A Monday morning fashion fix takes the edge off the back to work blues. Whilst I’m enjoying the weekend, I tend to be a style sloth so I rather relish donning something more appealing for the return to work.
Our Contemporary Classics Collection of sewing patterns are perfect for creating in-work style. A smart shirt, sleek skirt and you’re back in business.
Color blocking is a striking way to wear A line skirts. The clear A line form means it can be worn in bold color or as a simple compliment to a striking top. Blocks of color can be worked to create figure flattering combinations, drawing the eye to your favourite features. Alternatively, blocking can result in a new twist on sleek sixties’ chic.Why not rework that forgotten A line skirt in your wardrobe or create your very own with our classic Sophie design?
Our Contemporary Classics Collection is all about stylish versatility; here’s how to wear the look casually for our Lauren pattern. To create a timeless casual look, wear the neck unbuttoned and team up with skinny jeans and pumps. This shirt is also great with three-quarter length Capri pants. 
How can an intelligent woman love fashion? I suspect that this is a question that many of us have heard, in one guise or another, at some point in our lives. Our inquisitors wondering why we are incapable of grasping that fashion is, at best, a mere waste of time and money; at worst, a capitalist construct to subjugate women. An interest in fashion, as we all know, is something of a personality flaw. Fashion conscious women are both superficial and selfish – superficial in that they care more about appearance than character, selfish in that they’re wasting money which could serve a more worthy purpose.
For most of my life, I’ve felt rather guilty about my love of fashion. Now older, I refuse to adopt an apologetic attitude: I love fashion. Not only am I irritated, insulted and bored by the anti-fashion brigade, but I am becoming increasingly determined to challenge their obvious prejudice. Truly, it is they who are making superficial judgements.
True, fashion isn’t of paramount importance, but it represents something larger than: “does this make me look attractive?” Paradoxically, fashion’s critics acknowledge this when they complain that runways are inhabited by odd looking models, wearing weird looking clothes. Virginia Woolf is right in her observation that, “vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world’s view of us.” Fashion is a visual language, hence the term fashion statement. For many of us, our clothes are part of an on-going conversation with the world about who we are. Only the culturally naïve, believe that fashion doesn’t matter.
Some classic fashion is too great to forget. Strong design is strong design. I’m really inspired by the thought of reinterpreting some style staples. There’s something quite striking about adding quirky details to iconic designs. Inevitably, juxtaposing the unexpected with the expected always runs the risk of ruining a beautiful look but creativity is a process of risks.
As the Summer Ball season is almost upon us, I’ve been playing with timeless evening gowns.
Starting with sketching out a classic gown length, I reworked ideas around the train. Not there yet but I’d like to create a way of shortening the gown whilst keeping the concept of a train. Obviously, we all remember Dianna’s stunning ‘Revenge Dress’ by Christina Stambolian but I wanted something a little more edgy.
Pleating a short train or having it interfaced and jutting out is probably the next step. Alternatively, the train could start at the neckline, wrap across the body and out. The ideas, the mistakes, the ‘what ifs’ are what make designing fun and frustrating, often in equal measure.
Muse 