A Pin Up Picnic... In A Bar!

Every year, The British Belles put on a little meet in London of pin ups and vintage style lovers. The original was named Pin Up Picnic In The Park - since it was pin ups... in a park. But sadly we're British and rain moved the event from Hyde Park to cocktails at Barrio Shoreditch. And so it was a Pin Up Picnic.. In A Bar!!

I always have big ideas about making special themed outfits for events like these, since they're a great excuse for real dressing up. The problem with that idea, though, is I'm too lazy and busy to do that, and I end up picking out whatever is clean on the morning of.

I ended up picking up my Check, Please! dress, because in my world, gingham is a neutral. I made this dress in 2013 and it's the only one from my early sewing that I still wear!

It's been so long since I went to any sort of event that I feel like I've forgotten how to socialise! I spent a lot of my time with my housemate Ellie outside sheltering from the rain.

But don't think that I didn't have fun! Barrio Shoreditch was a great, colourful venue that was the perfect backdrop for cocktails and meeting friends old and new. Plus, there was a lot of tips about hair being thrown around - and I love hair tips!

I've mentioned my anxiety before, but I was wondering if you guys deal with it and any tips and tricks? I need to push myself to go to more events, but that pesky anxiety really gets in the way!

I know I've posted about The George bag before, but it's still my absolute favourite designs we do. I'd suggest grabbing a George item now if you've wanted one. The line is being discontinued! We do have a new pub design on pre-order, if you do miss out.

Hair Flower&Necklace; Handmade
Cardigan; Collectif (old)
Dress; Handmade
Brooch; Luxulite
Bag; Vendula London
Shoes; Melissa

Strawberry Sundae with Florence Carousel Photography

These are from the first of the two photoshoots I did with Florence Carousel in September (the second shoot is here) and I can't even explain just how much I absolutely adore these images. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Florence is such a talented photographer. You need to check out her main website and her other site, The Street Style Carousel to see just how wonderful she is at capturing style and beauty.

This outfit is possibly one of my absolute bests because it's so matchymatchy and delicious. 

This skirt is another dirndl that was made around the same time as the All Hail The Gingham Queen Skirt in exactly the same way - it's simply just my favourite cotton gingham from Rolls and Rems in Holloway pleated onto a waistband. This one is lined in white cotton, has a centre-back zipper and gigantic patch pockets with ricrac trim.

Simple, but effective! 

Teamed with my original 60's cross-stitch bag with strawberries and strawberry accents on my Miss L Fire Sundae shoes (from 2013) and a handmade strawberry necklace - I will happily say I'm horrendously matchy-matchy, but god, doesn't it just WORK? 

Hair Flowers: Lady Lucks Boutique 

Earrings: Bow and Crossbones

Necklace: Handmade

Brooch: Luxulite

Top: Collectif

Skirt: Handmade

Bangles: Splendette and vintage

Bag: Vintage

Shoes: Miss L Fire

All photos are taken by and belong to Florence Carousel. Use of these photos is only permitted with her approval.
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All My Royal Subjects - With Florence Carousel Photography

Back in September I was lucky enough to do a little shoot with the amaaaazing Florence Carousel after work one warm day whilst the colours of the trees were changing, and I wanted to show you the photos, because frankly? They are AMAZING.

This was the second half of the shoot, and I changed into this outfit in a weird toilet cubicle which was not easy when it was absolutely bloody boiling!

Although this dress isn't technically finished (currently it's strapless as I need to put the straps on, plus add pockets in) it was formed enough to show it off. I bought the fabric from Fabric.com with vouchers I'd been given for my birthday (thanks again, Kristina!), and it's a nice lightweight cotton - nothing too exciting, but it does what I wanted to do, which was simply to make a bright green sundress!

The pattern is the No Cock Nor Tails bodice and a pleated dirndl, of which there's really no more to say than the other dresses featuring the same components, because I have this habit of making the same two dresses.

I'm not very natural at doing any modelling, I can't take myself seriously enough to pose without pulling faces between every shot - but Florence knew what she wanted and made me very comfortable until it started to just flow naturally, resulting in some pretty amazing photos, if I'm allowed to be quite so big headed! She literally has so much talent at portraiture and I love every photo!

Plus she chose a perfect background, this is the fountain outside Buckingham Palace, of which many jokes about me looking over my royal subjects/peasants ensued - because I'm basically The Queen. Right? RIGHT? 

Hair flowers: Lady Lucks Boutique and handmade

Necklace: Handmade

Earrings: Bow and Crossbones

Brooch: Luxulite

Bolero and Belt: Collectif

Dress: Handmade

Bangles: Splendette and Lady Lucks Boutique

Shoes: Miss L Fire

All photos are taken by and belong to Florence Carousel. Use of these photos is only permitted with her approval.

All Hail The Gingham Queen!

It's been said before, but I'll say it again.

I bloody love gingham.

