Kingdom Of Style

Perky Peplum

So I decided what my life was really missing was a peplum.

When I first saw the Prada Autumn Winter 2008 collection I wasn't really enamored but I did really like the peplums sitting against the very neat silhouettes. I decided I would create my own.

I decided I wanted a quilted one with individual circle shaped rather than a traditional style. I cut five semi-circles and filled them with the stuff used for the inside of duvets. I attached them to a PVC waist band onto which I put 4 ribbon ties. Voila! A quilted peplum. And please excuse my shiny, makeup free face and unwashed hair.

Queen Michelle

The Ruffle Experiment Part 3

After the success of the shower flower adorned shirt, I did indeed turn my attentions to doing the same with a skirt. I wanted to create something that was unapologetically over the top. And over the top it is.

It reminds me some kind of ballerina tutu. It took 8 hours to complete, which doesn't include making the base skirt, so in total it was almost 10 hours and very sore fingers! It was pretty painstaking to actually create and I can safely say I won't be making another. I will however continue to explore using the shower flowers in other ways because I just love how they look.

It's not exactly for the wall flowers out there and I won't be wearing in an every day situation - it'll be reserved for going out to play and going to London, but I will definitely be wearing it. Bizarrely it's very versatile. Teamed with a plain vest and some high heels it actually looks quite normal - or maybe just normal in my eyes.

It indulges the whimsical, fairy tale side of me which is rarely given the time of day. And it gives me something which resembles hips which is always a bonus. My Prince reckons it makes me look like Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous. I know I should be insulted but somehow I'm not!

Queen Michelle

The Process Of Creation

I am always fascinated by the processes designers employ in the development of their work. The sketches, the moodboards, the fabric samples - the collation and display of this information seems like an artform in itself. It gives us a true insight into a designers' thought process and a glimpse into the way they see and interpret the world.

I think seeing the thought process would help in many instances to understand the context of a collection, particularly the slightly more obscure designs. So I was thrilled to be allowed to see inside the world of a fashion student and the processes that go with developing and learning their skill.

Kate Stewart is studying Fashion Textiles with Business Studies at Brighton, specialising in knitwear. This is of particular interest to me since knitwear is one of those areas that is so traditional that seeing the boundaries being pushed, and the medium being manipulated, really feels like proper progress.

Here is a wee peek at her visual research and her explanations of the references.

1: Based on a brief provided by a company for an A/W collection. Looking at surface texture through cable and stitch patterns; creating interest within shades of grey.

2: Handknit project. Based on geological structures

3: Project brief was structure. Looking to create artificial structure, depth and perspective by distorting a fabric's surface through illusions and colour, confusing the eye.

4: Concept evolved around taking time to mend, personalize, alter old garments. Passing down clothes, techniques, names. Hidden or subtle craftsmanship and detail (there was a lot of handwork here: embroidery, hand knit, hand tying threads to make yarn, initialing samples)

5: Project inspired by sportswear and technology:
rollerblading, glow-in-the-dark and reflective materials, padding and protection, wear-resistance.  Samples which would mould around and move with the body, protecting, hiding or emphasising it.

6: Starting point was 15th c. Peruvian featherwork. Playing with densities and weight. How a piece can interact with a body, how the body can change the shape and look of a piece of knit.

It was fascinating to me to see her flow of thoughts and how she interprets those thoughts into something tangible.  When I look at the samples I get a real sense of urban decay. To my eyes there seems a sense of warning against the crumbling infrastructure of inner cities. Maybe Kate didn't mean it to be so dark, but for some reason that's what I see.

Seeing her work and knowing that in 2 years the students have only made one garment, since the processes are intricate and extremely complex, makes me respect knitwear designers like Sandra Backlund, who are pushing the discipline to it's limits, even more.

Thanks for sharing your work Kate.

