weekend pieces 11/30/09

it’s cold and rainy outside and the chill is creeping into the house—through the mail slot and the old kitchen ventilator. we finally got our first snow and I have a sad feeling winter is here to stay. my parents were visiting over the weekend and we showed them the city, cooked for days, cleaned up the yard and the garden, and laid around in front of the fireplace digesting—then eating pie, watching movies, and drinking wine. ben’s parents came and went at the beginning of november and now my parents are gone. what is going to happen to our house now that we don’t have experienced homeowners around to tell us what to do?

(photos by: erin)

black friday

regardless of what you're doing after thanksgiving, whether it's shopping, relaxing, or still digesting, you are going to want to be comfortable. (1) plaid dress, (2) grey cashmere sweater, (3) thermal long johns, (4) white boyfriend tank, (5) clog boots, (6) gold teardrop necklace, (7) vintage traveling case, (8) canvas clutch, (9) wool felt ipod case, (10) antlers

dishwasher safe

what better way to serve leftover thanksgiving fare than in these porcelain paper plates and take-out containers by virginia sin and lorena barrezueta. both artists reintroduce the idea of disposable dishes, making us think before we throw.

the bigger the better

it was only a matter of time before the brief returned. with high-waisted pants and tailored pencil skirts already in the mix of wardrobe staples, these oversized undies began making an appearance in spring 2010 fashion collections. they are not returning quietly. sequined briefs are popping up all over. this makes me question—do you actually wear them under or do you wear then on their own? (1) black princess tam tam, (2) gold silence and noise, (3) pink topshop.

hand written

anna bond at rifle paper co. opened her online store today. the custom stationary and invitations that she creates are completely charming and her new line of paper products, all beautifully hand lettered and illustrated, show the same attention to detail.

denim update

styles change, but getting rid of a favorite pair of jeans is like saying goodbye to an old friend. instead of storing them in the back of your closet for two decades, waiting for the style to return, taking the time to update their shape on your own is an easy way to make your jeans look more current without having to spend the extra money on a new pair. if you don't have a sewing machine at home, you can still update your denim by measuring and marking the jeans at home and then taking them to a seamstress to finish the details.

(1) decide what type of style you want to update to. the different leg openings are skinny (10-inch leg opening), pencil (12-inch leg opening), cigarette (14-inch leg opening), and straight (16-inch leg opening). keep fabric in mind when deciding. if your jeans have little or no stretch, you might not want to do a skinny leg.

(2) try your jeans on inside out and mark where they start to move away from your body. generally, this is 2-3 inches above the knee. repeat this for both legs, making sure the marks are an equal distance from the floor on both sides.

(3) take your jeans off and lay them flat on the ground. decide how much denim needs to be removed at the ankle and mark. because the jean leg is folded in half, you will want to measure half of the amount of the desired fit. for example, if you want to create a cigarette leg, measure 7 inches from the inside seam to create the desired 14-inch opening.

(4) unpick the bottom hem on both sides up to the mark you just made.

(5) using a straight edge, draw a line from the ankle mark to the mark above your knee. when the line is drawn, if it doesn’t blend with the natural seam at the top, curve the line slightly to avoid creating a saddlebag look.

(6) use pins to secure the two sides of denim together along the line. use your sewing machine to stitch along that line.

(7) once both legs are sewn, try them on to make sure that you achieved the look you want. after this point, there is no turning back.

(8) cut off the extra denim leaving one half inch of fabric next to your new seam. using a zigzag stitch, sew along the newly trimmed fabric to avoid unraveling.

(9) turn the bottom of your jeans under and re-stitch the hem to close it up.

(10) open up the seam and iron the fabric flat.

esau wood

danish clothing line wood wood started out as a t-shirt label in 2002 created by brian jensen, karl-oskar olsen, and magnus carstensen, three former students of the royal design school of denmark. the line has expanded into a successful label mixing classic streetwear and vintage prep, featuring tailored dresses, workwear inspired jumpsuits, and feminine lumberjack shirts in their autumn/winter 2009 collection.

made to last

during the paris winter sales last year i found these beautiful deep coral studded gloves at the galeries lafayette. i carried them with me while i shopped, but in the end i brought them back to the accessories section because they were €100 and i thought they would have been an impulse buy. of course, a year later, i am still thinking about them. (1) yellow la crasia, (2) red carolina amato, (3) orange nina peter, (4) black 3.1 phillip lim, (5) violet saks, (6) tan nina peter, (7) aubergine portolano, (8) gold portolano, (9) black miu miu, (10) hot pink juicy, (11) jade urban, (12) grey juicy.

(top photo by: erin)

wingspan

my sister and i created a small cemetery between two twin pines next to our old sandbox. if a bird hit the high windows on the house looking out over the water we would put it in one of my moms old hazelnut general foods international coffee tins, wrapped in a bed of tissue, and lay it to rest under the dirt and moss, marked with with a flat stone. marcio simnch's photos remind me of all of those birds coming back to haunt me in a beautiful blurred dream. the overexposed images make the front bars disappear and the fledglings inside free to fly away.

weekend pieces 11/16/09

i think 60° in november is something i could start getting used to. too bad i heard it’s a freak year. regardless, i’m still hoping it will hold out long enough for us to have thanksgiving in our backyard garden. slowly, i’m learning about all of the things that need to be done when you live in a house, like cleaning out the garage and keeping up with the yard. my body hurts from raking leaves on saturday, especially my hands. despite the gloves, the band-aids, and all of the moleskin, i still got blisters. on sunday, ben and i both had work to do so we stayed in our pajamas for a little bit too long. smoothies for breakfast, egg sandwiches for lunch, so it only seemed fitting to make oatmeal for dinner.

(photos by: erin)

little pictures

the pictorial webster's is a visual dictionary filled with over 1500 of the original engravings found in the 19th century webster's editions. flipping through the pages of neatly arranged archetypes and curiosities remind me of the hours i spent wandering through the collections at the national museum of natural history, in paris. ben gave the book to me for my birthday last week, neatly wrapped in cardboard with a sharpied gift tag.

(photos by: erin)

(found via: unruly things)

opener

this week marks the opening of hunting season in most states. growing up, i hated when my dad dressed in camouflage and would beg him to let me come and sit in the tree stand with him. he would never say no and would never shoot a deer when i was along with him. "trophy," a deer head with a 300-point hand-made resin rack by carolyn salas, in collaboration with adam parker smith, was created to serve as proof of merit in a society of bizarre values.

the silver bullet

it's too cold outside to camp, but too beautiful to stay in. a trip to the coast of lake michigan in a cozy airstream seems like the perfect idea. (1) bomber jacket, (2) plaid shirt, (3) ripped jeans, (4) suede moccasins, (5) vintage leather bag, (6) hat, (7) antler pendent necklace, (8) de-composition notebook, (9) diana camera

inspired

these dreamlike images by tamara schlesinger are of the most recent additions to emma fletcher's label, lyell. her modern take on vintage clothing has helped fletcher's designs gain notoriety and a loyal following.

spectrum of light

kirra jamison's recent work drips with a kaleidoscope of color and complexity. the intricate graphic patterns create a story and the archetypes that inhabit her work are hidden in the details of its design. each image draws you in and provokes your imagination.