Black cross strap sandals

I usually like very feminine looking stuff, like a thin strap sandals in the summer but this summer, I found myself attracted to this black wide cross strap sandals. Perhaps because I saw these photos by Sex and Coffee. I love how she wears them with mini dresses. So chic!  

Top left: GoJane, $15.70 on sale

Top right: NineWest, $29.99 on sale

Bottom left: NineWest, $49.99 on sale

Bottom right: Bandolino, $69. 

Weekends always feel so short...

Dress: bought in Thailand, Kao San street about 3 years ago
Earrings: H&M
Listening to U remind me by Usher

Do you know Pandora Radio? It is an online radio, and commercial free! When you type the singer you like or a song, they will generate a station consists of the similar kind of songs and singers. It is great and I've been using it for a while now.

I bought this dress in Kao San streen in Thailand, when I went there for the first time about three years ago. I remember haggling with the vendor, trying to lower the price... in retrospect, it made not much difference, since it is like 2-3 bucks difference in US dollars. But I just remember fighting with that vendor guy. I noticed that Kao San street changed a lot in the past two, three years, when I went to Bangkok two weeks ago. There are more foreign tourists, and the vendors became less willing to faggle with me. Sad:(

DIY - Kimono top

I have been asked to do a how-to on this kimono top by Burdastyle members, and I finally got to it. I am not very good at explaining things, but I will try. This top is very easy to make, and once you get used to it, it takes less than an hour to make this.
1. There are two patterns you need. One is a back bodice pattern from Tara pattern from Burdastyle, and the other is rectangles. For size small, I use 10"×25" rectangles. You would need two bodice, and two rectangles. Cut out the fabric. You need about one yard of stretch knit fabric.

2. Sew bodice. Put bodice together, and sew side seems. I like to finish up with french seams, but if you want to serge, that would be find too.
Hem the bottom as well.

3. Sew the rectangles. On one side, add lace if you'd like. For the other side, I usually ruffle the edge to add feminine feel of it. You can make many different variation of this!

4. Connect the rectangles to the bodice.
Take the 10" long side of the rectangles, and sew it to the upper hem part of the bodice. Make sure to leave about an inch and a half as an allowance, so you can use the allowance to make a loop for an elastic to go through. Make sure that the right side of the fabrics are facing each other. Sew both front and back of the clothes.
5. Make a loop for the elastic band. Using the allowance of the rectangles, make a loop and sew it all around the shirt.

6. Cut the elastic band in the length of your under bust. Using bodkin, put the elastic band into the loop. and you're done!

I hope I explain this well.. Let me know if you have any questions! I would love to see how your kimono top turns out:)

Vivat Veritas dresses available at Brilliant Stranger!

I just completed these dresses. Available in Small, Medium and Large at Brilliant Stranger!

The address is:
4192 Main St
Fish creek, WI 54212

BBQ

Top: from thrift store in Japan for $2.50!

White shorts: good will

Neckless: forever 21

Bangles: Eternity

Thrift stores in Japan operate a bit differently. You can donate stuff, but they pay you depending on the weight. Last time I was there, I brought in a bunch of stuff, and got some cash from them, which was nice. But since they buy the stuff from you, the price their clothes little more expensive than in here in the States. I got the chiffon blouse (or tunic) for only $2.50, since they were having get 5 and 50% off sale! I went there with mom, and she got a vintage Bottega Veneta vintage bag for $10. 

Just came back from BBQ party.. the weather was perfect!

Featured in Scoutie Girl

Jan from Scoutie Girl kindly featured my white lacy kimono top in her website today! The article is here.

Friday shopping - bangles

My coworker and I went to Eternity again. It is on 15th and Chestnut sts in Philadelphia. I found a black pair of sandals that I really wanted, but I decided not to buy them. Why? Because I don't want to have a lot of "stuff" in my place at this point in life.... since we are moving. We are moving to Japan in August. We found out about it during our June trip to Japan. A lot of details need to be worked out, but for now, we will say good by to Philly in a couple of months... sad.

Anyway, that's why I shouldn't buy much stuff now. But I did buy these bangles there, for $1.99 each! I like them a lot.

For those who can't get to Eternity, GoJane has very similar stuff to what Eternity has. Check out their site here. Free shipping over $50 of purchase!

Thursday... one more day to go

Dress: bought in Japan about 5 or 6 years ago

Andy, our friends and I went to see Transformers 2 tonight. It was good! I personally think it was better than the first one. And Meghan Fox... ugh, I wish I look like her! She is gorgeous.

Other than that, pretty uneventful today. Got a mosquito bite on my toe, and it is like the one of the worst places to have a bug bite. You can't really scratch, since its between my toe, and they are swollen like they have fever now. This is terrible.

