twirly pictures lol

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol.

Man can y'all see that? My face. That's peace. Man. My heart. Whew. Ok. Yeah I need to do that video lol

For those of you who sew, here is a review:

Vogue 8765

Pattern Description: Lined dress has close-fitting bodice and back zipper. A: semi-fitted skirt and back hemline slit. B: narrow hem. Custom fit for A,B,C,D cup sizes.

Pattern Sizing: 8-16


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? These instructions are great until you get to the neckline and sleeves.  I only read over them for the review. IMO it was confusing. I don't do mine the way they suggest so maybe that's why it was confusing. I have my own method lol.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the modern/vintage look of this dress.


Fabric Used: Stretch cotton sateen


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened the dress about 8 inches. This dress has an extension piece. Once I added it on I shortened it 8 inches. I didn't like the original length of this dress. It hit me in a weird place.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I WILL make this again. I have a dress on my pinterest board that I want to make and this pattern is an exact dupe lol.  I HIGHLY recommend this if you can find it. It's OOP.

Conclusion: Great pattern, love that is has cup sizes. Goes together great and I had a BALL wearing it!

 

And I'll leave you with my favorite!

 

 

Olivia Pope/ Salvatore Ferragamo Inspired Wrap Coat. Burda 7275

I've watched Scandal since the very first episode. Like every other woman in the world I LOVE everything that "Olivia Pope" wears.

When I saw this coat:
Source  

I KNEW I had to have one. Not a replica, just an inspired version.

Source

It's what dreams are made of lol.

I didn't want a wool coat. I knew I wouldn't get a whole lot of wear out of it in this climate so I decided to use this ivory pinwale curduroy that I have had in my stash for a while. It's lightweight enough to actually wear as a top but it's still light weight enough to layer it if I need/ want to.

Instead of leaving the edges raw like the pattern suggests, I decided to use a black bias tape to finish off the edges. I love the contrast. I wanted to use leather but didn't have enough to make my own bias tape.

I also didn't want mine as long. Originally this hit me right at my knee. I cut more than six inches off of the length and it's MUCH more flattering on me.

I used frech seams on everything except the neckline and the pockets.

I love that I can dress this up or make it super casual. It's a winner in my book!

 

For those of you who sew, here is a review:

Burda 7275

 

Pattern Description: Loose fitting coats, simply to be thrown on. A sewn with lapped seams and broad, nicely flowing collar. B with hood and fur braid. 

 

I made view A

Pattern Sizing: 10-24

I cut the 12


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't need the instructions on this but they are very clear.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This totally gave me the look I was going for. LOVE IT.


Fabric Used: Pinwale curduroy


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I finished it off with bias tape instead of leaving the edges raw. I shortened it a little over 6 inches. The original coat length is right at my knee.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I MIGHT make this one again, not sure yet :)

Conclusion: 
Great pattern, pretty easy to put together. Grab it if you like this style.

 

Sparkle & Wine. McCall's 6173 & 6844

This is one of the outfits I took with me to LA last week (man has it really been a week?) I wore it with flats there because I was NOT about to take on the town in heels. NOT ME. I had a quick errand to run and decided to put this on. I LOVE THIS LOOK.

When I first considered making sequin leggins, I thought I wanted them like true leggins. I decided I wanted these a little more loose. I'm so glad I went in that direction. They look better on me not fitted all the way to the ankle.

I kept my accessories pretty simple with an animal print necklace,sparkly bracelet and simple gold/diamond studs.My shoes I've had for a while and I'm just now getting a chance to wear them. They will get MUCH wear when it warms up again lol.

For those of you who sew, here is a review of the cardigan. The leggings are so simple. Just buy the pattern lol. NO need to review them.

McCall's 6844 and McCall's 6173 Leggings

Pattern Description: Close-fitting cardigans (do not meet at center front) have collar extending into front band, and narrow hem. A and C: shaped hemline, wrong side shows.

Pattern Sizing: XS-M, I made the medium.


Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? SUPER easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the high low hem of view C


Fabric Used: Ponte Roma


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I plan on making this one again, soon. I loved it. It went together so well and I love the overall look.

Conclusion:GREAT pattern! You can't go wrong with this one.

Look of the day...

I can't remember where I was going when I wore this lol.

One of my tshirts from Forever 21, DIY distressed boyfriend jeans and my lace up Parbal Gurung shoes that I seem to wear with EVERYTHING lol.

My print blocking is better than yours LOL. New Look 6209

Print blocking is a huge huge trend and it's one of my favorite things right now.

When I saw these two fabrics at the fabric store literally sitting next to each other I already knew what I was going to make lol

Words can not express how much I LOVE this dress. I mean LOVE it.

I am so in love with blue and green right now it's insane. Get ready lol. I picked up so much blue fabric from my last NY trip, not to mention what I recently purchased from a fabric shopping trip this weekend...

I kept my accessories very simple. I wore my favorite sparkly necklace, sparkly studs (that you can't see lol) and a few simple bangles. I wanted an extra pop of color so I decided on my green barrel bag. I love it lol.

I love,love,love my Vince Camuto Signature shoes I picked up while I was in New York.  My bag I picked up from Aldo a while back and now it's on sale woohoo. Maybe I need the white? LOL

For those of you who sew, here is a review:

New Look 6209

Pattern Description: Misses' dress with princess seams for a form fitting look. Sleeve and neck line variations feature a contract yoke in solid or sheer fabrics.

Pattern Sizing: 8-18

I cut the 10
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

YES!
Were the instructions easy to follow? I only looked at the instructions for the purpose of the review, but they are very straight forward and easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? LOVE this pattern


Fabric Used: Ponte Knit


Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn't make any changes. I went down a size since I wasnt using a woven fabric and I didn't add a zipper.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I HIGHLY recommend this pattern. I can't wait to make this one again lol

Conclusion:Great pattern, very easy to sew and very well drafted. GET THIS PATTERN!!

Look of the Day

I love this skirt because it gives the illusion of sequin. It's actually a brocade!
I paired it with a denim shirt from Old Navy, my favorite white tank top (seriously Walmart makes THE best tanks) and my favorite gold espadrilles.

Look of the Day

I took this the week the kids went back to school so that shows you how far back I'm going with these pictures lol

I did some shopping with my boo and I needed to be super comfy. I wore my favorite black skinny jeans and cute tee from old navy.

Laid back, comfortable and casual.

Toodles!

Look of the Day

My clients have asked that I start doing a look of the day series. I'm going to do it over here as well. Im starting today because I have a LOT to post and I'm trying to get caught up lolI wore this out running errands a week or so ago. This skirt is sooooooooooooo fluid. I absolutely love it. I will probably wear the gold off of this during the fall lol.

I paired it with a simple black tshirt and studded belt. The necklaces I picked up from Forever 21 a few weeks ago at their grand opening here.

I initially only had enough of this fabric to make a few skirts and that sold out within minutes. I did manage to find some more so if you guys want one just shoot me an email  ([email protected]) and I'll send you an invoice.

Y'all have a great Saturday!