Queen Michelle   

The Ruffle Experiment Part 2

Completed the other half of the shirt on Friday night, after watching Rec (needed something to occupy my mind before I went to bed otherwise I'd have had nightmares!). I am really keen to create a skirt now, as the effect will be 10 times more exaggerated than this shirt - which is pretty full on!

I personally think the shirt looks best teamed with a reasonably plain bottom half so I was drawn more to combining it with simple black and white.

AA skirt; ASOS shoes; DIY elbow cuffs

Topshop Unique Shoes: DIY elbow and leg cuffs; M&S harem trousers

DIY skirt; Topshop Unique shoes; Kirrily Johnston leggings

With the black and white outfits I wanted something vaguely sportswear-y, hence the DIY elbow thingies, as I liked the contrast between the super girliness of the ruffles and slouchiness of the sportswear.

Wearing something so frothy feels like being in a massive bubble bath. When I tried it on after I completed it I couldn't stop giggling as it really did feel I was engulfed in bubbles. Way better than Radox!

Queen Michelle

The Ruffle Experiment Part 1

So completed one half of the shower flower adorned shirt. I learned that not all shower flowers are created equal - the one I had which initially started the idea was really short once it was unravelled, however the ones I bought from the supermarket, 8 of them, were massive when unravelled. This side was done using only one shower flower!

Overall it worked better than even I had hoped. The ruffles are full and bouncy and when the mesh is used out of context it really doesn't bare any resemblance to it's original function.

With my remaining shower flowers I intend on covering a skirt. Ideally would use a silver skirt as I think it would have a lovely iridescent effect when the light hits it. A skirt completely covered in white ruffles would look almost like it was made of feathers.

Queen Michelle

A Plan From Pondering

I posted about my idea of using shower flowers as ruffle adornments and after much thought I have chosen a sleeveless APC shirt to embellish. My plan is to buy about 20 white shower flowers (I'm currently trying to source them for about 50p each as I don't think such projects should cost more than £10. That's half the fun) and cover the front in frothy mesh ruffles.

By the power of Photoshop I have scamped up what it may look like once done. I will of course be doing it with both sides, but you get the idea.

It will be quite time consuming since I will need to do it all by hand, but I think the results will make it completely worth it. If it does work out I will probably use the idea again as I think it has so many possibilities, especially since they come in lots of colours. I think it will work really well on the bodice part of an empire line dress.

Queen Michelle

The Power Of The Shower Flower

Last night, after I pondered the contents of my wardrobe, I took a long soak in a nice bath and pondered the contents of my bathroom. Obviously in my head I am all about the volume right now because I had a eureka moment that involves shower flowers.

It suddenly occurred to me that if I bought lots of those lovely mesh flowers in different sherbety colours I could sew them onto a neckline of something and create one helluva ruffled confection! I could even gather them all on one shoulder of something - a big ball of ruffle if you like.

Suffice to say I shall be taking a trip to my local Pound Shop to buy up as many shower flowers as possible and see what ruffle madness I can create.

Queen Michelle

Benefits Of Fringe

For some time now, I have been lusting after a black fringed skirt. It has led me to buying lots of fringing to sew onto anything that isn't fast enough to escape me and my needle!

Seeing an Ann D black fringed skirt in an editorial in 10 has made it even worse, especially since I can't find one for love nor money. However in order to appease myself I made use of some black fringing I had by turning it into a necklace.

Simple, cheap and will hopefully satisfy my fringe needs until such time as I come across the perfect fringed skirt.

Queen Michelle

Some Cuts Don't Hurt

I realise many of you are going to see this as a sacreligious act of epic proportions, but I cut the 50's dress. Don't think I didn't explore other options though, because I did, I just felt they would create a much too 'scrappy' final result. I may not be a seamstress but I do still try and achieve a certain level of neatness whenever I alter/create something, so temporary adjustments don't sit well with me. So out came the scissors I just chopped it. If I hadn't chopped it, it would have sat there unworn in my wardrobe, which would have been a complete waste.

