weekend links

Hello friends!

A month or two ago I took a couture embroidery class and it was waaaaaay more difficult than I expected. I grew up learning all sorts of embroidery techniques and styles from my mother and grandmother (who taught needlework techniques all over the world), so I frankly assumed it would be easy and quick for me to pick this up since I’ve learned so many different styles of embroidery.

However, let’s see if you can guess which of these I did when I was three years old and which I did when I was almost 53?

On the second day we graduated to using sequins and beads, both of which I obviously still need to practice.

This was a completely different technique than anything I’d ever done before. Instead of a using a needle, the Luneville embroidery technique uses a little hook (pictured above) and is worked from the underside of the fabric. (It didn’t help that the class was in Spanish so there was vocabulary I didn’t understand, but that really isn’t a very good excuse.)

I’m getting the hang of it, but it’s going to take time! I guess now I know what I’ll be learning in 2022. Have you tried this technique before?

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Embroidery goals: I’m going to continue practicing smaller areas and simpler styles, sort of like these. I just want to start getting more comfortable and faster, and I want to play. The beads and sequins are especially intriguing to me, but all sorts of textures are fun to contemplate!

I love the idea of embellishing clothing (of course), but I’m also thinking about where and how I can embellish my own clothing in a way that I’ll actually wear it, given that my need for formal gowns is quite low these days. In other words, I need to find embroidery styles and ideas that aren’t too fancy or formal. I’m leaning toward tonal (big surprise, if you know me…), and small details like necklines.

Or pockets! Aren’t these fun?

In other clothing-related brainstorms, the orange jacket reminded me of our Yanaka Jacket, and the leather dress feels a bit like a cross between the Gelato Dress with the sleeves from our Geneva Blouse.

I love this tonal sweatshirt, which reminds me of our Noord Sweatshirt. And isn’t the sheer embroidered panel of this dress pretty? It’s a similar concept to our Afternoon Tea Blouse. Maybe that’s another idea for my embroidery goals.

Weekend Reading

• This trend toward transparency and traceability in the fashion industry is one we should definitely support.
• This article is so full of interesting and unusual ideas regarding cooking and baking that I sent a link to S because she’s experimenting a lot.
• Honestly I don’t give much thought to red-carpet these days, but this article about vintage clothing and how it gets to the red carpet is quite interesting.
• If you’re headed to London soon, go see Fashioning Masculinities at the V&A and tell me how it is, will you?
• Also almost certainly worth seeing, although some of us really did live it: Reinvention & Restlessness: Fashion in the Nineties
• RIP, Andre Leon Talley, a true fashion giant.
• “Clothing affects how you feel about yourself.” Even in the virtual world.

Have a wonderful weekend! We’ll be back next week with more, I promise.