Someone on redditt/FemaleFashionAdvice recently posted an inspo album that deeply appealed to my newly awakened “goth” sensibility. These two photos in particular caught my eye:

What do we call this? Vaguely Edwardian goth dandy? Is that a thing? Let’s make it a thing.

Typically, I don’t like to put together outfits that are literal copies of someone else’s; I like to add my own spin on things, if only because that way I’m less likely to be disappointed if I don’t end up looking as cool as the original. [Sometimes, it’s not so much that I want to dress like someone one, as it is that I want to be the person I imagine them to be. Know what I mean?] This was an exception. My first thought was “damn, too bad I don’t have a cane and top hat” because, yes, I wanted to wear this literal outfit immediately. Since that wasn’t option, my next thought was to try to figure out how I could get as close as possible using the pieces I have in my closet.

Attempt No. 1 was fairly predictable, if you’re at all familiar with my closet.

My AllSaints ruffle blouse was a natural choice. The Sarah Pacini tunic thing was a good match, because the stretchy, deep V-neckline allows the blouse to shine; the bottom half of the tunic also adds some volume and texture and angles when layered over my Aritzia Johan skirt. [Sidenote: that skirt has become one of the cornerstones of my wardrobe. I probably wear it once a week which, given my wardrobe numbers, is quite a feat.] To further emphasize the waist, I added a wide obi-style belt.

I liked the result a lot, but it had one drawback. To account for the lack of sleeves and the weather, I had to add a cardigan before leaving the house, and that kinda spoiled the effect I was going for. Oh well.

Attempt No. 2 was a much less literal interpretation.

The skirt and shoes are the same, but I substituted a simple silk button-up shirt (Equipment) in place of the fancy ruffle blouse. I buttoned it all the way up to emphasize the collar. In a stroke of inspiration, I added the cropped faux leather top (Zara) for a bit of extra texture and edginess. [Sidenote: this cropped top is also becoming a key piece in my wardrobe. It’s shockingly handy for adding interest to outfits.] Then I threw on a sharply-tailored blazer (Smythe) because I was going to the office, and wanted to look extra badass.

I wish I had taken a photo of the outfit sans blazer as well, because it looked very cool both ways. This was an outfit I loved, and it received quite a few compliments at work as well.

Attempt No. 3 was a kind of compromise between the two previous ones.

Here, I used the skirt, blouse, belt and shoes from the first outfit, but subbed in a long coat (Boss) for the tunic. The higher neckline of the coat allows less of the blouse ruffle to be seen, so the effect is more subdued. However, the coat sleeves add their own bit of drama.

This was a fun little exercise in outfit-making, and I plan to use this photo for general inspiration when out on my thrifting adventures. Who knows, maybe I’ll even find a cool cane one of these days.

My embroidered portrait series continues … this week: Iris Apfel.

This was a no-brainer – I adore Iris’ joie de vivre, and her exuberant style offers a perfect opportunity to play with beading and other media. However, though Iris is the highlight of this post, she was not the project I tackled immediately after Elizabeth. My next piece was actually inspired by Marie Antoinette and the Rococo period.

I was excited by the prospect, primarily because I wanted to experiment with a new material for my subject’s hair, but the execution itself was a torturous experience. The hair didn’t quite turn out the way I had envisioned it, I had to re-work the dress bodice several times, the background needed some last-minute jazzing up … it was a bit of a mess. The final product wasn’t terrible, per se, but it didn’t delight me in the same way as Frida and Elizabeth:

I did learn some valuable lessons, though. One, I got a better sense of how to use the nubby wool yarn for creating hairdos. Two, I learned that, while some improvisation is fine, certain key elements of the design have to be well planned in advance, including in terms of the materials to be used. That last part, though … it’s a work in progress, let’s say. I don’t have the advantage of a good fabric store nearby, the thrifts are hit and miss, and I am impatient – all of which is to say: sometimes I start a project not as well-prepared as I should.

Onwards, now, to Iris.

Because of her hair, I knew that I had to go back to a darker background to ensure there would be sufficient contrast. Luckily, as with Elizabeth, the dress design was of the kind that’s easy to improvise on the run, so I didn’t have to worry too much about tracing a complicated drawing onto my muslin. Plus, I now have a light-table/light-box (cheapie version from Amazon) which helps immeasurably with that.

Again, I used a textured white wool yarn for the hair, tacking it down with (thin) white thread. The key was “styling” the hair afterwards, which I spent a not inconsiderable amount of time doing – cutting and shaping it to more or less resemble Iris’ real life ‘do.