I am ordering a new sewing machine. I am pretty set on Janome TB12.

Tube dress

When I last went back to Japan, I did not forget to buy a Japanese magazine. Andy always makes fun of me for reading the same magazine over and over again. But I get a lot of ideas for the clothes from Japanese magazines. One of my favorite magazines are "Sweet". I got the idea for this ruffle tube dress from Sweet July 2009 issue, below. I used the fabric I got from Tomato. This dress is so easy! Straight sewing ONLY! Totally recommended for beginner sewers:) 

Sweet July 2009 issue, featuring a singer, Miliyah Kato

* I joined Weardrobe! Fine me here.  

* Flickr just asked me to pay the annual fee since I almost exceed 200 pictures... If I don't pay, they said I can't see any more than recent 200 pics. Is it worth paying the fee? 

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Church today.

Stripe skirt and tank top: Indio (Japanese brand)
Leggins: Uniqulo
Cardigan: Banana Republic
Purse: Thrifted

Going to church on Sunday.. Andy preached from Judges today. If you are interested, you can hear his sermon online at SermonAudio.com.

Etsy upload tonight

After a month of absence, I was finally able to update my etsy shop a bit. I added two rompers, both for $45. I have a lot of ideas, just not enough time to put it into a thing.

Watched the movie, The Hangover tonight. It was hilarious!

mint flower romper

INSPIRATION

left: apricot color romper at redemption vintage
middle: vintage applique romper at lovesmenot
right: yellow romper at nerdburger

As I wrote here before, romper has been in my summer wish list. I searched for the perfect one on etsy and forever 21, and I found a couple cute ones like above, but could not decide on whether I should buy. But those rompers definitely inspired me to make one by myself.
so here is the...

RESULT

This was my first attempt making pants! I used Jane pattern from Burdastyle, for the pants part. If you are going to use this pattern, I strongly recommend cutting out one or two size bigger than your size for pants, if you are using non-stretch fabric. Mine came out alright, but it is just fit, and I wished they are a bit looser!

For the top, I improvised a holter neck top, and connected to pants part with elastic.

Longing to go to beach.....

From right,

May 1948 Vintage SEE Magazine Jane Greer Cover by lisabretrostyle,

Vntage 1964 Vogue 6212 Sewing Pattern by midvalecottage, Vintage bikini swimsuit by prettypiratedesigns, Vintage Itsy Bitsy Polka Dot Bikini by adVintagous, and

Vintage 1965 Simplicity 6018 Sewing Pattern by midvalecottage

It's been rainy for a week in Philadelphia, and I am desperately longing for hot weather and beach. I found lovely vintage sewing patterns and swim suit on etsy.. Maybe I'll make my own swim suit this year!

Bunch of stuff on sale!

I put a bunch of stuff on sale today at my shop! Be sure to check "Sale" section:) All under $35!

Loving color block dresses

I've found a couple of cute color block dresses online...
Left: The Geometry Dress by KansasCoutureVintage
Middle: Splendicity
Right: The J'Adore Dress by KansasCoutureVintage

Braided

This post, by Kaitlyn inspired me to braid my hair... and I love it for work, since this way, my bangs don't bother me while I'm working. I use cute hair pins and flower clips to hold the braid...
Wore these sandals today, which turned out to be too cold for today's weather, unfortunately.. It was in 50s today in Philly! It needs to warm up a bit.
The sandals are from Circle thrift, for 3 bucks.

summer wish list - rompers

I probably have not worn rompers since I was a baby, but this summer, this style has attracted me very much. I am pretty lazy when it comes to clothes, and i always want to be comfy. So rompers seem to be a perfect candidate for my summer lazy clothes!

rompers above - all from Ruche

Rompers worn - from left, Sally Jane Vintage, JC Penny floral romper, Top shop green romper worn by Becky Edralin.

lotus flower sundress

Remember this lotus fabric that i got from tomato the other day? I did a quick sewing last night to make this sun dress for my sister, Yumi, before I leave for the States again.

This is how it came out... some of you might recognize the design of the dress, since I've used it so many times. This dress is very easy! No pattern is used. I tried to shirr the back with elastic thread, but my mom's old elastic thread was so stretched out and did not work. So I used a regular elastic band instead.

flower, flower, flower....

I usually like to wear a dress all by itself with a pair of sandals in the summer. My sister would wear the dress differently. She would pair it with leggins and cardigans, and belt it under bust. I'll post her outfit when she wears it tomorrow!

One Lovely Blog Award

Akazukin kindly awarded me with One Lovely Blog Award in her blog. Thank you!!
I am passing the award to the following blogs - I had been wanting to talk about those bloggers for a bit while, so it was a great timing.

1. Behind The Seams

I discovered her blog through Phi style, and could not stop reading! I love her style!! She looks like a doll!

