Mr. C's new shirt

Setting up the pattern with my trusty assistant and project supervisor

Over the past 4 weeks I've been secretly working on an exciting sewing project: a classic men's shirt. The lovely Susan and Martin from Partlan Pattern Designs contacted me if I wanted to be a pattern tester for their Shannon shirt. I've never done a classic double yoke shirt with French cuffs and I was so excited to put my sewing skills to the test. And I certainly did. Like Peter Lappin from Male pattern boldness said in one of his posts: Shirt making isn't for sissies and he was right. It takes a lot of time, patience and precision to construct a men's shirt. But the result is a stunning item of clothing that really surpasses all of those of the peg T-shirts and raggedy looking jerseys and such.

it's all in the details: perfect collar points and sleeve placket

In my fashion oriented posts I've often wrote about the poor quality of fabrics and poor fit as well as lack of ingenuity in mainstream fashion and how this influenced me to develop my sewing skills. When we look at men's fashion it's even worse: limited choices, shoddy construction and for lack of better words no wow effect. I've also written about my passion (or better obsession) with Poirot movies. The costumes in these movies are amazing. I love the watch them over and over again and get lost in the world of eloquent, well mannered people who dress with such elegance. The Shannon shirt project was therefor heavily influenced by the aesthetic of my beloved Poirot movies, the world of impeccable bespoke tailoring with a hint of flamboyance in choosing a floral patterned print cotton.

The pattern Martin and Susan sent was a bespoke pattern designed according to Mr. C's measurements. And what a difference that made! As is customary, the pattern pieces are first basted together to check for general fit and to mark the adjustments. Having a made-to-measure pattern made it the world's fastest fitting ever. The shirt fit like a glove and Mr. C's words was far more comfortable than any of his bought shirts. The real difference however was the fit in particularly the fit across the shoulders. It's difficult to descibe or even convince someone of the benefits of custom fit garments until they've had the luxury of trying them on. Much like the difference between cheap whisky and an aged single malt Scotch. It's a tangible experince and an unforgettable at that.

It took me about 10 days of relaxed, easy paced sewing from start to finish. Susan and Martin were marvelous throughout the entire process. They've set up posts with instructions on their blog detailing various steps of the process. And  during this time we've chatted about buttons and collar shapes and yokes and a ton of other small details that only a true sewing enthusiast can appreciate.

As an hommage to Martin's love for hats, Mr. C insisted to model the shirt wearing his fedora. Go check Martin wearing his gorgeous peacock print shirt wearing his :-)

The photos were taken on a hot summer's eve near the source of river Ljubljanica, one of our favourite hiking spots.

Unisex fashion

Over the last couple of years, the fashion world went crazy for the "boyfriend trend": the boyfriend jeans, oversized cardigans, cuffed jackets and brogues became quite trendy and could be spotted on many women around the Globe. Though if truth be told it suited very few.
Such is, in my opinion the true value of many trends: they seldom last quite because the style is unsuitable for 90% of the population and looks funny, is uncomfortable or just plain odd.

I never cared for the boyfriend trend  and in all the years we've been together I've seldom "stolen" garments from Mr. C. Last Saturday we went for a bit of autumn shopping and I found this medium weight jersey hoodie. Bliss! We got one for Mr. C and I immediately wanted one of my own, but thought: "Naah, not going to fall for it!"
As we were nearing the register, I started wincing and finally went back for one more hoodie. and it's a decision I won't regret. It's so soft and just the perfect weight. Looks great paired with dark wash jeans and ballet flats for a casual look.

As always, I'm a sucker for details. Bound buttonholes provide a classy touch to an otherwise casual garment.

What's your take on the boyfriend trend or trends in general? In favor or against?

Coffee in Helsinki

Today, I've accepted an invitation to a very special and as it turns out an ultra stylish coffee date with my oldest blogger friend Mette from Metscan who threw together this surprise gathering.
Since this is blogosphere the usual time/space limitations do not apply and our date is conducted virtually via the Internet.

