LibraStar's Journal: The weekend after Turkey

It must have been the longest food coma ever on the blogging planet. It was a very very full, sleepy and satisfying weekend with some crazy shopping at the outlet! ;) yes, of course there has to be some retail therapy involved in the process of holiday celebration. Although I am saving up most of my money for x'mas and new year shopping when I go back to my beloved homeland - Hong Kong, but I can't possibly pass on those devilishly deep discounts in the Woodbury Outlet...can I?

So I spent most of my money at the Off 5th Saks Fifth store and Max Studio.com. They are both great bargins, and not like Dolce & Gabbana, YSL, Celine, Prada and Miu Miu, where prices are still too high for my budget, style are either straight off the funkway or the dullway and size small or petite are rarely in sight. Well I almost gave in to this white trousers from Dolce & Gabbana (they are just the right looseness and make my legs looks like miles long!)but they are quite high maintenance to wear and cost almost 200 bucks...humm ok...I need to just tell myself I don't regret not buying it!

Back to what I got:
-Leopard print v-neck top from Laundry by Shelli Segal (~$45, org. ~$180)
-Green silk top with jewel embellishment on the halter neckline by YA-YA ($46, org. $268)
-Black silk skirt with unique flowery pattern stitch work by Cynthia Steffe ( $31, org. $305)
-Khaki knit tan top from Max Studio.com ($25, org. $78)
-Nylon tunic with velvet trimmings on neckline, sleeves finishing and waistline from Max Studio.com ($35, org. $98)
-Lace tunic from Max Studio.com-my fav. piece! ($35, org. $98)

Even though stores close at 10pm at the outlet, I was unable to finish going through all the stores. I quickly went in Diane Von Furstenburg, Juicy, Miss Sixty, Barney's, Theory, but maybe I just didn't have enough time to flip through everything and try on anything, I came out empty handed in those places. But then again, I am really saving for the big and crazy shopping time in HK which is 2 and a half weeks away!

P.S. Can someone guess where I was in the picture? This very very very delicious chocolate place...heehee...if you have heard of this place then you should know by now. :p

Knit goes wild

The talented Ms Backlund strikes again (see my earlier coverage on Sandra Backlund, When art is fashion...)

She has once again used knit to create art forms on the body, this time they are bloodly red. This picture is from a famous blog "Diane, a shaded view on fashion" - Sandra Backlund and her Don't Walk Collection (you can view more pictures from this collection through her blog). I don't like stealing posts from people, but I exceptionally love this designer and I would like to introduce you to this fashion forward blog as well.

Grey Inspiration

The reason I love grey might have something to do with the fact that I am a libra, and I love a median, something in between black and white, something that is moderate and gentle but yet beautiful. Grey also reminds me of the school days, when I was in boarding school in Hong Kong. Back then, I used to wear uniforms to school, and now I realized that a lot of girls were using their sweater to make their own fashion statement. It was interesting that I remember how I used to think how come the same old uniform sweater look so much cooler on one girl than the other? And I also remember seeing some über skinny girl wearing this XL sweater to school - which I didn't realize it actually is cool.

Anyways, I suspect this might be one of the inspiration for Stella McCartney's 2006 fall collection. I love the navy grey she is using to match with different shades of grey - or simply different shades of grey together.

I recently found this grey sweater at Charlotte Russe (yes, I do shop at budget girlie store like this!) I was attracted by the puffed bat shaped sleeves on the upper arm and fitted on the lower arm, and the big v neck and loose fit on the body. I couldn't find a small or even a medium, but to my surprise I loved the fit in a size large! And on top of that it was half priced and cost a lovely 11 bucks...11 bucks!!! I couldn't even take the train to get home for $11! So there it is, I was wearing this with a demin mini skirt, black tights and boots from Target by Isaac Mizrahi. (see Shoes Shoes Shoes...)

LibraStar's Journal: Basic White T I made

Hola!! I am proud to present my first white t! It is made by a stretchy rippled polyester fabric, $3 a yard (it should cost more but he gave me a yard that is kind of dirty on some parts and yellowy on the edge), which was the first purchase I made from the friendly Indian (who later on told me I was actually his first customer since he opened the store that day - read My Sewing Saga) It worked, people loves this fabric and the fit somehow worked magically. It was a good size small pattern for me...I will sure be making some more of these and definitely...I am seriously considering getting myself a serger this winter...

