Silhouette Lady Summer Jacket

I am not a fashion designer but once in a while i get the fashion designing bug and i have to pull out all of my trims, sequins and fabric scraps and attacht them...to something. The victim of my itchy designer fingers was this summer jacket, bought by my sister but a size small for her. " Maybe you can transform it, do something fun with it.", she said when she left it here on her last visit. I hate stuff sitting around. These things always end up in a big "to do" bag and are out of fashion by the time i decide to work with them! Not this time, though. I locked myself up in my work room the other day, pulled out all the fabrics and trims I could get my hands on and just started adding bits to the jacket. I can only work directly on the mannequin,not on a table. I dont know why that is, I just feel like a painter with his easel and the jacket is the canvas. I am really happy with the way I transformed this piece and almost wish it was my size so I could wear it myself!

I designed the cameo lady silhouette years ago, but I keep going back to it. ( her nose isn't really crooked, it just looks like that in this photo!) I really enjoyed stepping away from the jewellery and the bags for a day and do something different. I'm thinking of doing a few tops with the same silhouette...we'll see how it goes!

Tsarina Winter Coat & Trashion Baroque Japan Jacket I think autumn is the most productive time of the year for me. I 'm working day and night on my new ideas and the best thing is that i really enjoy it and don't feel tired at all. I worked on two new designs last week, something i've been wanting to do along time but never got around doing it in summer. I'm always a little bit hesistant to work on a piece of clothing because i'm afraid to mess up and not be able to cover up my mistakes. Anyway, i decided to take the plunge and restyle these two items into something very different. The long coat is inspired by Russian Tsarinas and Matryoshkas (yes - again russia, can't help it). I painted bronze hearts, embellished with lots of hand sewn seed beads on the sleevs and around the edge. Then i put little matryoshkas in the middle of the hearts and taller ones alternating with the hearts. The most difficult part was stencilling the art nouveau pattern. I had to cut it out of flimsy paper and keep it still on this thick coat, but it was worth it because i think that pattern really makes the coat stand out. The other jacket is an upcycled trashion creation, with a japanese twist. I have loads of fabric scraps and i thought it would be a nice idea to use this jacket like a canvas and turn it into a collage. I actually worked like a painter here, with my jacket on the dress dummy, paint brush in one hand and glue gun in the other. I was not sure what to put inside the cameo frame, to be honest, of all things that decision too the most time! I wanted something that really contrasted with the baroque style of the jacket and the fabrics i used, so i chose a japanese geisha. many thanks to my lovely sister for modelling them for me :)