Go check out what the other ladies will be wearing. I must say that after reading about their outfits my most casual linen pants/polo top and flat sandals outfit I was planning on wearing seemed modest and out of place. I had to dig a little deeper into my closet and opted instead for the more feminine combination of a white blazer and printed knit dress (I'm deliberately choosing to omit the labels).
 

Accessories are pretty standard: my formal sunglasses;

a vintage brooch;

and a vintage Turkish filigree bracelet given to me by my mum.

Another wedding, another outfit

Another wedding, another opportunity for getting all dressed up!
Yesterday our friends tied the knot on a beautiful if a bit hot day in Ljubljana. The bride and groom looked lovely and very much in love.
As always, you'll have to settle for my word on this, instead a couple of pics of the outfit I decided to wear.

This was a last minute decision because I didn't have anything to pair with the dress. So the scarf and the clutch were a last minute purchase. And by last minute, I do mean last minute: while Mr. C was taking the gift to the florist's to get it gift wrapped I hopped into H&M and found both.

What do you think?

In related news: Mr. C caught the garter belt which according to tradition means we're next. Hmmm....

Outfit post

It isn't really my thing to do outfit posts on my blog. However this pic Mr. C took while we were returning home from work today worked out really well and I decided to share it with you. The reason Mr. C took the photo in the first place was because we were testing our new memory card.
The other thing that might be interesting is getting your feedback on the appropriateness of this outfit for a work environment. As is very obvious from my choice of clothing I work in a very relaxed environment where my outfit doesn't stand out or is considered inappropriate. But I do dress much more formally on days when we have business meetings scheduled. I've also been considering the possibility of keeping some neutral business clothes just in case.

Why I'd make a bad fashion blogger

It's not the lack of clothes. And definitely not the lack of interesting accessories ;-P Whether you call it laziness or pragmatism, I love to create uniform looks for every season. As the seasons change I like to open my closet and pick a few items that will become my favourite. These can be new things or something quite old. As is the case with the black jacket with red lining in the next photo. Blacklisted in May, when I did a major closet de-stash, it came back with a vengeance this autumn after I discovered the lost of weight made it once more a perfect fit.


1. Late September, early October

The weather is still quite warm and it hasn't started raining yet. This is the time when I pack my sandals and bring out some light autumn footwear like ballerinas or these cognac sneakers. I also bring out my autumn/winter bag. Finishing the look off with a random jewellery selection. This year it was the dragonfly brooch I received for my birthday and the necklace from the Bead Soup.

2. Late October, early November

A very old fashion rule states that boots can't be worn before All Saints' day unless it begins snowing before that day. This is probably one of the few rules I stick to relentlessly. Probably because I am irked by the women who break out their new boots around 18th September when it's still 22 degrees Celsius outside.
This is usually the time of year my crazy jacket gets worn all the time. It's cropped and has 3/4 length sleeves making it an utterly amusing piece of clothing. If only for the bewildered looks it evokes.

But if the temperatures reside between 4 and 10 degrees Celsius it's ideal. I love to pair it with long gloves and my Indian girl bag. Also featured a tulip skirt from Sisley.

3. November

Dreary, foggy, depressing. My mood swings are in full swing. I also suffer from lack of interest and/or energy. It's all related to the rapid decline of sunlight. Daylight savings switch to winter time isn't helping either.

My tactic for battling negative thoughts: wear pink, lots and lots of pink! This outfit is extremely infantile: the jacket was made with a girls' fabric and the ankle boots are childrens' too. This is also the only time of the year I love to wear my prescription glasses out in public.

4. December

The most festive month of the year. We go out quite a bit in December. Meeting all the friends before New Year is a tradition. I like to create an outfit that's casual but on the dressier side.
The boots were a recent* acquisition. I bought them last November from a Vegetarian shoe company. These were exactly what my wardrobe was missing, a pair of casual smart boots that can be dressed up or down.

The coat is one I made myself, again. The fabric was quite cheap, because this sort of bright magenta isn't a popular choice for coats in Slovenia.

