Curtain skirt + the lonley berlin bears

For months we had been told by friends that there were some bears in a tiny enclosure in the centre of Berlin. We had ridden our bikes around this city park numerous times and had a hard time believing that there was any type of large wildlife around there.  So earlier in Spring, we ventured to Koellnischer Park to confirm whether the rumours were true. And sure enough we found a tiny ancient concrete enclosure (you can see it in the background of the second photo) with a few children running around telling their parents, "Mama, die Baeren sind nicht da". So we waited around a bit and after a few minutes a lady came out rattling a container of pellets. It took a while before 2 bears slowly emerged into the sunlight. So the rumour was confirmed. Bears live in the centre of Berlin, they are the living mascots of Berlin. I suppose that we were surprised that in this current day these little bears were living in such a sad, small and dull enclosure. I have found a number of animal protection groups/organisations including Liberate the Berlin Bears, born free and animal public who advocate for the rights of these bears.  It is definitely needed.




THE SKIRT
This skirt is the product of my second hand sourcing efforts. Thanks to the local markets and second hand stores my fabric stash is ever growing. This particular skirt is made out of 2 different curtains and is formed around the waist measurement. The skirt section is pleated on the waist band and the zipper is added to complete the skirt.
Last winter I started to knit some bow brooches and you will definitely be seeing more of these!   

Photos: Michael Dooney
 

velvet, lace, acnes and wine

(Dress: Topshop (<----- remember it here?). Cardigan: (<---- worn here!). Scarf: borrowed from mum. Shoes: Acne. Rings: Etsy and Fashionology.)

Robert and I visited the valley again. We went to the same winery and were teased by the same guy as mentioned in this post. After consuming generous tasting portions from the entire wine list, I stumbled in my new Acnes to a random creek. I normally wouldn't post a blurry photo, but couldn't resist. That photo portrays exactly how I felt that day. Happily drunk in my thrown-together outfit of textured goodness, getting all muddy in a very expensive pair of shoes. Best day I've had in a long time. 

Kaye xx

The right time of the year

(Dress: Princess Polly. Rings: Etsy and Fashionology. Necklaces: Etsy.)

It's weird that when this dress first arrived at my doorstep on the 26th of October 2010, I posted on the blog:

"The arrival of the Princess Polly dress... Now I just have to wait for the weather to heat up..."

Well it heated up, with one of the hottest and longest summers Perth has seen. And guess what? It hid in my closet. I don't know why, but I didn't gravitated towards this dress. The weather has only just started cooling down again, and in what seems to be the most inappropriate time of the year, I have felt the urge to wear it daily. 

I constantly feel my style evolving and changing. I sometimes have clothes in my closet that I look at, consider, and think "I like you. I know I'll want you someday, but not now."

Yes, I talk to my clothes. Is that weird? ;)

Thanks to Mary (and her amazingly creative mind) for taking these beautiful photos. 

Kaye xx

tent dress with a lace striped bib

This is a tent dress foundation. I wasn't sure how the shape would look, but I am pleasantly surprised. I used some curtaining plus a striped fabric to create the bib section at the front. I think I will try to make a tent dress again, but perhaps have a little more flare and body in the skirt section. All in all I am happy with this dress and I have worn it a lot over the past few weeks.

Stoffmart  Holland

On this particular weekend we headed out to Potsdam to the touring fabric market Stoffmarkt Holland. This market tours around to different cities in Germany. Sadly I didn't really love the markets. It was way too crowded and the quality of the fabric and the price was not that great. I think I am too used to fabric shopping in Australia, and I have been fairly disappointed in the fabric here in Germany. I am currently looking at sourcing some organic and ethically made fabrics, so I will let you know how my research goes.  

Seeing that we were already in Potsdam we decided to explore Park Sanssouci. The palace was pretty, but all of the plants were in winter mode so there was not a lot of colour in the garden. It was quite cold and the streams were frozen (yes I am wearing a sleeveless dress in the winter and yes I received some strange looks from the people passing by). But luckily the sun was shining! Sanssouci is definitely worth a visit. 

Photography: Michael Dooney 

This winter......

I wouldn't mind drowning myself in this thing all winter.

Here

I never thought I would own you......

The Acne Admire is finally mine.