Off came a few inches and I retained a degree of the original tulip shape by sewing some darts at the front and back. Overall I am pleased with the result. It's a delightful colour, the pattern is more painterly than floral and it's now a length I'm comfortable with. Sorry all you vintage aficionado's, but I had to do it!

I tried it with various coloured tights but only these 2 photos worked (damn this shitty camera!), but it looks lovely with simple black tights, as well as the orange and grey ones I also tried. But you'll just need to take my word for that!

Queen Michelle

Making The Cut

I have this stunning 50's silk tulip dress. I bought it intending to alter it as the exaggerated and structural hip area lends it a very Balenciaga-esque appeal, so once it is shortened, since it currently sits below the knee, it would look superb.

I envisage being a vision in shades of aqua with some turquoise tights and ideally these Proenza Schouler shoes. The shoes, from Yoox, have been in and out of my basket about 5 times since I spied them. I adore them beyond words but the £228 price tag, although a bargain for this label, is somewhat beyond my current fiscal reach - well not without incurring the wrath of my bank manager who now thinks I'm Imelda Marcos in disguise if my credit card statement is anything to go by.

The problem is the dress is so exquisite I haven't been able to bring myself to cut it. It's delicate silk with the skirt part lined in tulle to give it it's stiff structure, so the alteration is not that easy. I fear of ruining it. And I don't trust anyone else to alter it as I want. But since I'm the kind of girl who buys clothes to wear them, not just to collect them, I know i must take a deep breath and carefully take my scissors to transform it.

Part of the problem is my attachment to history. This dress was probably worn for very special occasions by an immaculately presented lady. And it's this wonder as to who it belonged to and what adventures they may have had when wearing the dress that makes it so difficult to alter it - it's like changing history. But then I suppose whoever had it before might be rather happy that the dress is being loved and enjoyed once more, even if it is a little different. Guts prevailing I shall make the cut at the weekend. Wish me luck!

Queen Michelle

Playsuit Comes Out To Play

It would appear I simply couldn't wait until such times as the PPQ playsuit arrived to see if I could indeed carry off this garment, because I ended up taking matters into my own hands on Saturday. Whilst I was rummaging around my closet digging out stuff to give to charity, I came across a vintage jumpsuit that I never wore. Suddenly a little light bulb went on above my head and out came the scissors to begin it's transformation. I simply hacked off the legs into shorts, put an elasticated hem on each leg so I could get a puffy effect and after half an hour I had myself a nifty little playsuit! For free!

I wanted to keep the look pretty simple and clean, so I first teamed it with a vintage hat, navy tights, MaxMara blazer and All Saints strappy shoes:

Then a little bit of a demure/garish contrast with my beautiful vintage camel capelet, picked up on Saturday's thrifting excursion (Queen Marie got an identical one in the most stunning shade of grey blue) and paisley patterned Celeste Stein tights...and more All Saints strappy shoes.

In conclusion, the playsuit isn't so scary after all. I actually felt rather grown up as opposed to totally teenage. I also conclude that stripper heels would look awesome with the playsuit. But you all knew I'd think that anyway, right?

Queen Michelle

My Floral Excursion

After seeing Anouck do florals in the most interesting way I have seen so far, it made me decide to take the plunge and try a floral frock myself. I dipped my toe into florals with some tights, but I wanted to take it further. I could never do flowery in it's purest form, for example a big 50's frock worn with pretty heels, nor could I do the typical teenager way of combining a floral tea-dress and Doc Martins. However Anouck's vision of doing florals with her strappy boots and bright tights wasn't a million miles away from the way I combine things, therefore florals now seemed like something I could work with without being untrue to myself.

Queen Marie gifted me a lovely full skirted, mid-calf, halter dress which she no longer wore for me to start to transform into something a bit more 'me'.

