How beautiful is this cultural garment display I found in a local mall? From India to China, they featured the most beautiful brocades and silks!

What are your favourite pieces???

It’s always fun to find a print where creatures watch you sew. 

I  am almost done sewing this simple summer dress. It’s perfect for the warmer weather we have been having!

Sorry for not being as active on my blog recently! I have been busy with work and friends visiting! I promise to fill you in on more projects and exciting news soon!

Ileana Surducan

Too lovely not to share!

Bridal Fashion Week 2014

Bridal Fashion is always enchanting and fun to watch. Nothing beats gorgeous silk satins, chiffons and laces!

Featuring: Vera Wang, Theia, Kenneth Pool, Chris Tos, Monique and L’huillier!

Images From WWD

BIONIC RAPTURE

Bionic Rapture is the transformation of an individual who has found strength, confidence and determination from a life changing event that impacts their world forever. It is about the death of the person they once were and the beginning of their new life.  Bionic Rapture is influenced by today’s health and technology advancements and how these shape our world and our future. Bionic Rapture incorporates French Brocade to represent bionic body parts and uses soft cottons such as organic jersey to represent a spiritual transformation.

Bionic Rapture is a woman’s wear collection that transfers from day to night for the career woman who leads a hectic and ever changing life style. With asymmetrical details, detachable and reversible elements and sharp lines, Bionic Rapture is a bold and sophisticated collection.

I just realized I never posted the official Bionic Rapture photos from the summer shoot I blogged about previously. Here they are! 

If you would like to purchase any of these pieces you can find them on my Etsy Shop.

What is your favourite piece??

Part One: The 3D Blouse

My latest project? A Blouse with a three dimensional element on the sleeves. I’ve finished the entire shell, today. I’m currently drafting the lining and facing patterns. I moved the darts into a circular inspired shape in the middle of the blouse. I can’t wait till it’s finished! Not seen is the cute peplum-inspired detail that starts at the waist and ends slightly past the hip!

I’ll have it for sale in my Etsy Shop…so stay tuned!

P.S: Davids Tea made an appearance in one of the photos. Spot it??

P.P.S: I love being able to sew my hours away to my itunes music. What songs are you loving??

As promised, here is my video from the Papillion collection at Vancouver Fashion Week 2013. I apologize, I was in the second row and runway lighting is harsh. It was a challenge to capture the garments as they made their way down the runway. If you would like to see an accurate view of the beautiful Papillion S/S 2013 designs check out their website here. 

This was one of my favourite collections. Youthful, fun and unique…I had too many dresses and blouses I wanted to run off with! I loved the attention to details including cute floral, polka dot and animal prints, bib and pointed collars, blue sequins and bright, fun colours! 

How was your weekend?

I was in Gastown for a business meeting, this afternoon. Afterwards, I went browsing in Secret Location (fashion forward boutique). Look what I found!!! I think it’s my new favourite fashion book. I didn’t know it was available in English!!! 

Would you like a review??

VFW: AMAZING DESIGNERS, DISAPPOINTING MODELS

I attended Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) on opening day.  I was excited to see local and international designers. I was impressed with the runway designs. Every collection was creative and unique. Some shows were forecasting Spring/Summer 2013. Usually, we are showing Fall/Winter collections now. However, I didn’t mind seeing the spring fashions again. It had been a very gloomy, rainy day…so it was refreshing to see!

I loved seeing the “fashionistas” of Vancouver come cheer on the talent! However, too many of them wore black on black!

Originally from Toronto, I knew VFW was smaller compared to Toronto Fashion Week. It made me sad to see so few companies helping sponsor VFW and making it something dazzling. The companies that did sponsor did an AMAZING job, I think!!! I have heard this was the best VFW yet. I really hope VFW continues to grow. The talent is there! One nice thing about a smaller production is that you can see the families of the designers cheering them on! Lovely!

My favourite collection was Papillion! I videotaped the entire collection instead of taking photos. I hope to have that video blog posted soon!

My least favourite thing about VFW was the models.  I felt they did not do the clothing justice. I understand that they are not professional. This explains why they didn’t know how to walk a runway, watch their posture or “wear” the garments. Some models didn’t walk to the end of the runway (where the photographers are). With that said, there were a few models that could walk, knew their bodies, watched their posture and made great gestures and motion with the garments!

Another disappointment was the Pandora Jewellery collection. Pandora jewellery is made of silver, gold and semi-precious stones. They are best known for their charm bracelets. All their jewellery is small, but highly detailed and colourful. They usually advertise a woman in one necklace, two bracelets and a pair of earrings. This is good for a promotional photograph…not a runway! The strong harsh lighting washed all the jewellery out. You barely noticed if they had earrings or a bracelet on. All you saw was the little black dresses and the occasional necklace. If I had been the stylist, I would have layered a crazy amount of bracelets and necklaces on!

