The image that sparked the creation of this outfit is this one from the Prabal Gurung collection, which was part of my Fashion Week roundup post last week. And yes, I realize the two outfits really look nothing alike, but the kernel of the idea was simply to wear my furry vest over my long cream cardigan, not necessarily to recreate the whole outfit (though I still want to try that too). After that I just got carried away, grabbing as many white, cream, and beige items as I could find and throwing them all together.
The pièce de résistance was this cream harness that I snagged out of Mark's workshop; I thought it integrated really well with the other pieces and gave some geometry and structure to the outfit. I showed it here without the vest just so you could get a better look at it, but I did wear the vest all day at work so that the harness just barely peeked out.
This is yet another belt I pilfered out of Mark's completed pile. He originally made it as a double belt; the other section is black with silver dome rivets, and hangs down around the hips. The two belts are held together with a leather loop, so that they can be worn together or separately. You've seen me wear the black section on its own as well, with the machine gun bikini in this post, and also as part of a work outfit in this post. One of these days I'll join them back up and wear the set.
What I really wanted to point out about the belt is the beautiful red leather, which Mark has just used to make a Jane Doe style harness (it's too thick for some of the other harness styles). It's a deep, brick red and although we've had it sitting around for awhile, Mark has just recently gotten around to using it. I'm hoping to see him make more items in this color; this could be really pretty for a winter look.
Ah, memories... these pictures were obviously taken when it was still really hot here. It's actually pretty nice today, but it rained like hell all weekend long, so our little summer is definitely over. It was a good weekend for getting things done though, and a GREAT weekend for sports -- I can't believe it, but our San Francisco Giants are going to the World Series! I can't even yet dare to hope for the outcome of the series itself, but the fact that they made it is wonderful.
Also, sorry Yankees fans (if indeed there are any -- everyone I know just loves to hate them), but holy hell am I glad they got defeated! I'm not sure I could stomach seeing them in the World Series again. Take a few years off, okay guys? It's nice to see other teams make it to the finals once in awhile, and the Texas Rangers have more than waited their turn.
Shirt: All Saints
I've worn this combination of top and vest a few times now, mainly on weekends when I want a comfy but interesting jeans-based outfit. On weekends I've worn it with more casual indigo jeans and left the vest loose and open, but here I decided to dress it up with black jeans and the gunmetal harness.
Speaking of which, a few people have inquired about this particular harness. As you may recall, I described a few weeks ago how the leather is hard to find and a bit tricky to work with, which is why we don't currently have anything in this leather listed in the shop. But Mark does still have a small amount of it left and can do custom orders on request. The style I'm wearing here is the Ryder, and we've also made the Aria in this finish, but I also think it would look beautiful for a Willow, a Raven, or a Jane Doe. So far we still haven't been able to find any more of this leather, so when it's gone it's gone.
Anyhow, I loved all the striking black and white patterns in this outfit, and how the shoes even have a stripe pattern and silvery jewels that echo the finish of the harness. Which just goes to show that even the classic combination of black and white can be anything but ordinary.
Well, this was just that kind of day, a day where I ended up pissed off and frustrated and really glad that I at least had the foresight to rock my leather pants at work. It's possible that it was a premonition, but so many of my workdays suck lately that a crummy day is really not very difficult to predict. At any rate, wearing a sassy outfit is always a nice way to combat a bad day, and this was no exception.
When I first got these pants I thought they were a little too tight to wear at the office, but the super-soft leather stretched to a very comfortable fit after just a couple of wears, and now I feel quite confident that they're work-appropriate. The continued rain was also a great reason to waterproof my legs.
preparation for our ad in the June/July issue of Bust Magazine, which should be hitting the newsstands now. I'm really excited to be advertising in Bust, for one thing because it's great exposure for the shop, and for another because I think it's an awesome magazine and I'm happy to be a part of it. Bust is really supportive of small businesses like ours, and their very reasonable advertising rates reflect that.
wearing them (although, like Sister Wolf, I have an irrational desire to buy some). Come to think of it, 40 is probably too old to be wearing these herringbone shorts too, but obviously that isn't stopping me. One of the real, tangible benefits of getting older is that you get to stop giving a fuck about what people think. I digress.I made myself a hat a few weeks ago, which for some reason I haven't done very much of. This Homburg style was calling to me though, because it has a bit of a sinister Clockwork Orange look to it, as well as being reminiscent of the fabulous Homburgs that the late Alexander McQueen came out with last year (below, left and center). With this outfit I was also inspired by Christian Dior's wonderful equestrian looks in the SS10 line (below right).
I created this hat as an alternative to bowlers and top hats, which seem to be EVERYWHERE in
Hat: Audra Jean
Dress: Noa Noa
Blazer: Gap, a gift from Sal
Waistcoat: Last Kiss
Skirt: Noa Noa
Boots: Frye
Oops... almost forgot to add this last detail shot!
A couple of weekends ago Mark and I shot some new photos for our Etsy listings and to use for advertising. We couldn't afford a real model, so we just used me. I'd love to tell you that the shoot was really fun and we had a blast, but the fact is that it was a mega ton of work and we were both exhausted by the end. And all we had was one basic "set," which was really just a white sheet background set up in Mark's hallway. I can't imagine the shoots that people do for magazine spreads; those must take an army of people all day to pull off.
truly adore. The small black homburg hat I'm wearing above is a new style that I haven't even listed yet because I'm still perfecting the design. The prototype is just trimmed with a basic black grosgrain ribbon, and I made it for Mark (though I'm planning on stealing it every now and then because I think it looks pretty cute on me too).
coming for these Edwardian-styled mini hats. I can make these in either straw or felt in pretty much any color you can think of, and there will be fancier, more bride-y hats as well as ones that would be suitable for bridesmaids or guests.
including two that I designed; the Aria and the Clara. The Clara (left) is more of a jewelry piece than a belt; most of the weight of the piece is carried by the neck strap, leaving the rest of it draping softly around the ribs.
cutting the leather pieces, and then handing them to Mark for him to fit out with the hardware and rivets. Setting rivets, grommets, and the like requires experience and skill in order for them to sit perfectly level with no dents in the middle. I'm still not confident enough in my ability to work with the hardware for any of our pieces, but the designing part is fun, and since the leather items make up most of our Etsy sales (I'm mostly 
selling my hats through Dark Garden now), it's nice to have a way to contribute to that.
P.S. I'll have a regular outfit post for you a little later today.
