(handmade IKEA fabric dress, Mossimo Long Leather Gloves, H&M belt, Metro7 snakeskin print platform pumps)To subject y’all to entirely non-fashion-related babbling drivel for a little bit…
One of the things that we were so psyched about when we moved from Honolulu to Oregon 2 years ago was…drumroll please….
Ikea within driving distance.
Yes, I know it’s sad and bourgeosie. Or strident middle-class desperation. Whatever. In Hawaii, the furniture available at most furniture stores is utter crap and ridiculously, ridiculously overpriced. And either teak (endangered…weighing a thousand pounds…um, no thanks) or wicker (infested with bugs, “island-style casual”…blech.) Nothing modern, nothing clean and streamlined…unless we wanted to pay thousands of dollars at Natuzzi or Z Design or somewhere. We lived in a beautiful condominium with cardboard boxes and junky mismatched stuff from Wal-Mart and cabinets from Home Depot.
Until we came to Oregon, finally visited Ikea, and were in heaven. Seriously, for the amount that you have to pay to furnish a home beautifully in a contemporary style in the islands…it would be cheaper to fly to the mainland, stock up at Ikea, and ship everything to Hawaii instead! Ikea could even raise their prices by 20% and still undercut what’s available in Honolulu by hundreds of dollars. Ikea people, take note!
But I digress. I love the textile patterns available in their fabric department; they’re so cool, so clean and uncomplicated. I must admit I went on a bit of a spree in the textiles department, picking myself up 2 yds of Patricia printed fabric last time I visited the mecca of Swedish design watered down for the average consumer palate.
And I made myself a dress.
The fabric is stiff and 100% cotton, so it doesn’t lend itself well to anything but structured clothing, IMHO. I had to line the dress in poly satin since the fabric is really too rough to sit against the skin.
I wanted structured sheath dress with a little twist, so I chose Vogue pattern V1068 (dress on upper left). I had to make multiple alterations on the dress once made since of course the top part didn’t fit like the pattern said it would. I hate store-bought patterns. I thought the neckline was a little bit interesting. Not earth-shattering, but interesting.
I’m also working on a little removable puff-peplum for this dress…it won’t be done before the leaves start to decay, so I wanted to get these shots first. And a clutch handbag where I’m shading in the flowers with a fabric marker in various tones of gray…should be cool.
I’ve left the garden in this atrocious state for more than a week, reasoning that I wanted to do a photoshoot on top of all those beautiful Japanese Maple leaves before I rake them up. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
I had a little Marilyn Monroe moment there with the elbow-length gloves…from Target, can you believe it?!
Now I’m off to rake me some leaves!
xoxox
Carly
I LOVE THAT! It looks so good on you and I love the fabric!! Awesome job!!
I looove Ikea!! 😀
Love the look too.
I WISH I had time to [learn how to] sew! Especially since there are so many great diy bloggers out there (such as yourself! ^__^) willing to show tutorials and share their finds with the world. sigh…
cute gloves! are they from this year? if so, i was totally eyeing the same ones at target last week! (i bought the fuzzy black muff-like hat that was most likely displayed with those gloves) lol
Your dress is adorable! You made the right choice by not raking up those leaves, your photos are excellent too!
wow suca a perfect dress!
ikea has fantastic fabrics for sure <3
aaawww your like a little alice in wonderland 🙂
I know i am waaaaaaaay late but in my search for mittens, gloves and beanies to make out of old sweaters i found YOU! I love the men’s shirt dress! I may make one (with straps) for my daughter! LOL but this picture of you in your Ikea dress is priceless! And girl who are you explaining to about those leaves? That is beautiful! you are very talented! I am now going to see if i kan find your “clutch” and puff peplum you referred to! thanks for the ideas!
Actually I haven’t made the clutch or peplum yet… *blushes* I ended up getting caught up and they totally got pushed to the bottom of my DIY list…argh. I better do that at some point…;-) Thanks for your kind words about my dress and the leaves!! I’m so glad you’ve come across my blog and I’m glad to have you here!:-)
xoxo
Carly