I began by taking in the bodice to fit me and changing the halter neck into straps. I then set about tucking and draping the skirt part until I had a short dress with much puffiness.

I rattled through it in about 1.5 hours and I am pretty pleased with the end result. I tried it with blue tights, clashing floral tights and latex leggings.

I really am looking forward to wearing my transformed floral frock. Of course I shall always wear some fierce shoes with it, because as I've mentioned many times, I nearly always have to de-prettify everything, but that's OK because I just ain't a pretty kinda gal!

Queen Michelle

My Cuff Of Feathers

I had a length of feather trim sitting around for the longest while, trying to decide what to do with it. My initial idea was to put it around the neckline of a collarless Alexander McQueen jacket I have. I may still do that, but last night I decided to make a pair of feather cuffs.

I simply added a little popper fastener to the end and now I have a sweet little feather adornment for my wrists.

Queen Michelle

From Bottom To Top

I decided to turn a naff, old PVC circle skirt into a top at the weekend, since said skirt never got worn and it was taking up valuable wardrobe space.

The obvious, and easiest, thing to do is to wear circle skirts as mini-capes which works well and requires no work, but you can take it further with a little extra time and a little sewing.

The resulting architectural shape is ideally suited for PVC since it looks quite edgy, but it will work with any reasonably stiff fabric. It is literally 3 simple steps and only takes about 20 minutes.

The result is some nice structural shoulders and some pretty folds.  I added two black buttons and a little chain where the sections of arms meet near the centre, but you could add a big bow or something more ornate. If you don't want to commit to stitching the arms to the middle, then just attach ribbons and tie them in the centre. When the ribbons are undone the top will just be an angel wing style top.

Queen Michelle

Fake eyelashes made real simple...

Smiling at Liberty London Girl and her tale of her marauding eyelash strips got me to thinking about false eyelashes.
I too am a big fan of fasle eyelashes but not those tricksy caterpillar strips there is a much better and easier way!
Many years ago Queen Michelle, Lady Jane and I went to Toni and Guy in Glasgow to get 'lash extensions'
Lady Jane wasn't phased one way or another, Queen Michelle hated them, but me being the old drag queen that I am, LOVED them. They only stayed in for about a week to 10 days and at about £20 quid a pop it was a pretty costly to looking a bit more glam.
I was hooked , as I never wear mascara, I loved my new dramatic eyes.
A second trip let me suss out what she was using and then it was off to Salon Services to gather everything
needed for the DIY version.  Or rather the Queen Michelle version, for it was she who perfected the technique of 'popping my lashes in'  She can do it in about 20 seconds while making a cup of tea and pointing out a dress in Grazia.
For the purposes of this post, I stuck them in so I look a bit more 'broken down actress' than usual.
I tend to wear them non stop for a couple of months at a time and then stop to let my own lashes rest and grow.

What you need...

1. Go to Salon Services, Sally or some Hairdressing supply shop
2. Buy box of individual lashes - they come in short, medium or long.  In brown and black
3. Buy bottle of glue
4. Dig out your tweezers.

What to do

1. To start, 4 on each eye should give you a good look.
2. Pour small puddle of glue onto paper
3. Pick up individual lash with your tweezers.
4. Gently drag the back of the lash (just the stumpy end bit) through the glue
5. Carefully just place the lash on top of your own eyelashes
6. Work from outside corner of eye in.
7. Job Done - it really is stupidly simple

And the best thing of all, is that when they fall out, it is only one small lash at a time so is highly unlikely to frighten men, horses or small children!

The bare eye before

Lashes in and ready to rock

You are now ready to give as many 'butterfly kisses' as your heart desires...

Queen Marie

 

The Miu Miu Inspired Skirt Tutorial

Let the lesson begin!

Let me start by saying that anything I create I do so off the top of my head - not from books or other tutorials - so there will be techniques and things I do that will probably be technically very wrong. I do hope to attend a dress-making class in the future, but until then this section is entirely written from a complete novice/idiots point of view!

