Sunday, November 7, 2010

Birthdays, Curtains, and RTW Fashion Goodness

I recently had a jump in subscribers, so welcome to the new folk! And thanks to Carolyn, who mentioned me in a recent post. If you want to skip the brief, but indulgent, parental-themed chat and pics, scroll down to the fashion-themed chat and pics. ;)

Actually, the last couple of weeks have been slow for me, sewing-wise. And the last week, in particular, was exhausting, culminating in my eldest child turning me into a parent of an adult. She just missed voting in the election by three days. She has been wanting an upgrade to her bedroom for more than a year now, so I did whip up some new curtains. That's my tiny bit of sewing I can report on.

But first, Birthday Cake!!! :)

Okaaaay. She likes both Devil's Food and Red Velvet, so I made both and stacked them. Maybe not such a great idea, but she liked it. :)

Cake, Packed To Go.

Before
Fabric she selected at the age of 11. She is so over the yellow rosebuds. Yay, more muslin fabric for me!!!

After
I would have preferred longer curtains, but this was all of the yardage that Fabrix had and I wasn't in the mood to add a contrast band to this wobbly crinkled poly fabric. They aren't quite this dark in person.


But
I do have some fashion to mention!

Daughter also wanted some "edgy" clothing for her birthday, so I spent a lunch hour in the Haight last week. I had very little time to cover the all the clothing stores, both vintage and new, so I was moving fast, often spending just a few seconds in a store before rushing to the next.

The second I walked into one store, a very friendly sales lady started talking to me. As she approached me, she pointed in the direction of my pants and asked, "Is that skunk funk?" I immediately thought that "skunk funk" must be a euphemism for something nastier than simple lint. As I desperately scanned my pants for something awful, maybe even chunky, I wondered what the heck I brushed up against. I mean, the Haight is not that clean, so who knows? ;)

And thus I was introduced to the brand, Skunk Funk.

I was in the Skunk Funk store, in fact, but hadn't noticed the name. I was wearing these Au Bonheur pants, and the French design reminded her of the Spanish Skunk Funk styles. (Note to self, get a better picture of these pants. ;) )

As I was about to enter another Haight boutique I glanced in the window and was stopped in my tracks. On a mannequin was a gorgeous gray wool coat. Forgetting my birthday shopping for a moment, I headed straight for the coat on the racks.

Oh My Goodness.

It was gorgeous and I so wish I had a photo to show you. It cost $475, and was made from gray wool boucle, but it also featured a contrasting fabric - a brocade with circles decorating the unusual external pocket, the ruffled collar, and the sleeve. It had a shocking pink lining that didn't match the outside at all - pure whimsy. The sales girls told me that many folks come in to check out the coat and every time they carry pieces from this designer they fly out the door. The designer was unfamiliar to me, but the label said An Ren. I came home and googled, hoping (in vain) to find a pic of the coat, but I found some others. For example, this coat from Fawbush is similar (not nearly as cute, but it has a similar pocket and collar). An Ren is a master of combining fabrics.

And, how cute are these An Ren jackets?

She has a boutique in New York and if I lived there I'd rush over to check it out. :)

Finally, I was just reading Ruthie's blog, and she mentions a website I had never heard of, but what vibrant designs! This is another example of a designer that combines fabrics in interesting ways. Here are some of my favorites from the Desigual site.

Thanks for the very interesting link, Ruthie!