This is the second in three items I've made recently in gingham, and yes, it's exactly the same gingham from Rolls and Rems in Holloway as every other bloody gingham item on this blog.

But hell, when something works for you, it works for you, right?

 

I've got a bit of a gap in my wardrobe for skirts, and especially one for slightly more casual outfits for when I can't be bothered. So, a length of gingham got pleated up to become my new favourite skirt!

Bloody typical my bag is the wrong way around in this shot!

There's so little to say about this skirt, it's fully lined and has gigantic pockets I keep trying to fit the dog in - with a bit of tiny pompom trim across to make it a little bit more exciting than it really is. It's a simple dirndl skirt, with three-inch box pleats instead of the traditional gathering.

It just so happens that the day I planned to shoot this skirt, the amazing Katy from Luxulite sent me the most amazing brooch and earring set - IT'S BLOODY GINGHAM. Can you think of any accessory better suited to my severe obsession than this? They're absolutely gorgeous, and I can't recommend Luxulite any higher than I already do.

 

Hair Flowers; Lady Luck's Boutique

Necklace; Vintage
Brooch and Earrings; Luxulite

Top; Boohoo (last year)

Belt; Collectif

Bag; Vendula

Bangles; Splendette and Vintage

Shoes; Rocket Originals

And even stranger? Karen at Did You Make That? just announced a Ginghamalong!
Who else is joining me in making a gingham item by 13th September to be in for a chance to win even more gingham? Of course, the self-proclaimed Gingham Queen is on it!!

Sunshine Through The Clouds

Well hello beautiful strangers!

As you may have noticed, I took a little unannounced break from blogging whilst I got myself moved and sorted into my new place - of which I'm now very happy in with the addition of my brand new sewing desk (more on that in a later post!)

But for now I wanted to play catch-up a bit with some sewing projects, this one being the last thing I made in my last house, which gives me a little bit of an emotional attachment to it.
It's pretty lucky that I honestly think it's my best project to date, and quickly becoming a favourite dress!

So I've gone a bit colour-crazy recently and I've had this idea of a red and yellow colour combination in my head for a few years, and it's only really now that I've actually decided to act on it. I got myself down to Rolls and Rems to scout out my trusty 1-inch cotton gingham (you can see everything I've made with it under the gingham tag) in a slightly offensively bright shade of yellow.

The pattern to this dress is another variation on the No Cock Nor Tails pattern I drafted a good few years back - with the baggy nipples of the Big Ol' Black dress rectified somewhat unsuccessfully as it's still just a touch tight on the bust.
The skirt is old faithful - the pleated dirndl. It's basically a copy of the Check, Please dress in yellow instead of red. But once I like a pattern I really do stick to it!

To keep a bit of a differentiate between the Check, Please dress and this one I added my new favourite trim in the world - POM POMS! from Frumble Fabrics onto the neckline, hem and pockets. I always find it amusing how such a small amount of trim can really make a garment pop - and I find people seem to go a little nuts for pom pom trim.

Other than the fitting issues of the failed FBA adjustment from my last version from this dress, I think this self-drafted pattern is really teaching me about my body - how my shoulders slope and why the straps don't stay in one place, where my waist actually sits and the way thing such as belts sit on them, and how the top of my back slopes and why I always have a gape in the back of my dresses.

This dress features a lovely scoop back that looks fine when I'm relaxed, as you can see below, but as soon as I move the thing can fit a small dog between me and the fabric - and although I like small dogs, thats not my preferred way of carrying animals.

However, my hair looks pretty amazing though, so we can focus on that instead of fit issues, right?

But I love this dress, and it's absolutely perfect once the sun actually decides to shine in this crappy excuse for a summer!

Hair Flowers; Lady Lucks Boutique and a gift

Necklace; Handmade

Brooch; Luxulite

Bangles; Splendette

Bag; Vendula

Shoes; Miss L Fire

A Big Ol' Black Dress

The Little Black Dress (LBD) has been considered a wardrobe staple for every woman since the days of Coco Chanel - chances are, if you wear dresses, you've got a LBD hanging in a wardrobe right this moment.

I, however, don't really do little. Go big or go home, right?

In comes the Big Ol' Black Dress (BOBD is much more amusing than LBD).

I wear black dresses a lot. And since I'm running out of variety in my BOBD wardrobe, I thought I'd knock this Big Ol' lady out with just some plain cotton (possibly a pique) that I got from my friends over at Rolls And Rems on Holloway Road.
It's a really lovely quality cotton, but the issue I have with anything 100% cotton is that it just absolutely has to crease at every bloody opportunity it can. Infuriating but so lovely to work with.

