Liesl is taking this week off from her usual Friday Weekend Links post. But don’t fear. Our Liesl + Co. Advisors Circle member Erica (remember her Neighborhood Sweatshirt and tuxedo stripe Hollywood Trousers?) is here again to fill up your tank with some good reading material for the weekend.
Hello, again, friends of Liesl!
I’m honored to be back for another edition of Friday links.
Liesl has been posting lately about identifying one’s clothing style. Ever since I was young, I would love to get lost in thoughts and images about the topic. Lately I’ve been thinking that there could be a strong a correlation between your personal dress style and your (aspirational) home décor. Are you more urban, rural, or somewhere in-between? Do you sway more towards formal/tailored or casual/ease? Traditional or edgy? Rooted in a set of beliefs or guided by the path of least resistance? Here are a couple examples of style pairs.
Robert Kime terracotta wall library and a pair of linen “Playtime”-esque girls dresses.
A rectangular version of the Plinto Table by Meridiani and Letitia Wright gown at Oscars.
Are you participating in #MendMarch? Here is a little inspiration (you’ll find here and here).
This blouse is in the upcoming spring line of a trendsetter. Maybe she was inspired by Liesl’s Afternoon Tea blouse? This tutorial for gathered sleeves can get you one step closer to the look. I wish I thought of this idea earlier. Two of my kids tend to outgrow their pants in length before width, and the simple addition of ribbon makes an extra cuff look like a decorative design choice.
Weekend Links:
- Lately I’ve been scouring the web for ballet tutu costumes for my daughter’s first solo. She has finally graduated out of the little girl styles. Do you ever feel like knowing a bit about clothing construction is sometimes a curse? Using stretch fabric can be convenient and cost effective, but it shouldn’t solve all your bodice fitting needs. I momentarily considered making her a tutu costume, but the more I read about it—the boning, the decorative applique work, corralling mountains of tulle—the more I am intimidated. Can you imagine something so compact requiring 60 meters of fabric?
- I suspect a lot of you will disagree, but pockets for me are mostly decorative. My husband is able to store handfuls of children’s winter accessories and small toys, snacks and water bottles, as well as electronic devices and sometimes a wallet in his seemingly bottomless pant and coat pockets, while I rarely use mine. Why?
- I wear a lot of navy, black, and grey clothes, and I use splashes of color and pattern to signal that I’m not in mourning. I find it easier to shop online for fabrics in these accent colors and patterns than my trusty solids, which I need to see in person before purchasing. There are good greys and not good greys.
- I wonder if there are any sewing machines here.
- Some recent thoughts on the trials and tribulations of middle-school aged girls and boys.
- I am unable to do this for sewing clothes, but for cooking meals, the results of which are fully consumed in a matter of hours, I like merely to read recipe instructions from beginning to end and then riff on a concept and set of ingredients. This list of ideas is right up my alley.
- Has anyone seen this 2018 documentary on Bill Cunningham yet? I do miss seeing his weekly collection of photos in the Sunday NY Times. His observations on street fashion were much more relatable than runway fashion.
Who is looking forward to Liesl’s release of new spring patterns? I am!
I wish everyone a happy month of March and lots of plans for spring sewing.
That’s really a nice weekend erica edition
Thank you, Pinoy! Hope you have a happy weekend!
I also love grey. I wear a lot of blue, so I find grey to be a perfect background color. I love it in my home too. Everyone gets a bang out of my aprons…they are where the pockets are. Think smock get pocket. Great links.
Thanks, Holly! Sounds like you make fantastic aprons!
The podcast 99% invisible has an interesting episode about pockets. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/pockets-articles-of-interest-3/ . There are also episodes on Hawaiian shirts, kids clothes, plaid and jeans. Worth the listen! Also, I love grey. I find it less harsh than black as I age and it’s just as versatile. It also plays nicely with navy which is my favorite neutral.
Thank you for sharing, Barb! I’ve marked that podcast to listen to later. I’m sure I will enjoy it! I like that grey can be worn in more seasons and is less susceptible to fading and wear. Yes, a softer version of black.
Great post, thank you. Black makes me look three-days-dead so grey is my favourite alternative. But I prefer a blue undertone grey to a yellow undertone grey. There is a difference. Grey looks good with just about everything – maybe not orange, or it (grey and orange) wouldn’t be my first choice – and is especially nice with navy, almost any shade of pink or red, pale yellow and, of course, almost any shade of blue or purple, which makes it pretty darn versatile.
Thank you, Sue. I also prefer greys with blue undertone!
I also love grey. I wear a lot of blue, so I find grey to be a perfect background color. I love it in my home too. Everyone gets a bang out of my aprons…they are where the pockets are. Think smock get pocket. Great links.