5. January, February

Aka the frost bite months of the year. This is the time of year when temperatures are well bellow zero. It's also wet and snowing most of the time. As a pedestrian, I hate to get my pants wet and ruined by the salt so I wear skirts at all times. With my trusty heavy duty Doc Marten's boots. These are now believe it or not 6 or 7 years old and will probably last at least another 6 or 7 years.

All hope of wearing a coat in this weather has long been abandoned. Instead, my quite feminine parka with a belt and extra thick lining to keep me warm. Though not obvious from the photo it's actually a wonderful shade of bronze.

And there you have it. From March on, the order of wearing outfits featured above is reversed and come May, I'll probably be wearing the black jacket with red lining.

*recent In my closet time passes at a much slower rate: meaning any item of clothing less than two years old is young and anything bought in the last 12 months is new.

A comprehensive guide on wearing brooches

By now anyone who reads my blog on at least a semi-regular basis knows about my love affair with brooches. People often ask me how I wear them and I've often wrote about it and left comments on other blogs. But as they say a picture is worth a 1000 words.
I waited for a sunny afternoon and assembled some outfits I typically wear with brooches:

1. Coats, jackets, outerwear in general
The sturdy collars and lapels of jackets are ideal for brooches. It's important to find the right balance though. The bigger the lapel, the bigger the brooch. Obviously.

I often ignore this rule. Usually when I want to wear a specific piece for sentimental reasons.

Like my rooster fibula. I really wanted to wear it for my graduation, though a slightly bigger brooch would work better with this particular jacket.

2. Sweaters
For some reason, I really love to pin my brooches on my turtlenecks.
Bigger brooches are pinned at the base of the collar.

Smaller ones slightly higher.

3. Leisure wear:
 Who says home wear has to be dowdy? The road to instant feel happy: embellishing my old ragged (dyed two times already) hoodie with some inexpensive pins.

Or in the case of this polar fleece, complementing the embroidery.
See, chic on the budget ;-)

4. Accessories
Accessorizing accessories? Of course! Hats, beanies even textile bags. None are safe from my brooch mania.

5. Tops and shirts
I rarely wear brooches on t-shirts or top. The material simply isn't compact enough. The only partial exception are fine compact knits.

Shirts on the other hand were made for brooches. Here's one, unironed (sorry about that). But the real shocker: it belongs to Mr. C and I have been known to ahem borrow it on several occasions.

Another option is pinning the brooch on the bottom of a sweater just above the patent line. I love this on my knit vests over a classic shirt. With the sleeves cuffed.

And finally, for convenience I love to have my brooches permanently pinned to certain garments. Which is great in a pinch. Leaving the house in a hurry, I can rely on wearing at least some jewellery.
But the downside of this pragmatism is that the same pieces get worn over and over or worse.

I end up unwittingly over accessorizing.

Shopping for essentials: items that fall in the "money is no object" philosophy

In an ideal situation money and that ugly word budget would never come into play when deciding what to buy. Our wardrobes would boast nothing but the finest suits made of super 140s wool, alpaca sweaters and Camel Hair coats. Real life and financial limitations force us to be realistic.
When forced to cut back, I am most likely to compromise on everything except three things: underwear, footwear and outerwear. Without exception my wardrobe holds nothing but the best I could afford in these three categories.
Okay, except two pairs of flip flops bought for peanuts. I really have no intention of shelling out 100 € on a pair of plastic thongs from (insert a high end brand here) ______. Other than the logo, the level of comfort is probably equal to that of a pair of drug store flip flops. Not to mention they're both made in  China anyway.

Missoni flip flops

Moving on.

Underwear is the most obvious choice. It comes into closest contact with our skin so it's paramount it be made of comfortable preferably natural material, allowing the skin to breathe. You won't find any lacy culottes in my underwear drawer!
Anything that requires hand washing has been expunged from my closet as well. Yes, it's saucy and sexy, but I prefer an infection and eczema free groin area.