01 The Tools
Measure your waist and cut a piece of elastic that size plus an extra inch to allow the ends to be overlapped and sewn together. Depending on the material you choose and the fullness required, buy the necessary amount of fabric. In this instance I opted for silk taffeta which is very thin. I also bought less than the last skirt since it was expensive - I knew it wouldn't be as full but for the purposes of the tutorial it didn't matter. For the thick material on the last skirt, I bought 2 metres to fit into 25" of elastic. In this case I bought 1.5metres.

02 Decide The Length
Determine the length you want the finished article to be, and cut the length about 4" longer. You can always make something shorter but you can't make it longer! Once you have cut the length, overlock the edges to stop fraying. I also utilise the selvedge edge for the waistband - it saves time overlocking the other long edge.

03 Making A Tube
Sew both ends of the material together, creating a tube. Iron the fold nice and flat.

04 The Waistband
Firstly measure the thickness of your elastic and iron a hem wide enough to allow you to thread it through. I advise getting as close to the width of the elastic as you can since a too wide hem means the elastic gets twisted easier. Sew the waistband but leave a gap in the stitching about an inch so that you can thread the elastic into the waistband. You can stitch up the gap afterwards.

 
05 The Bottom Hem
Since you now have the amount worked out for the waistband, you are free to take up the bottom hem which will be the remainder of the material in excess of your finished length.

06 Completing The Waistband
Now thread the elastic through the gap in the stitching. Attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic to give you something to pull. You will be pushing all the material into the waist-sized length of elastic. If you are using the thick material, this can be quite hard! Keep pushing until the elastic ends meet and sew them. Sew up the gap where you threaded the elastic through.

07 The Finished Skirt
The skirt is now complete! Just make sure all your hems and seams are pressed as that will give a more professional looking finish. 

I picked the fabric because I loved the colours most of all. I also decided to make it a few inches longer this time, so I could wear it on it's own. It also works with the skirt I made previously as the colour and fabrics match beautifully.

Good Luck!

Queen Michelle

Miu Miu For Me Me

I completed my Miu Miu style project this weekend. Rather than a dress I opted for a separate top and skirt as I figured I'd get more wear out of a skirt than a dress on this occasion. The fabric was really great to work with and I am definitely going to create more skirts like this in some other delicious fabrics.

The neutrality of the colours means that I can also mix it up with bright colours too, but I was just too lazy to show any more outfits! I am really looking forward to some more girliness!

Queen Michelle

Let It Commence

I took a trip to the fabric shop today and purchased the most divine truffle coloured fabric with a steely blue pattern through it, which will be used to create the Miu Miu-esque dress. To get the desired weight I had to go for a fabric intended for curtains and cushions, but luckily it's not at all scratchy or too stiff.

My attempt will of course be a much simpler affair since I have yet to learn how to do proper necklines, so it'll be a simple bandeau style dress with some thick straps. And if there is any left over I can always make some cushions to match - how wonderful!

Queen Michelle

Yes, It's More Leather

What can I say, the charity shops just keep giving it to me! This time a long full skirt from the 80's. It was almost ankle length so I initially wanted to do something drapey with it since it had a whole lot of leather to play with, but the fact it was created in so many panels meant the leather got quite thick in places so wouldn't hang the way I wanted it to. I ended up just chopping off the length which made it into a semi skater-style skirt. It was also only £3.50.

I was also delighted to discover it had pockets! I just adore having pockets in my skirts and dresses therefore that was an unexpected surprise. The people in the shop had guessed the size as a 12, but when I tried it on I was pleased to find it fitted much better than the Topshop circle skirt, which is quite similar but is too large for me. Although, the good fit may have had something to do with the fact I had eaten 3 apple turnovers, 100 flying saucers (yes, one hundred), 15 Toffifee and a chicken pasty that day...tummy might have been a wee bit swollen maybe? Mmm, yes, I think so. Never mind, I'll just need to eat that whenever I want to wear it! Score all round then!