Overall, I enjoyed supporting and seeing all the local and international talent. I hope to do separate blog posts on my favourite collections soon!!!

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I’m always on the hunt for a Matte Pressed Powder (with ideally SPF 10-15) to give me a shine free complexion. I have combination skin. This means I produce more oil on my t-zone area (forehead, around nose and chin) but not on my cheeks. 

I have looked into finding my miracle powder since the age of 13. From Covergirl to Maybelline and Physicians Formula to L’Oreal, I’ve tried out a great deal of drugstore powders. All powders were between $5-$20. They worked okay. My biggest complaint was they weren’t long lasting and I had to replace them every 2 months. My other issue was finding an SPF powder for oily/combination skin. 

SO…I finally decided to investigate a high end product:

• Is the price worth it?
• Does it really last longer?
• Does a tiny bit of product really go a long way?

After a great deal of research, I decided on the Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup with SPF 10.

Was I blown away? Yes.

• It feels like I’m wearing NOTHING
• With one swipe of powder my shine completely disappears on my forehead, nose and chin
• I didn’t need to reapply until 6 hours later. And I actually didn’t feel the need to blot until then too!
• It matches my skin tone
• I don’t even notice the SPF
• It doesn’t seem to rub off onto clothing either!

Cost? The price is $63. SO expensive. Thank goodness for the gift card I had!!!

Would I purchase this again? I’ll decide that after seeing how long the product lasts overall. However, it is the first powder I see lasting me longer than 6 months! Maybe even a year?!!!

What are your favourite high end makeup products? Are they worth the price to you?

Played with prints, colours and technicals on Illustrator and Photoshop, this morning. With just a few scans, offsetting fabrics, magic wanding and creating anchor points…it’s amazing how fast a piece of clothing can become a digital technical! 

SUNKISSES by Rebecca Taylor 2010

I cannot wait till the sunshine is warmer and I can frolic in my favourite summer dresses.

What about you?

I am inspired by nature. There’s a strong feeling of enchantment and belonging when I am outdoors. This weekend, I was at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. It was remarkable to escape here and let my thoughts wonder through each branch and step. However, I don’t have to go far to find this love and admiration for the Earth’s beauty. It can be found in my neighborhood, in forests, high on mountains or drifting along a lake.

Suspension Bridge allowed me to enter a fairy tale. I felt like an elf walking on the bridges that were connected high up in the trees. When it rained, the shelter from the trees felt magical and loving.

As you can see, I finally purchased my coveted and favourite sweater from Roots Canada/Line Knitwear 2012 collaboration. Remember that blog post I did? Well, I hunted high and low. No local Roots stores carried this sweater. The staff didn’t even recognize it and couldn’t find it online for me either! I checked back for months. I felt very discouraged. I finally gave up on my dreams of wearing it to pieces. It wasn’t meant to be.

Fast forward to February. I walked into the Roots Outlet store for fun. I walked over to the women’s section and…*POOF*. There was my sweater. In my exact size. The only one there. 

And that’s not even the best part. Not only was it reduced…there was an extra 30% off from the reduced price! I could not stop smiling. I think the sales associates thought I was crazy. What can I say, it was love at first sight!

Now, let’s get a bit more technical! It is a thick, warm knit made of acrylic, cotton and polyester. This is the same fabric content as my other sweater from the collaboration (check for my other review on their Vancouver inspired sweater here). I’m a bit disappointed about the price point (over $200). It should be wool for that price. However, the advantage is you’re less itchy and you don’t need to worry about allergic reactions. This blend still provides comfort and warmth. I also haven’t noticed any pilling yet and I’ve worn it too much.

The fit is lovely if you’re a fan of the boxy look. It basically is a giant blanket with sleeves. A tunic style, it looks great worn open for a casual look and belted for a more fashion-forward look. The beautiful draping adds a charm all it’s own. I love the colour blocked print: forest green, dirty grey, burgundy red and painted white all bring forth the colours of a Canadian woodland realm! 

What are your favourite clothing pieces from this past fall and winter? What pieces are you looking forward to for Spring and Summer?

Pattern drafting a new design…I’m excited for the bead detail and collar!

happymarriedpeople:

blu3rsx:

abigaildonaldson:

Hussein Chalayan Fall/Winter 2013

I made ‘Transformer’ noises.

@fashionstoryteller have you seen this! Super cool.

Happymarriedpeople blogged this amazing collection…how inspiring and cool is this? Um, best F/W 2013 collection vote? Who’s with me? Wow.

Also…make sure you check out her blog and check out her Facebook Page!!! Not only is she cool…she is a fantastic photographer with a great eye for detail and capturing feeling in each photograph.