Vegetarian sneakers

Footwear is next. And it's become quite customary, even expected for women to covet, own and spend an obscene amount of money on shoes. Owning quality footwear doesn't equal a mortgage down payment tied up in a closet full of Manolos and Louboutins!
Our feet need proper support since they carry our weight around and high heel shoes don't cut it.

And finally: outerwear. Unless you live in a moderate climate that doesn't require coats and parkas you are no doubt well acquainted with the nuisance that accompanies bad weather. The cold, the snow and the chilling damp air.
Outerwear must be able to protect us from all this. It must also be light, durable and comfortable. Quality outerwear is probably the most expensive purchase of all. But if you take good care of your coat, it can last a decade.

Sportmax F/W 2011 runway

As you can see my list of essentials is pretty short. Minute actually. I'm not saying that other items are irrelevant and paying good money on say pants or a handbag is money wasted. I'm merely scaling the list to absolute, bare essentials in the sudden death style of either or.
As always, I'm very interested in your opinion. Do you agree with my list or not? And if so, why?

Versace parka

And for the record I like to wear my sneakers with my coat and my wedge boots with my parka. To mix it up a bit :-)

It's just a label afterall

Today's post was prompted by a comment I've read on one of the blogs I follow, where the commenter said she had never heard of a brand I adore to a point of worship. The brand in question is Sportmax, a love child of Max Mara.
This comment really got me thinking on the whole consumer culture and brand worship. While I certainly don't deny I love brands, I have to question whether I love them because of the quality of craftsmanship or the inovative design that (should) justify the price...or is it just the label and the elitism it brings?

And thereafter came a flurry of questions. Do I define myself through things? Do I wear certain brands because I want to identify with their philosophy? It's inescapable that today every brand on the market positions itself with a quasi story behind the brand, the philosophy or whatever. All this serves one purpose only: to attract a certain profile of customers and tie them to the product, which is the label of course.
And it only gets uglier. Certain fashion giants luring us in with the promise of Eco friendly, labour ethical and other BS. A friend of mine has dubbed it "the blind Tibetan nuns product" strategy.
In the end a label is just a label. I prefer high end brands because the clothes fit better, the materials and the construction are infinitely superior to mass produced fashion, keenly aware that they do charge for the label and that all that money doesn't always go to preserving the environment or to the underprivileged workers from Third World countries.

And a final word about the knit top in the pictures. It's a raglan sleeve Sportmax polo knit that is so ingeniously useless, it's bourgeois. A fine cashmere/silk knit that demands such ridiculous weather conditions, I get to wear it once a year if I'm lucky. Yesterday was one such day with the temperatures plummeting for more than 20 degrees from warm and sunny 30 degrees Celsius to a mere 10 with constant downpour.

Today promises to be sunny. I'm packing the top away.

You will have a bellyfull of sworn off bread in no time!

A somewhat crude but apt translation of an old old Slovene proverb. It teaches us not to be to hasty in our solemn declarations or proclamations, because it can quickly turn the opposite way. More often than not we end up doing things we swore we wouldn't do in a thousand years.
A month ago I proclaimed I won't be tempted by summer sales no matter how enticing the clothes or how low the prices might be. Did I ever get a bellyful of it. Between Mr C. and me, we bought more clothes in the past few weeks than we did in the past two years altogether!
It started innocently enough with tops. Because I had recently lost quite a bit of weight all my current tops were awkwardly big and the ones I have in storage hoping in vain I might fit into one day are too small. With the warm weather still lingering, I bit the bullet and bought three summer tops.

The one in the middle is actually a dark navy and it quickly became my favourite. Which is so weird, because it was the one I was most reluctant to buy. It's a somewhat loose fit with kimono sleeves, doesn't wrinkle and is very cool to wear.

