- - Sparkle Notes -

Sunday, April 8, 2012

A Quick Hello!

Hi,

I know I haven't posted in a while but since the weather has gotten so nice in NYC lately I have been out and about all day everyday. Just wanted to show you today's look!





This is a vintage dress that I got at this little shop when I was staying in Maine with my family last summer. I thought that it was so elegant with just the right amount of sexy appeal with the high slit up the side. I still haven't found an occasion to wear it yet but hopefully I will soon :)

I'll write you guys again soon to give you more updates!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

I finished the hat for Vogue the on Thursday and mailed it out to the editor...

A quick pic with my phone
I had to redo it a few time because I had a hard time getting the measurements right but in the end it fit exactly the way I wanted it to! I won't give you too many details now, you'll just have to wait until the book comes out.... :)

And here is today's look...





I made this dress last summer before I went to this elementary school to talk to the kids about fashion. I absolutely love plaid so I fell in love with this fabric when saw it in the store. I thought that they would like the graphic print and the whimsical style and they loved it! The little girls couldn't stop gushing and giving me hugs, lol.

I was exercising my pattern-making skills and wanted to do a take on a classic shift dress. So I made it button up the front to make it reminiscent of the kind of dresses I wore when I was little. Then I added ruching on the sides to accentuate the curves of my waist and hips, making the conservative silhouette a little sexy without being overt. To top it off I added an over-sized bow at the chest for a little fun :)

For the photo shoot I thought it would be cute to go with a whole secretary/librarian look so I picked up the cardigan at a thrift shop for $4. I found the Jeffrey Campbell shoes at the thrift store on the upper east side in Manhattan, they were on sale for $35! The glasses are actually my own prescription glasses. I don't wear them too much because my eyesight isn't that bad and the doctor said that wearing them all the time would actually make my sight worse. I wish I could wear them all the time because I love the chic shape of the lenses and the unusual lavender color. And of course no look is complete without my DJC Existence earrings!

Well that's all for today. TTYL!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

A little more Miami, a lot more knitting :)

I finished the sweater I was working on and here it is!





Now that is getting warmer I'm dying to get some cotton and make something lacy :) As promised I posted one of my looks from Miami today...






I made this romper last summer when I got bored one week. I was seeing a lot of people in the city wearing rompers but I couldn't find  one in the stores that was right for me. I am pretty tall so the torso was always a little too short and uncomfortable and the legs were always too short. I have pretty long legs so I cant get away with wearing shorts that are too short, they end up looking trashy. Also I wanted something backless so that I could show off my tattoo once in a while :)

The top fabric is silk chiffon and the lining is made of bamboo. The fabrics are so light that it feels like wearing nothing at all! It is perfect for really hot days in the city. I can't wait until it is warm enough here for me to wear it!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Miami!!!

I just got back from a weekend in Miami and had an amazing time!

On my way!

The view from the taxi on my way to the hotel
outside my hotel on the way to the beach!
 It turned out that while I was in Miami it was raining and snowing in NYC so I picked the perfect time to go. The weather was perfect everyday that we were there :)

The lobby of Townhouse where we stayed

The roof
The view from the roof :)
I went with my sister and cousin and the first night that we were there we to this this club called Mynt that was right around the corner from our hotel. We had no idea it was going to happen but a few minutes after we came in Swedish House Mafia got on stage and performed! It was so cool! Just the day before I was listening to them on Pandora and the next day I am a few feet from John Martin!

This is the best picture that I could get of him with my phone... :/

Another highlight of the trip was the food!

Cucumber thyme lemonade at The W

Tempura rock shrimp sandwich also from The W

salted lime pie with coconut gelato at The W
the patio of The W

The BEST gelato I ever had. I can't remember the name of the place but it was around 17th and Collins
I'll be posting a look or two from Miami soon but I'm kinda tired right now so I will have to write back later.....

Saturday, February 25, 2012

My mom heard about this meetup that was going on in Massachusetts at Worcester Photo Studios, it was a group photo shoot for aspiring photographers and models. I decided to go to get some pictures of myself in my work and had so much fun! So the studio was this huge room with different set-ups lined up on both sides of the walls. They had all kinds of props that you could shoot with like an ATV and a bathtub. It was so cheap to into the event, it went from 8am to 8pm and I only had to pay $20 and they gave us all pizza! I love New York but there is no way that you would ever find something like that here.

They even had a car!
There were so many awesome photographers there, I felt like a supermodel :) Whenever I started posing all I could see where lights flashing! I got some great shots of my work and my style. So photos of today's look are compliments of last weekend's shoot and here it is....





I made the skirt a couple of summers ago. I had this organic hemp and cotton fabric sitting around and couldn't decide what to do with it. Then one day my boyfriend at the time asked me if I wanted to go to this party and I had nothing to wear so I decided to whip something up!

I wanted to do a simple silhouette with a twist, something sexy but not over-the-top so that if I wanted to wear it during the day I could. So I settled on a chic pencil shirt. I loved the stripes on the fabric so I decided to accentuate them by doing different panels of fabric and changing the orientation of the stripes. To add a little edge and interest I put metal zippers at the princess seams (both zippers are fully functional, they completely separate  to make the skirt really easy to get into). I got the top from a thrift shop in Philadelphia on South Street. I can't remember the name of the shop now, it was a while ago.

Also I got a package from Soho Publishing yesterday....

They sent the yarn that they want me to make the hat for the book out of!

It's so lovely :)
I'm pretty excited to get started, I have a few things to do first though because I am getting ready to go to Miami next week. It is going to be a little bit tricky figuring out the measurements for the hat because I can't really use myself as a model. My hair is way too thick. It would end up being huge on a normal person if I made it to fit me, lol. I'm going to have to borrow friends and family members for this one, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. I always do :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day! And the winner of my V-Day Give-Away is....

Lilly Greene from Brooklyn, NY!!!! Congrats Lilly and happy V-Day :) For those of you who missed out on this give-away, don't worry there will be another one soon! Follow this blog to find out about future give-aways!

In other news...
I have made a lot of progress on the sweater that I was working on. I finished the whole body and worked it in the round so that there wouldn't be any side seams and here it is!

It came out just like I imagined and it fits really well. I'm so happy :)

I took a picture of it hanging in the window so that you could see the sheer part better.
I started working on a sleeve already, after the sleeves are done all I have to do is make the collar. Stay tuned for the finished product and for tutorials on the technique I used to make it :)

Also my first attempt at menswear was a success! Here is the my client's finished sweater...

The Front
The Back
Detail shots of the sweater. He chose these gorgeous wooden buttons and I think the french cuffs came out really cool :)
That's all for now, ill be sending you all love <3

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Today's look plus BIG NEWS!

So I got an email from Vogue Knitting yesterday morning and they are using my design in another one of their books! I am so excited! The design was part of a presentation that I sent to them for their Early Fall issue. Since I hadn't heard from them I was really disappointed, but turns out they they were considering it for something even better...a book! It is going to be an "Ultimate Hat" book, I'm not sure when it will be coming out yet but I'll keep you posted!

Here is the illustration and technical drawing of the hat they picked :)

Also today I posted a new look on lookbook.nu today and here it is....



I took these pics in the grounds near The Cloisters, it was beautiful but freezing cold that day! These fleece lined leggings were the best find. My mother got them for me somewhere in Massachusetts but I have seen them online a few times before. You should try a pair, they are almost as warm as jeans so you can look cute without freezing in the winter :)