I can always use another black dress...

I've had a few additions to my closet in the last couple weeks, and this, by far, is my favorite. It's a black, pleated, trapeze dress by a company called Paper Crane. I bought the dress at Marshall's for $9. Despite the fact that 90% of my closet is composed of black, I couldn't resist the playful shape and intriguing pleats.

Though my style has been compared by my friends as that of a "vampire", I've shamelessly embraced my love of dark colors and gothic details. The loose, bishop sleeve and high neckline add a dark, passive, sexiness to the look.

Pleat Details


Silhouette

Back Closure Details

Me!

even after death, the sprit of mcqueen lives on

Diving for McQueen on Nowness.com.

thrifting away again in margaritaville

Ignore the title. I'm obsessed with thrifting, that's all. I ventured to my local 'Savers' yesterday, with the intention of buying some chunky, comfy, sweaters. The weather's getting colder and I'm certainly not ready for it, but nothing quite eases the pain of assimilating to fall/winter quite like a warm sweater.

Now, there's an art to thrifting. You may see something with an interesting fabric, buttons, or shape, but you're distracted by the heinous shoulder pads (NOT that shoulder pads are always heinous). The thing to remember when browsing through second-hand items is that they can always be altered. And for $4.99 if you mess it up, it's no huge loss. This happened to be the case with this beautiful creme sweater I found. It was an easy fix, however. I just snipped the shoulder pads right out, no damage to the sweater.

It's long, fuzzy, comfy, and the prettiest creme color, and I'm so obsessed.

The next item I found was a case of shoulder pads done right. I've been searching for the right black, oversized blazer, and I found it! I love where these sleeves hit, and that the shoulder pads aren't too extreme. I'm not sure how I feel about the button in the front, but as I said, that can always be changed.
And lastly, my most favorite item I bought, is this pair of brown ankle-boots. They lace up the front, have a small heel, and look hardly worn!

I saw so many cute shoes, but obviously none in my gargantuan size. I decided to give these bad boys a try even though they are 2 sizes smaller than I normally wear, and good thing I did because they fit perfectly! Even if something you find in a thrift store isn't labeled as your size, definitely try it on. Sizing has changed drastically in the last decade and something that is marked as one size may fit differently.
And the grand total for these items was $22!
Happy thrifting :)

Eco-Chic

For the past few years, my school's Fashion Merchandising Society holds an "Eco-chic" Fashion Show, where designers can enter garments made out of recycled or eco-friendly materials. Sustainability in the fashion industry has always been an intriguing subject to me, and I regret not having made a garment for the show until now.

Considering that I am a senior, and this was my last chance to make an impression, I decided to go big. Though the show is not until December, I wanted to get an early start so I could potentially make more than one garment. Maybe I should wait to show it off but I'm just too happy with it!



The fabrics I used are all recycled upholstery fabrics. The black detailing was done by hand-sewing small trash bag rosettes onto the skirt, and the studs on the bodice were made from a soda can. Though I'm very proud of it, there's definitely still work to be done.