The next week Benetton had a blow out sale on all spring/summer items and we bought half the store. An exaggeration of course, but to me such an amount of clothing bought in one go is unheard of. Yet we paid so ridiculously little and were relentless in picking only items that we truly needed and fit us perfectly no matter how low the prices were.
Of course it doesn't end here. I went for another round. Solo this time, looking for some business related wardrobe. As you all know by now I graduated quite recently. If you haven't read it on my blog then surely you must have heard it from my mum ;-P

As a lawyer to be I have very little leeway in terms of work appropriate attire. Jackets and suits are a must, there is no way around that fact. And thought I have one super nice suit it won't get me far. I set off trying to assemble a capsule professional wardrobe. The bare essential that will get me as far as possible on a few carefully picked out pieces.

after almost a decade of a back pants free exsistence, I bought two pairs in the span of one week

So off I went shopping again. And struck gold. I stumbled upon a jacket with coordinating pants and a skirt in a medium wight fabric and a neutral beige brown colour. The possibilities for coordinating are practically endless because it goes with black and navy and brown. A relatively neutral piece and medium weight so it can be worn almost thought the entire year.
I also bought two pairs of dress pants in black and a thoroughly summer jacket in white, bracelet length sleeves.

The dress isn't new, but it's from the same manufacturer and though they are diffents season, this brand has a very cohesive look and items from different seasons can easily be mixed together.

The dress code discussion

I've recently been invited to a wedding. And though I love attending weddings, this invitation gave me quite a shock. The bride to be extended her invitation stipulating I don't outshine her. And apparently this stipulation comes with a strict shopping ban?!
More than five days later I'm still broiling over her words. I consider myself well mannered and as far as I've been made aware the proper guidelines for (female) guests attending a wedding are:

• don't wear white or the colour the bride will be wearing
• don't wear black; This one is controversial as I see the trend of wearing black has really taken off over in America, but not in Slovenia and I tend to support that. Weddings are joyous occasions so keep that black suit for a funeral.
• the outfit should be suitable for the level of formality a.k.a. no breaking out the family tiara for a beach wedding

Other than that there is also the general rule of be respectful and polite, but that one pretty much adheres to any social interaction. So we're (I am) back where we started: my friend's comment. Why was it necessary for her to use that particular phrase? Mr. C, though he may be partial ;-) gave me an excellent piece of advice. He told me not to feel responsible for her insecurities. Because ultimately that's what it was.
Since the wedding won't take place until next May, I haven't decided what I'll wear or if  I will indeed be buying something new. But I couldn't resist browsing some of my favourite on-line stores for inspiration at least.
My favourites so far are these:

A somewhat retro inspired dress with a flared skirt in teal from Asos at €70,51:

Silk and Soie cocktail dress in a deep plum from Yoox at €175,00:

A classic Diane von Furstenberg from Yoox at €230,00:
 

An interesting print in silk knit by Issa from Yoox at €155,00:

A  minimalistic, if a bit short DAY Birger et Mikkelsen from Net-a-porter would be a good choice to change into for the party after the formal ceremony:

 

And if I were of a vicious temper I could always wear red as suggested by Bourbon and Pearls. This saucy little number from Bastyan at 70 GBP would do the job:

Rites of passage

 Growing Old is Mandatory - Growing Up Is Optional.

Chilli Davis

There are many milestones on the road form childhood to adulthood. Tiny markers that signal the passage of time.Some are exhilarating, like the time I got my driver's licence and the incredible feeling of freedom that came along; some are uncomfortable, like getting my period a good couple of years earlier than my peers and some are down right scary, like shopping for my first grown up suit.

I have no idea why, but the just the thought of needing a proper suit had me terrified, it still does. I have purchased cocktail dresses and stilettos, even coats without blinking. Actually attending a classical high school that put priority in languages and literature meant I was constantly surrounded with young wannabe poets. Which of course meant a long black coat was de rigeur.
Yet to this day, I don't own a single pair of black dress pants and only one pair of black pumps. It would seem obvious to anyone but me that I do suffer from the Peter Pan complex. Anything remotely grown up or strict has me running for the hills.
Initially I set out to buy a suit in navy. I dislike black and I look terrible in gray or beige. After spending an entire day looking for a navy suit in vain I finally gave up and bought this black suit. And felt very smug about it for it has ruffles.
Life is too short to spend it doing things that scare you or make you uncomfortable.