Firecracker's Blog

I was inspired by Angie's culottes & cocoon coat ensemble to get out my cropped wide-leg jeans, which have been in hibernation since last fall. I also had a new cocoon coat that I made, to try with them. So here's my attempt at this outfit idea. My cocoon coat is more of an indoor topper, or a very mild weather jacket, so this outfit won't get worn for a while yet.
The outfit: Charcoal scuba knit cocoon coat (made by me); charcoal and multi-color floral silk peasant blouse (made by me); cropped wide-leg dark wash jeans (Loft); black booties (Steve Madden); silver chain-strap shoulder bag (Michael Kors).

Oh, and what I actually wore today (photos 3-4):
Boyfriend jeans (CoH, Emerson); teal long-sleeved tee (Caslon); ivory boiled wool vest with vintage buttons (made by me); brown lace-up booties (Jo Ghost).

Thanks for looking! I welcome any suggestions or thoughts you may have.

I posted here about my new job as a part-time sales associate at OSKA in Seattle. The company provides a "uniform" of a few outfits, so that we can wear clothes from the current collection to work. I got to choose my outfits from the styles available at the store.

Here's the capsule of six items that I chose, and photos of a bunch of outfits that I can create using them.
The pieces:
"Renzi" trousers, a lantern shaped style, in a black and white striped wool
"Nang" trousers, a cropped wide-leg, in navy viscose-elastin blend
"Rommy wash" trousers, a harem style, in black washed wool knit with raw edges
"Pilvi" pullover, a knit vest with short funnel neck, in a marled gray wool and cotton blend
"Raima" blouse, a cotton shirt with a small stand collar, in a very pale gray poplin
"Raissa" blouse, a short swing jacket with small stand collar, in a charcoal lightweight crinkled wool blend

I have already added a crew-neck long-sleeved knit top in the light gray color and a scarf, to extend the possibilities even further. I didn't picture them here, because I wanted to explore and show just how far the initial capsule could go on its own.

The job is a lot of fun, and I'm really enjoying how easy it is to get dressed for work. This required uniform gives me the chance to play with a minimal wardrobe, without giving up the variety I love in my non-work wardrobe.

Thanks for looking! I welcome any comments and suggestions!

I haven't worn this outfit yet, but was trying it on to see how I liked it, as I just finished the dress.
The dress is voluminous, made out of light-weight linen, perfect for a summer day. I'm not sure how it will be in air conditioning, though I did find one white cardigan in my wardrobe that I like with it (not pictured).
Angie's post today inspired me to try it with sneakers, too--again, not pictured here.

I tried the dress belted and unbelted. Which do you prefer?

Ivory, soft lime, soft blue, and washed-out navy linen lantern-shaped sleeveless shirt dress with side pockets, worn with black cross-strap Birkenstocks and a dark silvery skinny belt. Last photo, shown with pewter flats.

Thanks for looking!

Two of the lightest, airiest, beautiful summer pieces that I ordered last fall came in at my favorite boutique, and I picked them up today. (These are orders from the buying trip I made with my friend to New York last September.) Of course I want to wear them now, even though it's in the 50s and a bit cloudy.
So I played around to see what I could come up with. On the suggestion of a friend, I tried the dress with my black stretch fabric pointy-toed boots, and I think I'm going to wear this outfit out this evening. I layered a black 3/4-sleeve ballet-style top and black tights under the dress, plus a leather jacket over it.

Other, less covered, looks are for later, after summer arrives.
1-4: red-green voile dress (Judy Tampa), cool-weather version, with black tee (Tees by Tina), black tights, black pointy-toe boots (Donald J. Pliner); olive leather moto jacket (AllSaints); black cross-body bag (Cherokee).
5-6: voile dress, warm-weather version, with pewter cutout peep-toe booties (Paul Green).
7: with nude pumps and clutch, and shell-colored stone necklace
8: with same necklace and pewter lace-up Mary Janes (Trippen)
9-10: olive cotton voile v-neck blouse with ruffle trim (Judy Tampa), over black camisole, with black ruched tube skirt (Vince Camuto) and pewter lace-up Mary Janes.

Thanks for looking! Thoughts and suggestions welcome, as always.

I've been meaning to make this coat for about three years. That's when I made my first wool coat, in a class. Shortly after I finished that first one, I bought this much nicer fabric, a wine and black tweed, to make a second one. Between then and now, I decided to use a different pattern, so it's not the same style as my previous coat. (Although it is quite similar; it seems my taste is pretty consistent.)

Anyway, I just finished it. Here it is, hot off the pressing table. It's a straight style with asymmetric opening, stand collar, one button at top and hidden snaps down the front, in wine and black tweed with dark charcoal wool facings and tipping down the front. The single-welt pockets are also tipped. I used the Verona coat and jacket pattern from The Sewing Workshop. The fabric is Linton tweed, from Emmaonesock.com, a wine soft-back rayon-acetate lining from Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle, and a charcoal wool remnant that I've had for some time.

Just had to share, especially since I've told everyone about the project and have mentioned it here on the forum, too. Thanks for looking!

Angie's post today on skirt and dress style was timely for me. Last night I put on the dress I bought in Paris this summer, and which I wore on my birthday, for a day of sightseeing and hanging out with my sister-in-law and family in Luxembourg. I tried it out with different footwear and jewelry options and took photos to show you.

The dress is a pale gray washed silk, low-waisted, cap-sleeve shift with a matching knit layer underneath. It feels so floaty and divine. It kind of makes me feel like I'm wearing a negligee in public! So I want to wear it very intentionally styled like a dress.

Here are the iterations I tried.
1-2: with metallic cutout peep-toe booties
3: with gray d'Orsay Mary Janes (this is how I wore it in Luxembourg on my birthday) and muted silver jewelry
4-5: with waist tie drawn up. I don't find this look comfortable or flattering, but what do you think?
6: with pearl-chain necklace with big ivory pendant
7: with gray fresh water pearl necklace, earrings, and bracelet
8: with long silver bead necklace
9: with Brighton stylized heart pendant
10: with gray & white stone necklace on gray cord, and orange platform sandals
11: with gray & white stone necklace on gray cord, and black & white snake print sneakers

In Europe it was extremely hot, and this breezy dress was perfect for staying as cool as possible and feeling stylish. I didn't need a topper. I will have to try it with different arm-covering options, though, and I'm open to your ideas!

Thanks for looking!