Looking the part

Dusting, vacuuming, washing the floors, all used to be really boring stuff. I tried to put a positive spin on it, I mean, at least I was exercising. Sort of. After all I was moving about, and at the same time my home got a bit cleaner. 

When my little brother refused to clean up, I would put on a really fun song and say "This is the Clean-Up song. We have to tidy up and put all the toys away before the song is over." Believe me, it worked. 

The song trick didn't work so well on myself, but then I made this apron:

Dressed in this apron I look like one of the servant girls from Downton Abbey. Reliable, efficient and thorough. 

I can see now why uniforms are so important. It puts you in the right zone, you dress the part. Armed with my little white apron I'm all about the tasks at hand. Afterwords I'll have a nice cup of tea, naturally. 

Where did I get such a magical apron? I made it from an old Victorian pillow case. It was way too big for my own pillows, so for the longest time the case was just tucked away in a drawer. 

It's so beautiful, embroidered and everything. Since I don't believe in hiding things away, saving things for imaginary grandchildren or some special occasion that might or might not happen, I wanted to make the pillow case into something I could actually use. I'm sure the original owner would agree with my decision. 

After all, people were much better at reusing and remaking things than we are today. Our habit is to buy, not to restore or reuse. 

Us upcyclers are trying to change all that. We want to create, re-design, give things a second chance and a new life. 

Would that be all Lady Grantham?

Eco Bride

A few thousand pounds for a dress? Of course, it's a wedding dress! That is what they are worth.

Or are they? Isn't it a fact that most wedding dresses are ridiculously overpriced because that is what brides are willing to pay for them?For a dress she will only wear once. 

Totally reasonable.... I mean, they are made of 100% silk, nothing but hand-stitches, lined with the finest satin, designed by world famous fashion designers. Not so much, not most of them. 

For those of us who wants the perfect dress, but is not willing to pay an arm and a leg for it, there great options that doesn't require down-payments and depleting the savings account. 

I'm talking about second hand shops. Yes, you do in fact find great wedding dresses at thrift shops and vintage stores. For my big day I wore a dress I found at a thrift shop in East-Finchley. I just happened to drop by on my way to the movies, and there it was; the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. 

Red Cross have a fantastic bridal shop, you get the most incredible dresses for a tenth of the original price. I told a fellow thrift-store-shopper/bride-to-be about this second hand bridal shop, and this is what she found for her big day:

It had only been used once on the catwalk for a bridal show, now it was waiting for the perfect owner. Neither the bride or I liked the Star Trek arms, but otherwise it was a winner. The bride wanted plain spaghetti-straps, and it had to be taken in a bit. Not a problem.

 

After the few alterations it was a perfect fit. Why pay more when you can look just as great for less?

Here is a picture from the big day:

Which was only yesterday! Some of the guests thought I had made the entire dress, so I go a lot of unfounded praise. 

I'm so pleased it turned out so well, she was positively stunning. 

Below is me on my wedding day:

I paid the total sum of £25 for this dress.That's more like it! I might add that it had the original price-tag on it,  obviously it had never been used. The previous owner had paid something like 1800 pounds for it. Gheezus. 

If we are getting so good a recycling plastic and paper, buying organic food and drinking fair-trade coffee, why not be an Eco Bride? You save the environment and your wallet. This is a no-brainer, even  for a bride on Cloud Nine. 

Revealed by the Wind

I adore my floral Zara silk dress. It's so beautiful and lovely, there is only one annoying catch:
I'm never quite sure what the skirt is doing. Is it stuck on my jacket hem, am I walking around like lady Gaga with my butt on display, or is the skirt hanging down like it's supposed to? Unless I constantly run my hands down the sides of the dress, there is no way of telling what is going on back there.

Someone told me that the royal seamstresses sew sand into the hem of the Queen's gowns. Not only does it make the dress hang nice and straight, it also prevents public embarrassment when gusts of wind   rushes through the royal parade.

Even though I'm not a public figure, there is no reason for my own skirts and dresses to misbehave, regardless of weather. A while back I bought a spool of lead-thread, like one does, it was just what I needed for my flowy dress.

The lead thread isn't super heavy, but there is just enough weightiness there to keep the skirt in place.

All I had to do was rip open the seam along the hem, insert the miracle thread and close up the hem again.

Now I can wear the dress in the carefree, easygoing manner it was meant for. No more paranoid looks, straightening it into place and silently hoping all is as it should be. I know all is well, thanks to an impulse purchase of lead-thread.