From Discarded to Divine 2011

I mentioned previously that I’m excited about Discarded to Divine. I’ve just seen a new press release about it and even more excited.

The press release introduced some of the new designers and what they made. More than 60% of the designers are local students debuting at Discarded to Divine. They include

• Rachel Heald from FIDM recycled upholstery fabric, jersey, and blouses into a silk appliqued dress and hooded vest.
• Jonathan Luk Man Cheung from SFSU made a man’s kilt and striped shirt from assorted oxford cloth and trim.
• Barbara Kelly of CCA turned five knit scarves into a chic, hooded “track suit.

I’m looking forward to seeing it all in person.

See photos of past designs and designers at http://discardedtodivine.org/.

Tags: bay area, discarded to divine, Fashion, upcycled

Dezeen (a design blog I adore) just had an article about Sruli Recht. It was the first time that I heard of this fashion designer who has just put out his third menswear collection. What I saw was amazing. And what I read repulsed me. And I have to confess that gets me talking no matter what I may decide that I feel about it.

Why did it amaze me?

Take a look at a few of the photos. The clothing is interesting, unique from anything else that other men are wearing. And the photography is stunning (credit to the brand’s main photographer: Marinó Thorlacius.)

Why did it repulse me?

Dezeen says that some of the features in this collection include:

• Dolphin skin leather
• Horse hair woven fabric
• “Silk extracted from a spider’s gland implanted in a goat”
• Boots “made of the calloused skin over the spines of horses”

What it boils down to

This is an interesting designer who is doing some really different things from the materials he uses to some of his edgier feminine-inspired men’s designs (see the website for the full lookbook). I don’t know yet if I like him but I appreciate his uniqueness.

Thoughts on this Australian born Icelandic designer?

Tags: Fashion, Sruli Recht, style

Today I left the house to walk over to the park to take photos for my project 365 Ways to Wear Crochet. I’ve learned since starting the project that photos really are a lot better when taken outdoors in good natural sunlight. So that was the plan. However, when I got to my photo spot, I discovered that my camera battery had to be charged. Plan foiled. On the way home I decided to use the unplanned extra time to stop into the thrift store in my neighborhood. Thought I’d share some of my finds:

I’ve been wanting red boots forever!

It doesn’t look like much in this pile but this is the funnest scarf. I barely ever buy scarves but this was a must.

This dress is slightly more blue than the photo shows.

As you can tell, my camera is now charged

Tags: clothing, Fashion, thrift store, thrifting

3D printing is something that is starting to take off in certain industries. It provides a way for you to work on creative projects that may be far more interesting and easy-to-understand than working on your computer screen might be. It also lets you create cool prototypes that can entice other people to take an interest in what you’re doing. Essentially, this form of printing allows you to use different types of materials together to make three-dimensional objects that you can design yourself.

These printers have come down in cost enough to be accessible to small and mid-sized businesses today. Wouldn’t it be neat if they eventually come down in price far enough that individual people like you and me could have these types of printers in our homes. One product that we might want to design and print could be shoes.

Believe it or not; 3D printed shoes are already being made. Students at two different leading design schools in Sweden are working on ways to create shoes out of a 3D printing technology called selective laser sintering that fuses plastic powders to create the shoe. The plan that they’re working on is that the shoe could be worn once or twice and then the material could be returned to the machine to be broken down and re-used. The idea would be that you could have really amazing new shoes every time that you went out without having to actually keep them and store them.

What do you think?

In somewhat related news, I just have to say that I loved a recent post over at Weburbanist showing off over one dozen super-weird shoe designs.

Tags: 3d printing, Fashion, shoes

It’s been awhile since I contributed one of my blog posts to a blog carnival. I love blog carnivals but sometimes it’s hard to make the time to submit posts to them since there are so many other things to be done in terms of web writing work and writing promotion.

However, a post of mine is finally featured in a new blog carnival. My thoughts here on how to be a smart shopper were included recently in the Fabulous Festival which is all about fashion, beauty and shopping. My post was in the shopping category. Other posts in this category were about vintage shopping and buying socks for men. There were also several posts on dresses in this category including wedding dresses, prom dresses and celebrity dresses.

Posts that fell specifically into the fashion category were on a wide range of topics. These topics included military jackets, vintage lingerie, bustiers, pajamas, hats, mending your own clothes and making clothing donations. There were also book reviews and interviews. In the personal style and beauty categories are posts on jumpsuits, recycled fashion, acrylic nails, shoes, spring fashions, big hair, mineral makeup, skin care (including wrinkle prevention) and the man purse.

Happy reading!

Tags: arts, blog carnival, blogs, fabulous festival, Fashion, kathryn vercillo, style

Being a SmartChick doesn’t mean that you always know everything that there is to know about a topic. In fact, being a SmartChick often means that you know that you don’t do. Instead of pretending that you do, you make sure that you figure out where to get the knowledge that you’re seeking.

For example, you may be interested in dressing like a celebrity. However, you don’t want to spend a lot of money so you’re looking to recreate celebrity looks for less. It’s okay if this is something that you can’t figure out yourself. You just need to know where to look for that kind of information or how to ask people to help you.

This definitely applies to certain style stuff for me. I don’t necessarily have any interest in recreating celebrity styles but I do have an interest in other fashion and style stuff. It’s not something that I naturally know or find easy to learn but I know where to look. There are online and in print resources for that kind of stuff. Plus I’ve got cool people in my life who can help me. (For example, the photographer of my recent photo shoot helped me with my makeup).

Often it is the ability to find the right people to help us to learn things that distinguishes the SmartChick from the average girl. We are resourceful. We meet people in many different ways. And we give back to those people with our own knowledge so that it’s not just a one-sided exchange. Yes, I may not know everything but I know that finding great smart friends is one of the most important things in life!

Tags: celebrity looks for less, Fashion, frugal blog, kathryn vercillo, know that you don't know, looks for less, save money, smart women, smartchick, style

I don’t get the chance to write about fashion very often but it happens every now and then. For example, I recently provided advice on How to Wear High Heels without Hurting your Feet. I’ve been wearing high heels for as long as I can remember but I also walk everywhere so I’ve had to learn how to do this the hard way. It’s paid off in a set of great tips.

The article was chosen as one of the Top 3 articles this month in the Fabulous! Festival. The two other posts that were chosen along with mine for this honor were on mineral makeup and around-the-world shopping from your computer. Although these were considered the Top 3 posts, all of the other posts were also good.

There were posts on beauty in the areas of skin care and alpha lipoic acid. There were posts on fashion topics like pinups, depression chic and Milan fashion week. There were general style posts on handbags and Apple products. And there were shopping tips for things like prom. All great stuff! Do have a read.

Tags: beauty, blog carnival, ehow, fabulous festival, Fashion, high heels, how to, kathryn vercillo, style, tips