I found them at half price on a Polyvore search and realised they were half price on every site selling them.

I didn't ask why... I just clicked away....

So after I searched every site, I found one last pair on The Webster Miami (and in my size... yeeww!)

I naturally went to Google and searched for a promo voucher for the site. I just copied the code above which made up for the ridiculous postage cost for me to bring these babies to Australia. So at LESS than half price. they were only just affordable.

Anyway, who cares what happened., they are mine.

"Witchery x Proenza Schouler"

(Dress: Shopcuffs. Bag: Witchery. Shoes: Shoebox. Jacket: Asos. Sunglasses: Strongbow?)

I wore this to a friend's birthday last Sunday at the pub. This is my go-to outfit combo, almost to the point of it becoming my uniform. Short dress + boots + leather jacket + a shit load of rings + a necklace or two. 

My Forever New sunnies are stranded on my friend's boat so I adopted these sunnies. They came free with a six-pack of Strongbow. Apart from the fact that they have STRONGBOW written on the side in white, I like them. 

This is Witchery's blatant copy of the PS1. I love the dusty/taupe colour so I borrowed it from mum. I don't understand how Witchery is allowed to produce such a blatant copy. But hey, I'm still sporting it on the crook of my elbow so I'm not one to talk. 

Kaye xx

the art of manipulating fabric + a circle skirt

It's no secret that I seem to be somewhat obsessed with circle skirts. I just keep churning them out. This one is a 3/4 circle skirt and after I finish this post I will be working of a 1/2 circle skirt. There is something that I really love about the volume and shape that a circle skirt can produce. With this black skirt I made use of a tucking technique from the book 'The art of manipulating fabric' by Colette Wolf.  I am totally loving this book, as it is a good reference book and full of inspiration. I often flick through it and decide to make a garment around a certain technique. I made use of cross-stitched tucks in my black skirt, then sewed sections together at regular intervals to create little bows. The weight of the details at the hem gives the skirt more of a flared structure. I am quite happy with how it turned out. The necklace is from pigeon hole. My mum and Kaye bought it for a Chrissy present and I just love wearing it with black.

We took these photos in one of the northern Prenzlauerberg parks. I still think that Volkspark Freidrichshain is the best park in Berlin. We spent most of this weekend lazing in the sun with a mini grill and a bottle of wine. Oh so relaxing, but now it's time to sew, then off to work. boo hoo (about work that is).

Photos Michael Dooney  

Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers day!

Lots of love to mum, Grandma,  Gran and Aunties!

You are all very special ladies!

 

 

.... and Happy Mothers Day to the new mums!

Siren - The Marcs Pump

Im not a huge fans of pumps. 

But this is the perfect pump.

Take your pick from 9 colours and textures. 

I'm opting for the pony hair leopard. 

My favourites are all out of stock in my size, but if you're lucky, get yours here. 

Peppermint mag: runner up!.....it was a while ago now

It was a while ago now that our Gran made the brave decision to update her curtains. After completing the new curtains, I decided to take the old one's and make something. I ended up with this jacket and finished it just in time to submit to the Peppermint magazine eco fashion competition. I am a firm believer in using recycled fabrics to create garments.

I remember travelling back home to Perth (which was a 5 hour trip from the town that I used to work in) early one Saturday morning ready and raring to take a photo of it. My model, Kaye was still asleep in bed. After banging on her door and insisting that she come down, Kaye posed for me with the jacket. I must say she looks pretty good! After a few months I heard back that we had won runner up and our image was published in the 4th edition of the Peppermint mag. We were happy with having a whole page and we also received some local art.

I really love this jacket, but unfortunately it is a 'wear it out to Sunday brunch' only jacket, due to the some pressure point tears. I have learnt a very valuable lesson regarding the use of second hand fabrics. My Gran had these curtains for YEARS! and unfortunately the Aussie sun + many years = brittle fabric. Silly me. This is usually how I learn. Trial and error. I now check fabrics THOROUGHLY before I purchase them with the help of a pull test and a close inspection. Thankfully I have not made the same mistake again, so I am still a big lover of second hand fabrics. You can find the most interesting pieces for a unique one off garment! and of course it is a good choice for ethical and environmental beliefs.

The pattern: I just searched for this Vogue jacket pattern on the net but unfortunately it seems that it is out of print.