Christmas

I know, November has just begun. Still, Christmas is coming for sure, and always sooner "than expected". All over sudden, Christmas eve is there. Although it is always at the same day and I know it, it seems that I forget about it. Last-minute-panic because of missing gifts, food or drink preparation, planning, organization, and at the end I promise myself that next year will be different (while thinking of a nice sunny place with no Christmas trees). 

And now, this time starts again. Why do we always want this "perfect evening" on Christmas? Can't we just relax, being with someone we love, having a good but decent meal with ONE glass of wine? Without all this preparation and planning for weeks, going shopping once and coming home with all gifts? 

via marthastewart.com

By now, I did not manage to do it the other way. Shops are open today, so I am heading downtown hunting for gifts. Almost two months before Christmas. Yeah. 

DIY Satin Bow Tie Blouse

Another thing I sewed during my class has been this bow tie blouse. I found the pattern in my mother's journals and liked it immediately. I found very cheap satin fabrics in Germany (Karstadt is a very good address, because smaller shops are mostly very expensive and do not have much more choice. For those living in France I highly recommend buying during the sales period because you get a lot of nice fabrics for really cheap.) 

This as well was a difficult piece of work, but when you do one blouse you understand the essential steps and can apply them to whatever kind of blouse. 

DIY Brocade Dress

A while ago I found a very nice dress by Victoria Beckham in an Instyle edition. Since I do not have the means nor am I willing to pay 900€ for a dress, I decided to make it myself. This has been one of the first things I sewed, and it was a hard piece of work (because of the lining for example which I then made for the first time).  
I had a little trouble finding the fabric I had in mind. When I started the dress it was actually spring. 

Actually, the biggest challenge in designing clothes is finding the perfect supply. I like touching things, therefore I have to drive around hoping to find what I have in mind. 

Autumn is knocking on the door, so I will hopefully have the occasion to wear it soon. 

By the way, please excuse not having posted for a while we had lots of guests at home...

Flea Market

I had the morning off today and could therefore go to the flea market. I tried a new one which I discovered just by coincidence; in fact this was just an occasional "vide grenier" (more like a yard sale). It was not worth going there and I did not find anything; people sell so much crap. So then we went to one of those I normally go to, and I found a nice pair of leather pumps for one Euro. I do not know the brand (Xavier Danaud Paris), but I liked the color and style and they are very comfortable for what I can say right now. 

Since the weather is more like autumn right now I will wear them soon. 

August Rain

rubber boots from a random Asian street store in NYC, the most counterfeit product I ever owned

Well, it is still August but since today it feels like autumn. We have had heavy rain and thunder that night (I completely slept through it and did not hear anything...) and streets were slightly flooded. 

I hope that summer is not finally over and we will have a sunny September. Normally this is one of the best months in this region with empty beaches and nice temperatures.