The pattern used is my self-drafted No Cock Nor Tails pattern, but with an added full bust adjustment because the original didn't really accommodate my larger-than-I-think-it-is bust.
However my first ever FBA didn't go so well, and I ended up with some weird bagging right on the bust apex (AKA baggy nipples. No one wants baggy nipples) and some extra fabric in the arm scythe, the former isn't that noticeable, but you can definitely see where it doesn't fit right in the arm holes in this picture;

So this dress has inseam pockets in the box pleated dirndl skirt, a lined bodice, and a centre back zip I screwed up with the insertion so there's a gap in the top, as you can see in the photo below. I'd say I'll put in a hook and eye, but since becoming single, there's no way I can undo that sort of fiddly thing myself.
But you know what? It looks pretty good, it feels pretty good, and it's a great BOBD.

Now. I'm going to stop talking about the dress because although it's great and all can we just take a moment out to TALK ABOUT MY HANDBAG?

This is The George pub bag from Vendula London and it's quite frankly the greatest handbag ever.

One, it's a fucking pub. Two, you can take the handle off and use the long strap to wear it as a cross body bag (two handbags in one, yes please!) Three - THE LITTLE SIGN OPENS UP.
If you're in London, pop into our shop to see this beauteous thing in the flesh, because it is just so amazing.

Hair Flowers; Lady Luck's Boutique 

Earrings; Bow and Crossbones

Necklace; Handmade

Bolero; Collectif

Brooch; Luxulite

Belt; Primark

Shoes; Miss L Fire

Bag; Vendula London

Me Made May - Week Three!

Moody British Picnics Dress | When Life Gives You Lemons Skirt | Last of the Summer Gingham Dress | Check-ah-Check-ow Dress | When Life Gives you Lemons Skirt

Okay. So. I promise I do have a few non-MMM-round up posts in the pipeline, but I've been a busy bee and my photographer/best friend has been otherwise engaged so there has been less time to take proper photos of some things I've made/worn, and I'm putting actual effort into dressing at the moment!

I think it's safe to say that the red gingham Butterick B5880 is my most worn dress so far - and I'm honestly thinking of making a few more of them in different colours because they're so easy to wear and get a lot of attention.
Of course, I managed to wear exactly the same outfit on Tuesday and Saturday, but I went to three gigs this week (Girugamesh's last London show before they disband and two Funeral For A Friend gigs - the last. ever. shows. I cried a lot) and I really like the harness and striped skirt combo. It's like a slightly 'edgier' look than my usual style, which is something new for me.

How is everyone else getting on with their challenges? I'm finding it surprisingly easy, but then again I'm outfit repeating constantly! Clearly I need to get back on my machine soon!

Me Made May - Week Two!

Check-Ah-Check-Ow Dress | How on Earth do you Pronounce 'Dirndl' Anyway? Skirt | Platform Closed Swirl | Last of the Summer Gingham Dress

Another week, another challenge completed! I managed to wear handmade 4/7 days which I'm pretty proud of.

We're only on week two and I've already worn two dresses twice, but I'm coming closer to the realisation I just love easy to wear dresses like the black and the red gingham ones here. Clearly I need to make more in summery colours! 

So far all I'm learning from this challenge is that I clearly need to make some more clothes I wear a lot, because what I really want to do is wear gingham 24/7.

How is #MeMadeMay going for you guys?

As always you can follow my #MMMay16 progress daily on Instagram here, and I'm also Snapping my outfits each day on Snapchat (search for melodyxmae), if you're so inclined!

Twilight Tartan

On the first official day of spring (AKA, it was actually nice outside) I tried to rope my best friend into taking some photos of a dress for me. Unfortunately shopping and eating ridiculous burgers took up the day and we kind of forgot to take pictures until the evening. Oops.

So today I wanted to show off yet another - and my latest version of my modified B5880 dress (previous versions can be seen here), this time in a gorgeous tartan! 

As with all the other B5880's, this dress has undergone some real changes from the original pattern - namely, that there's no neckline notches, and I've done away with the sarong skirt in favour of my favourite skirt style - the pleated dirndl!.

This version also has bias-bound neckline and arms, a concealed side zip and possibly the biggest pockets on a dress to date - it fits an A4 magazine with a bit of room.

 

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you might know that in summer I get a little... gingham mad - and in the winter I switch straight to tartans - I'm a big fan of grid-based patterns, it seems! This dress in particular was made for the Christmas Mid-Century Market run by Bettina Scarlett back in December the night before the event, and went together like a dream! 

The fabric itself is a lovely mid-weight wool blend Stewart tartan with a great texture, snuggly warmth and is light enough to hang well, but stiff enough to keep shape, which is my perfect sort of fabric!

Earrings; Bow and Crossbones

Necklace; Vintage

Brooch; Luxulite

Belt; Vintage

Bangles; Vintage and Splendette

 Bag;  Sun Jellies

Shoes; Primark

So this dress is currently still in heavy rotation, regardless of the fact that the sun has been shining brightly over London recently - I'm wondering, though, does anyone else have a small obsession with certain patterns?

Have a lovely weekend, dolls!

Melody x