working overtime

Summer equals endless amounts of free time, and I plan to use each and every minute of the approximately 68 days I have left until move-in day wisely. As nice as vegging out is for a day or two, I get upset if I go too long without productivity. And my, what a productive first full week of summer it has been! 

Above, the unfinished bodice to my newest project, the Sally dress. I found this fabric a while back in LA and I love the nautical stripes with flamingo pink. The original plan for this dress was to have a double-breasted design -you might notice in the above picture that one side of the bodice actually overlaps the other- but the row of buttons down the middle looked so perfect that I decided to go in that direction. Funny how things change from illustration to pattern to sewn piece.

Below, the finished result. Gathered skirt with a one-inch band at the bottom to give the skirt some more weight. I went with three buttons -even numbers are always nice! Now all I need to do is sew on the zipper and I'll have a brand new summer frock!

What productive -or not productive- things have you done this summer?

(images taken on my iPhone 4S and edited with instagram)

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Pomp and Circumstance

dress by me

j. crew sandals

betsey johnson bracelet

The dress I made and wore to my graduation party last Saturday. Ignore the iffy cell-phone quality and my dog, Toby, checkin' out my footwear in the background. 

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Friday, I'm In Love: Missoni

On a day like today you just don't question the fact that it is already March 9th and that spring is soon upon us. It's just so darn nice! Enjoying all this 70 degree weather has got me yearning for summer -because it feels like summer, except for that whole school thing- and naturally I'm looking for the perfect summer dress that I can wear while walking down to the beach over Spring Break. This Missoni dress has all the makings of a perfect beach dress: it's colorful, it's lightweight, and it's a freakin' Missoni! Pair with a wide-brim hat, Olsen-worthy shades, and a stellar bikini, and you're good to go!

(dress available at net-a-porter.com)

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Friday, I'm in Love: Emma Cook

Emma Cook Dress via Net-a-Porter

There are so many things that I love about this dress. The baggy shape with nipped-in waist is extremely flattering for any girl. And then there's the print; spring is full of denim and the laid back luxe I've previously mentioned. But how tedious would it be to have a heavy patchwork dress made of all different denim scraps? Fear not! Emma Cook has thought of all these questions and instead the dress is a nice silk-cotton blend that only appears to be made of denim but has all the lightness of a perfect summer dress, making it a wonderful spring dress.

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One of These Days

Dress by me! I call it the "Picnic" Dress

Report Footwear Shoes

(image my own)

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Frolicking through the Flowers

My camera is still broken but instagram is here to save the day! I just recently completed this dress, which I like to call the 'Giselle' dress because it reminds me of something Giselle from Enchanted would make out of curtains to frolic around Central Park in. All I need is a flower garland and some birds chirping in the background. 

(image taken with Instagram)

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It's a Celestial Fountain

^See PROM (the movie) it will be the best decision of your life

So now that my pesky AP chemistry exam is out of the way I am free to focus on the important things in life- like PROM! So our school had its prom this past Saturday and it was so much fun! It did not live up to the expectations Disney had left me with the night before, but regardless it was a good time and so fun to see everyone get dressed up and excited over it. For one night everyone was dressed to the nines, which was a refreshing change from the sweatpants and T-shirts most people at my school usually wear.

A few weeks a go I showed you guys my prom dress but since then I altered it and here's the final result!

I hemmed the dress -taking off ten inches in total!- and adjusted the bodice so it was fitted perfectly to me (an issue I always have with strapless dresses). The result- a cool and modern spin on my fifties prom dress and a dress that was not a hassle to deal with all night.

So of course I went all out getting ready for prom. Well, actually, not as all out as some would think. I got my nails done but my mom helped me with my hair and makeup, not a professional, whereas some girls were getting super elaborate hairdos and fancy makeup. I don't know, prom is a big deal but it isn't that big of a deal, I feel like. Maybe for my senior prom I'll get my hair done, but we shall see.

Anyways, I just curled my hair and gave it some volume. And I wore my new Ray-Bans because they are so sweet.

Then there was the makeup. I'm not usually a big makeup girl but I decided to put some on and spice up my look a bit. I tried to make my eyelashes as visible as possible with a ton of mascara (my eyelashes are basically translucent) and I got this cool eyeshadow pallet (on the left) from the drugstore and so I but purple and orange eyeshadow on and it actually looked cool. Sometimes I feel like me with makeup looks like I'm just trying way too hard, but this time it actually worked out.

And now, for the big event, the grand finale, here's me after all the hair and makeup and general stressing over what to do about that pesky prom...

 I'm so happy with how everything turned out. I was nervous about the dress at first because you never know how vintage stuff will work out, but this time the risk was definitely worth it. And the best part is, no one had the same dress as me!

Hooray!

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