I’m not usually one to complain about how long July is, but that’s because I usually don’t wait until August to take my summer vacation. This year, July felt as long as January … and only marginally more fun. Well, maybe I’m being unfair. Some fun things did happen last month; my son turned 8, my husband and I celebrated our nine-year anniversary, and I did some neat craft projects. I also wore some cool outfits. See:
Looking at this line-up, it strikes me that most of the outfits are super pared down, with the accessories (statement necklace) assuming the focus. Not surprising, given my recent obsession with a certain style of jewelry. I like the simplicity, but I’m not sure if that’s a trend that will continue, or whether I will return to a more maximalist approach in the coming months as the season changes. I am definitely looking forward to getting back into layering.
Thrifting has been quite blah lately – or maybe I am getting even pickier about things – so my focus is on “shopping” my closet and finding new inspiration to work with the clothes I already have. For the first time in a while, I’ve been struggling with that a bit. I find myself stuck in a rut, so to speak, of seeing clothes in a particular way – wear this and this like this – and I need to find a way to shake loose. Looking at runway collections, past and current, has been helpful; looking on Instagram less so, because it’s difficult to discover (new to me) accounts whose aesthetic isn’t just the usual IG influencer look. The funny thing is that I don’t really follow any influencers of that kind, yet that’s all I see on my “Discover” page. I know it’s super cliché to complain about the IG algorithm, but I honestly don’t understand it or the purpose it serves. Bah humbug.
My best friend is obsessed with the movie Midsommar, including its aesthetic. I mentally dedicated this outfit to her because I can never now look at this Ulla Johnson dress without thinking “Scandinavian death cult” … but, like, in a good way? I guess my BFF’s influence is at work, because she is a huge horror movie fan and I am, well, a big chicken. But not when it comes to toting my most gaudy, very awesome beaded bag. When I first got it, I thought it would be the kind of item that only its owner (me) would love, but it turns out this thing is a compliment-magnet. Oooooor people just need an excuse to account for staring, haha!
Notes: Ulla Johnson dress (retail, $13); Anthropologie earrings (retail, on sale, can’t remember $); Modern Vintage sandals (thrifted, $7.50); vintage bag (thrifted, $10).
Please, Sir, May I Have More Plaid
The answer is always … YES. More plaid, especially in this particular skirt form. I can’t get enough. I feel like I’m an extra on the set of Outlander when I wear this, which adds just enough of a frisson for my otherwise mundane workday. I’ve paired it with blue in the past, so now it was time to try green – my favourite green sweater, to be precise. I just realized that I wore this sweater at my interview for my current job, and then this particular outfit on my 2-year work anniversary, and now I am extra pleased with my style (and life) choices.
We haven’t had much of a summer, so it’s nice to occasionally get the chance to wear something, well, summery. The last time I wore this dress, I layered it over a thin turtleneck; I thought about attempting some other kind of layering this time around then decided – hey, it’s a nice enough dress on its own. I get caught up in trying to do interesting things with layers, and textures and proportions but, sometimes, simple is enough. I did add a little necklace because the neckline was just perfect for it, and a floral bag for a bit of colour. Simple, but effective.
Notes: Ungaro dress (thrifted, $8.50); Rafael Canada necklace (eBay, $60); J. Crew Factory sandals (retail, $40); Miss Albright bag (secondhand, don’t remember $).
I’ve written about this before, but I am at my happiest
these days when I am making something with my hands. I think crafting has
overtaken reading – gasp! – as the hobby that brings me the most contentment. I
am loath to describe myself as a “creative” in any real sense, but the act of
making stuff is my true passion. While I still adore my library, my current home
dream is to have a little art studio. [Think I can talk my husband into giving
over our garden shed to me? Or maybe building a new, less spider-filled one?
Hahaha!] If money were no object, I would pick up painting, pottery, and
metalsmithing in a heartbeat. I want to make things! All the things!
Alas, real life requires me to scale down my dreams
somewhat, and make do with what skills and supplies I already possess. Jewelry
is something I’m obsessed with at the moment, and while I don’t have the means
to make stuff out of metal and stones, I have a few other media at my disposal.
Mixed media pieces intrigue me so I have been exploring the possibilities of
combining my embroidery and beading efforts.
I jot down my ideas, in sketch form, in a notebook to keep
track of them. I call these “prototypes” but they’re more along the lines of
very embryonic designs. Most of them never progress past that point, but I like
to revisit them from time to time; sometimes, an old idea sparks new
inspiration. The next step is to mock up a life-size version of the design on
paper, and then go from there. I like using a medium thickness felt as the
“backing” – or canvass, if you will – for my pieces because it’s still workable
with a needle, but sturdy enough to provide some structure to the piece.
The first piece I’m going to show you today started off as a
putative harness. The logistics of that defeated me, so I put the idea aside,
and re-fashioned the piece as a bib. It turned into a very large bib, but
having already cut the felt (big mistake), I didn’t want it to go to waste. I
like large jewelry, so the size wasn’t a problem from an aesthetic perspective,
necessarily … but I didn’t reckon with the amount of time and effort it would
take to embroider/bead by hand.
Hours.
Hours and hours. And hours.
About half way through, I gave up and put it aside for the
sake of my own sanity. Weeks passed. I worked on other craft projects in the
meantime. But the piece weighed on me. I’d already made a big investment – in
beads alone – and it felt like a waste. So I pulled it out and looked at it
with fresh eyes. Didn’t hate it as much. Decided to plunge on.
Hours and hours later (probably close to 50 in total), I was finally done.
I’m proud of it as a first effort, particularly as a matter
of perseverance. But I wanted to get a little more adventurous.
For my next effort, I decided to incorporate fabric and reclaimed
jewelry into the mix. I covered the felt with material scavenged from a J. Crew
skirt I thrifted; the fabric was a beautiful abstract floral brocade shot with
gold thread – almost like a painting. It’s the perfect backdrop for my
embroidery, and I used beading to pick up some of the colours and add some
extra sparkle. I also added an enamel pin (thrifted) to enhance the maximalist
effect. “More is better” is my guiding philosophy with these pieces; I’m aiming
for a riot of colours and textures in every piece.
The chain here is also reclaimed from thrifted costume
jewelry. The upcycling aspect is one of my favourite parts – you guys know how
much I love finding (or, in this case, making) beauty from the trash heap.
Emboldened by my experiences, I decided to keep experimenting. This photo from the A/W 2019-2020 Stella McCartney collection (courtesy French Vogue) provided some serious inspo:
I had a large metal ring I planned to incorporate into my
next project, and I decided to wrap it in yarn and use it as a connector/feature
piece.
I’ve been having a lot of fun making these pieces, and friends have even started giving me scraps of old jewelry to upcycle. The only drawback is that I have more ideas than time but … onwards and upwards.