My new little black dress...

This is a dress by Future Paradise, which I actually have never heard of. When I searched online hardly anything came up. Its work seems to have alot of vintage influence, and lace, flower details are often involved. I absolutely adore this dress, it did made a huge huge hugeeee dent on my wallet but at the same time I got tons of compliments from a fashion event that I have recently attended (more on that later). I am really happy I got this dress and I will sure be wearing this little black dress some more during holiday parties!

LibraStar's Journal: My Sewing Saga

So, I started taking sewing class in Sept. How I found this place is simply by searching "sewing class nyc" and this Sew Fast Sew Easy place came up. It is amazing how much online marketing they have been doing (or how little the other sewing business have been advertising online, since I haven't found any other ones). I even found some ads they have on Craigslist. Anyways, so I went to the fashion district one day to check it out. It was much smaller and hidden than I have expected, and when I went in there was a sewing class going on. I looked around and saw a friendly looking guy who was most likely a gay man (who later became one of my instructor). He came to the counter and I asked him about the sewing classes - I told him that I am planning to apply for fashion school and would like to start learning sewing to prepare for my portfolio. He recommended the beginner comprehensive course (10 sessions, 2.5 hrs each) and told me that I would learn everything I needed to prepare for the portfolio plus more, because fashion school don't teach much sewing techniques to their students. So 5 mins later, I made a $590 dent on my credit card and walked out with a registration receipt and a list of things I needed to buy for the class (sewing notions like big scissors for cutting fabrics, long ruler, needles, pins, tracing wheel, measuring tapes, fuse tape, magnetic seam guide, tailor's chalk...etc.).

It would be better if I had started writing about my lessons when I first started, as there are tons of interesting, funny, and hideous experiences I have encountered. But I guess I could also summarize it and talk about some of the memorable things.

I remember I went to the first class with excitement, also kind of curious as to what kind of people would be in the class with me. I remember when I first went there to register for class, the students that I saw were quite young (in their 20s or 30s). About a few mins later I got to meet them all: they were mostly very young, 9 girls and 1 guy, and that guy also had the same goal as me, to apply to fashion school. There were 2 plus size ladies, and actually I got pretty friendly with one of them whom I think was incredibly funny (especially in stressful situations, i.e. trying the 10th time to wind the bobbins or simply to get the machine to sew correctly). Everyone tends to be at different levels during the class, and because it was such an intense group learning environment, I got to see many different personalities. The instructor (who I think is gay) is humorous and friendly.

In terms of the learning experiences, I am proud to say that I have gone from "what is a bobbin and how to a thread the machine?" to altering a dress that I bought (hemming, and turning a flare dress into a bubble dress - see pic) The class location is also great and I am fortunate enough to be learning in the fashion district, where I can find fabrics, trims and other sewing notions that I needed just a walk away. Another interesting experience was bargaining with the fabric stores. I did have some bad experience when I was sort of harassed by some shopkeepers (I guess not many young asian girls shop around there) and then I made friend with this Indian fabric store owner who gives me a good discount and has a friendly attitude. He later told me that I was actually his first customer.

So this has all been great fun, and I am determined to learn more and start defining my own design concepts. So - since you have scrolled this far down - Here are the "rewards" - I will share with you my humble sewing station in the basement of my home, a little tote bag that I have made and the dress that I have altered (I regret that I haven't taken a "before" pic, but I am going to try to go back to the store and take a picture of the dress later).

Thanks for reading! :)

LibraStar's Journal: Intro

I think it will be a good idea to start writing about my experiences while I am striving to become a fashion designer and have a cute little boutique in Hong Kong and Japan. I love little boutiques in Tokyo on the mysterious street, and the door is dark/black wood with antique carving, I am not sure if I want to have mannequins, I guess if they are as cute as the ones that Anna Sui has. Yes, you can see I am very inspired by Anna Sui. Okay. Enough dreaming.

A little bit more details about me: currently in New York, originally from Hong Kong, working as a web designer.