Queen Michelle

Feather Lite

Whilst my lust for some seriously excessive feathers is still going strong, I amused myself last night by creating a little feathered headband. I, unsurprisingly, have lots of feathers in my sewing box, just waiting for usage, so out came the medium black ones which I sewed onto an old black fabric covered headband.

It shall appease my appetite until that showgirl headpiece comes my way!

Queen Michelle

Stormtrooper Comes To Life

Remember the top half of the kids' Stormtrooper outfit that I had planned to convert? Well I finally managed to grab half an hour on Sunday to play about with it. I stripped away the  sleeves and the faux buckle leaving just the padded front panel, onto which I added some straps to create a waistcoat/top kind of thing.

I took out the padding too as it puffed in all the wrong places once it was on. I also added kilt buckles to the thick white elastic strapping and voila! a shiny, futuristic addition to my wardrobe.

I also wore it with a plain white vest and black waxed jeans on Friday night and it added a little something extra to an otherwise simple outfit.

I will certainly be looking out for more halloween outfits in charity shops as they have amazing conversion potential.

Queen Michelle

Super Stormtrooper

Queen Marie and I went a little charity shopping on Saturday - the first I have managed to do in weeks - and in Bernardos there appeared to be quite alot of exciting things.

We pawed at the rails thinking we'd struck gold. There were so many fabulously shiny things to be had. I found an amazing black and white top thing with quilted bits on. I was most excited! It was only when Queen Marie told me it was actually the top half of a kids' Stormtrooper outfit that we clicked that what we were actually pawing at were Halloween costumes. Oops! What does that tell you?

It didn't stop me buying it of course. I wouldn't know a Stormtrooper if he came up and zapped my ass (or whatever a Stormtrooper does. No, I haven't seen Star Wars. Yes, I know I'm the only person in the world probably).

When got home I began to strip away all the nasty polyester bits until I was left a white padded bib kind of thing, which I shall be putting straps onto to wear as a structural addition to sheer tops.

Hooray for Halloween indeed!

Queen Michelle

Make Your Own Breeches

I shall be making a trip to Zara today to see if I can find their recommended jodhpurs, but when I first started with the obsession I made my own from a pair of old green trousers from a charity shop. The problem with these was the fact the trousers weren't baggy enough to begin with so the effect wasn't dramatic enough for me. Then Queen Marie bought me some amazing Belstaff ones which were properly baggy at the hip area, but they are made of very light cotton, so won't hold up for winter, hence the reason I need some heavier duty ones.

However the principle of converting basic, loose trousers with simple seems (i.e. no double stitched seams like you find on jeans) is extremely easy.

Imagine cutting a shape of a narrow champagne flute - that's basically the jodhpur pattern (well, it's how I do it anyway. No doubt there is a proper way).

The red dotted line is the shape you will sew, and the black dotted line is where your knees are. I advise choosing trousers that have a slight stretch and are a good weight for maximum exaggeration.

When you sew the red shape it's important, in my opinion, to get as smooth and gentle a curve as possible which smoothly joins the existing seam at the top part of the trousers.

And that is how you make a simple pair of jodhpurs. Although, I have it on very good authority that Topshop are working on a design as we speak...so you might want to hand on in there and save your thread.

Queen Michelle

Button It

You know what I love? I love buttons. More specifically - shiny, metal buttons. Military style, dome buttons are my most favourite type of button.

Whenever I buy jackets, I look for possible button additions or replacement. Replacing buttons on a distinctive or popular garment can be an easy way of making yours different from everyone else's.

When I was kid I was playing in bit of waste ground behind my house (and old Victorian coal mine, then a dismantled gasworks) and people used to dump things there. As I wandered around looking for wild poppies (a bizarre past time I used to have), I came across a tin which someone had thrown out and it was filled with buttons. Hundreds of buttons, all strewn all over the place. I collected as many as I could and took them home. I thought I'd found treasure!