Because of the glasses, I did not embroider the felt face before attaching it to the canvas. I was worried that it would be harder to embroider through 2 layers of material, but that wasn’t the case at all. For the aqua eyeshadow, I ended up using one of my kids’ Crayola pencils to shade the eyelids. (This was another thing I learned from doing the Rococo lady – I had ended up using actual blush for her cheeks, and the muslin took that well. In this case, I had no eyeshadow of the appropriate colour, but the pencil worked just fine on felt.)

I had tons of bits and bobs to use for Iris’ iconic jewelry – necklaces and bracelets, my favourite part of this piece – but I found myself stumped on the rest of her clothing. I didn’t have any fabric scraps that seemed suitable, so as a last resort I went downstairs into my “clothing swap” pile and began to look for options. Eventually, I pulled out an old Anthropology top which had an ikat-like print that looked promising. It wasn’t an expensive piece of clothing, nor one that I anticipated any of my friends being devastated to miss out on, so I went for it. [I only used a small patch of fabric, and am saving the rest for future projects.]

Putting everything together went smoothly, but at the end, I still felt like something was missing. I felt like the piece still needed more of a “wow” factor … and then I remembered my daughter’s dollar store craft supplies, which included a bag of cheap feathers. I had never worked with feathers before, but I did a quick mock-up, and saw that the idea had possibilities. A few tucks and stitches later, and I had my complete portrait:

Because of the feathers, it’s a bit more fragile a piece than my usual hoop portraits, but I love how it turned out.

Acceptable Ruffles

So, in principles, I don’t like ruffles. They tend to the Twee side, and Twee is the enemy of Adina’s Current Style. But! There are exceptions. Previously, I thought that the only exception was Dramatic Neck Ruffles (see: my favourite AllSaints blouse) but now I think we need to add another one for Ruffles Adding Architectural Elements of Interest. Too unwieldy of a category? Maybe. But case in point: this Gap skirt I recently thrifted for $8 at Value Village. Ruffles aside, it has a several other things going for it: it has a high waist (fun for playing around with proportions), it’s midi length, and it’s black. But the ruffles really kick it up a notch. This isn’t something I would have expected from the Gap, but I dig it. A lot.

Also digging this Anthro brand sweater (Moth), with its mock-necked business front and party back. And, bonus, it’s not itchy. [I always add a light layer, like a cotton tank or t-shirt, under sweaters. This one doesn’t itch through the extra layer, nor does it bug me around the arms where it meets bare skin.] I paid $8.50 for it at Goodwill. Rounding out my outfit is this sweet pair of LK Bennett pumps – $15 in like-new condition. Technically, they were free because I used a coupon. But no matter how you slice it, this outfit cost me way less than $50, top to bottom, and that’s worth a not-so-humblebrag. Ahem

Rick Revisited

I tried, but it’s hard to capture the IRL awesomeness of this Rick Owens dress. It looks cute enough in photos, but trust me when I say that it’s 10x cooler in person. It’s also pretty easy to dress up or down. To make it office appropriate, I added a classic, collarless blazer and some red pumps for an extra bit of oomph. It’s been a while since I’ve done a red shoe.

Here are the other ways I’ve worn this dress before:

Valentine’s Day

I’m not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Honestly, I don’t know many people who are, outside of the blogosphere. Maybe I’m too old and/or cranky. But the day falls adjacent to the anniversary of my husband and my first date – and, yes, 11 years later we remain the kind of people who consider that an anniversary – so I try to make an effort. And by “effort”, I mean getting dressed up and going out to eat. Which, come to think of it, probably doesn’t count since those are 2 of my favourite things anyway.

This outfit came together because I wanted to wear a couple of recently thrifted pieces: a Zara velvet blazer, and a vintage embroidered handbag. You might think I would go into a boho-romantic direction with that, but you’d be wrong. It is still the winter of my discontent, so distressed/destroyed jeans and stiletto booties it was. I like all the juxtaposition happening. It’s possibly a little extra, but that kinda encapsulates my current style approach, doesn’t it?

Let’s also take a moment and appreciate that bag. Do you remember how obsessed I was 2 or 3 years ago with finding an embroidered bag? Never happened until a few weeks ago; that’s how thrifter life goes. I’m mostly over that obsession, but this was a nice bag, in pristine condition, and ten whole Canadian dollars – it was calling my name. I got rid of the awful original strap (barely long enough to wear in the crook of the arm, and I hate to carry bags like that) and thrifted myself a crossbody strap replacement for an additional $3. I think it updates the bag in a nice way.

Here are a few other ways I’ve worn the same jeans:

And that’s all she wrote, folks.