2. Sally Jane Vintage

The rule says that it has to be a "newly discovered blog" to be awarded, so I'm cheating a bit. I have been following her blog for a while now. The reason why I love her blog is that she updates every day, and it is like reading a fashion magazine. She has an etsy vintage shop, and no wonder why she is so successful!
She also uses the same cannon digital camera as I do - I am so impressed that she can take such good photos!

3. Vixen Vintage
I found her through her etsy shop. Her style is very unique, and I am not sure if I would feel confident enough to pull it off myself, but her blog is very eye candy. I love her collages so much.

4. Fashiontoast
This blog is so widely known - but I did not discover this till very recently. Check out her high-low mix style!

I don't have a fifth one, just because I am very sleepy... can't write any more. sorry.

One Lovely Blog Award Rules: 1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.2) Pass the award on to 5 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

What to do in Bangkok, Thailand

This was our second time to visit Thailand. Andy and I went there for the first time on honeymoon two and a half years ago, and absolutely loved the place. So as a graduation present for Andy, we went to Thailand again last week for three days. We only stayed in Bangkok this time, since we did not have enough time to visit any other cities (last time we went to Pattaya and Ayuthaya as well). For those who are interested in visiting the country, here is the list of things you should do (sorry this post is totally not sewing or fashion related):

1. Eat fruit, tons of them!
Their fruit is just wonderful. Especially mango is my favorite. It tastes different from the ones you get in the U.S. The ones we can get in the U.S. is more fiber-ish, and hard. But the ones you get in Thailand is sooo sweet, melt in your mouth....The fresh mango juice you can get at a restaurant is great as well. It tastes as though they added milk or something, since it is so smooth. I loved it.


They always have fruit stand on the street, and very very cheap. For instance, a pack of pealed pomela (big grapefruit thing) is about 20 bhat, which is about 70 cents in U.S. dollars.

This banana crape you can get on the street is good as well. It is deep fried, so anyone who might be concerned about eating it for sanitary reasons, it should be okay... I did not get sick. In case you are worried, I do recommend drinking beer with meals since alcohol kills germs.

2. Get a tailor made suites! in cashmere wool.
Both Andy and I got a tailor made suite this time. They are about 75 to 120 USD each. They measure you very precisely and make it in any style you want, any fabric you want. Imagine how much it would cost to have a custom made suite made in U.S. or Japan? This was definitely worth it. He had his made in light gray, and I had mine made in black stripe, both in cashmere wool. You go back for a fitting the next day, and after 24 hours, the suites were ready! So quick! I was impressed by their craftsmanship too.
I've made a suite for myself only once, for Burdastyle suite contest. It was a lot of work. One day, I would like to be able to make suite like a Thai seamstress!

3. Stop by at Suknvit street, Soi 3.
Andy and I both enjoy smoking hookah (below). They come in fruity flavors, such as grape, apple etc., and they contains very little nicotine. If you like hookah, soi 3 is your place to go. They have an Arab district on soi 3, and have bunch of restaurants serving hookah.

Also, soi 11 is a good place for restaurant. It is a trendy spot in Bangkok right now...
4. Stop by at Chatuchak weekend market
This weekend market has all sorts of things, and fun to look around. Below, left is a man who is pretending to be Jack from the movie, Pirates of Caribbean. I think he did a pretty good job! Right is a clothing shop called no problem. lol.

They had a pet shop within the market too. I found this adorable chiwawa puppy.. this thing was sooo small, and cute.

im back in japan now!

just came back from Thailand trip this morning at 6am. Andy and I took the overnight flight - the trip was great, but we were exhausted from the flight. so we just relaxed today, and later went to a mall that's near by my parents' place. 

i sew many dresses in this kind of style at mall

images from Julianna

dress that looks like high weight skirt with tank top or t-shirt tucked in. i love it!

it looks pretty easy to make too. 

1. make tanktop

2. connect either wide band elastic, or 

cut out black jersey like a waist band

3. attach skirt in print

im thinking of using this japanese style fabric that i got from tomato for the skirt part.

i can't wait to start sewing again!

i saw a new pattern, Doryon, came out on burdastyle - it's romper! im considering buying the pattern. i have not downloaded any patterns from burdastyle since they started charging them, but this romper is really cute and i'd like to try making it. 

crazy things

went to a near by mall yesterday and found these stuff.

bad ass coffee shop - nice name! :p

rambo shooting game, which andy has enjoyed very much at a game center

ice cream UFO catcher... i want one!

my sister (left) and i this morning at the garden. she is 4 years younger than me.

im wearing comfy outfit which i posted before, and my sister is wearing white long T, black knit vest, zara flower mini skirt and boots. it is 75 degrees outside, and i do not like people wear boots in the summer. but oh well. i forgive her.