That button obsession has remained. The other evening I was making some additions to a boring, cropped bolero style jacket I had. I never wore it since it was quite dull, so I added a ruffle along the bottom to make it a bit longer, then added some shiny, silver buttons onto the lapel. Now I love the jacket!

My striped charity shop jacket was elevated from just wearing it occasionally to wearing it all the time - two simple buttons, transformed it for me.

My other favourite button adornment is this cute little vintage dress. My buttons make it look like a little drummer girl dress, especially when teamed with bright red tights!

I use buttons for other types of embellishment too - like this top I made ages ago. I made these little flower type things to go around the neckline which consist of white netting, crochet and....dome buttons!

I have many other garments lined up awaiting the button transformation.

Queen Marie is sure I have a secret dome button dealer since I have a never ending supply. Maybe I do, maybe I don't...

Queen Michelle

The First Cut Is The Deepest

Normally I am very excited when I'm about to embark on a charity conversion. As soon as I have the garment in my paws I'm anxious to set about it with scissors, ready to create something new from something old. Sometimes though, it's not that easy.

Queen Marie is forever off loading her old clothes to me for conversions or simply for keeping the fabric for future projects. I store them away, fully intending to slice them up at some point, never giving it second thought. I usually have no qualms about it...except this one single time.

About 4 months ago Queen Marie gave me a stunning dress which she never wore. It was designed by a local designer called Lesley Hepburn about 7 years ago, and was part of her graduate collection. Queen Marie, Lady Lisa and myself were all involved in her show and Queen Marie bought some pieces from the collection. But alas, they never saw the light of day, so rather than have them sit collecting dust she gave me the dress, since it had the most material. It's a beautiful long dress with a wonderful sculptural neckline.

The problem was, I just couldn't bring myself to cut it. I knew I'd never wear it as a dress since it was too large around the waist and hip area and so would similarly sit and gather dust in my closet too, which entirely defeated the purpose of Queen Marie giving to me in the first place. It also made me look like Elvira. So it sat in my wardrobe for those 4 months.

But on Saturday I finally did it. I cut the dress. I chose to try and keep the integrity of the shape, so I decided to make it into a simple top. This has left me the whole bottom area which I can them make into a skirt or dress at a later date.

I decided to enhance the left shoulder further by, rather oddly, adding a cup for a bra (a 38DD if you will). The bra cup is made of a strange aertex looking material and I thought it added a techy edge to the dress. It also goes with my aertex fingerless gloves.

Whilst I am truly sad at cutting up such a fabulously talented designers work, I'm sure she'd rather I did that than have her creation never worn at all.

Lesley, if you are reading this - I hope you understand!

Queen Michelle

PS: I apologise for yet another post in which I am in, you will all be sick of the sight of me soon - this should be the last for a while hopefully - no more shopping on the horizon (she says half lying!)

I've Started So I'll Finish

Usually I'm the sort of person who lives life by the motto "If you're in, you're in". That's to say if I start something I see it through to the end and won't stop until I get there.

When I was little my mum was always called up to school to discuss the fact I was always really stressed as a child. There wasn't really any need for me to be stressed, I had a perfect upbringing - working class yes, but I was taught good morals and my parents were passionately protective of me. My stressing was the first hints that I would become a bit of a perfectionist later in life. I remember sitting quietly in the corner of the class during a maths test crying. When the teacher came over to see what was wrong, it turned out I'd gotten stuck at a question, but rather than move on to the next one and come back to it later, I stayed at that question trying to work it out and failing, and the longer I tried the more frustrated I got. Of course I was only 7 so I didn't really think sensibly and to just leave the question. I HAD to get it right before I could move on.

Well that attitude is still with me. If I start something I'll usually see it through to the bitter end...except this one time.

I got my sewing machine 2 years ago (a gift from my Prince) and when I was teaching myself how to use it I got to grips by making a few simple tops. Once I was reasonably good at sewing in a straight line I decided to make a dress.

I'm not entirely sure what was going through my head at the time, but I choose an odd lavender taffeta kind of material. I also decided I wanted very pale grey satin ruffles down the front with self covered buttons. Well night and after night I toiled at that dress, laboriously creating little buttons, and ruffles until eventually I just couldn't see the dress ever being finished. It seemed liked I'd been working on it for all my friggin' life and when the time came to put up all the hems, I'd actually began to detest that dress. So it lay there, at the back of the wardrobe for a year, unfinished and unloved...until today.

I dug it out, gave it a quick iron and decided to finish the fated dress.

It turns out the strange lavender colour is exactly the kind of colour I want to use with my off-colour plan for autumn. It'll look lovely with the Prada socks (Susie, I may call on your services for the procurement of these!). I want to wear it with olive green, orange, purple, brown and everything in between.

The shinyish material will contrast really well with wool and patent leather. So once I have accrued enough items in the colours I want, then you may see this dress pop up again in an off-colour post at a later date.

Queen Michelle

Outside In

I recently wrote about I wanted to wear shoulder pads on the outside of garments, well last week I made my first experimental attempt at doing this very thing. I hunted out all the shoulder pads I'd kept from inside vintage garments, but they were all too small. I decided I'd make my own from a bunch of PVC I've had lying around for about 2 years.

Made from semi circles which I then stuffed to pad them out, they took about 10 minutes to make. Since this was my first foray I decided I'd start of very simple and attach them onto a plain black vest.

Because it's the working rough if you will, I just quickly hand stitched them onto the vest, but now I've seen the possibilities I shall be taking this much further.

I will be making the pads much larger (of course!) and attach them to much more interesting clothes so the effect is of over all exaggeration. This vest however can be worn under a light, loose top and you'll something which looks like a smaller version of the padded shoulders we saw at Margiela.

Queen Michelle

My Own Caped Crusade

Well I very quickly knocked up my little Lanvin inspired cape. Clearly not even a fraction as nice, but if you actually attached it to the neckline of something you'd achieve the same effect as the Lanvin dress because you wouldn't need to use elastic, which I did as I wanted to use it on other things.

I shall take the time to explore this idea further, but for a 10 minute job it's alright.

Queen Michelle

Charity Conversion-ish.

I think I can safely say it's pretty clear to all us Brits that summer just isn't happening this year. We might, if we're lucky, get a nice sunny week in August or September, but so far the rest has been a literal wash out. But the upside of this is that I can peruse all the A/W collections and actually consider wearing looks of the season and won't look totally daft, as no-one else is wearing summery clothes either.

So having scoured the collections day in day out I have come to the conclusion that Balenciaga's offering is actually one of my favourites. It wasn't really received with the usual gushing praise generally heaped upon Ghesquiere. But for me, I really liked the folksy, ethnic, equestrian mix and whilst it isn't as hugely complex as past season's, it's actually great for that reason. It's very very wearable.

Normally, I rarely like a look from top to bottom, and would take elements and mix them up my own way (except this season's Marni and last season's Chloe - their head-to-toe looks are perfection), but with Balenciaga I'm loving the whole breeches thing.

I love the whole style right down to every detail. It's perfect for our weather (well, aside from the shoes perhaps). So yesterday I was hunting for some baggy green trousers to make into jodhpurs. Not as easy as you'd expect. But I did find one pair that worked, although had they been a bit looser the effect would have been better, so I will keep hunting. But in the meantime, I did my own fan-girl Balenciaga look. Unashamedly copied (clearly considerably cheaper too!). Aside from the trousers, I had everything to make the look already, but did find a better silk scarf as part of the charity shop haul.

Technically this makes it a sort of Charity Conversion.