Corset: Frederick's of Hollywood

Skirt: Handmade 

(Brocade skirt with yellow organza overlay panels and exposed zipper at center back)

The humidity in this town is ridiculous.  I was outside for about 3 minutes, struggling to carry 20 lbs of rice in a box.  I felt like I was walking through water by the time I was done.  My hair should be evidence enough with the crazy curls near my crown.  (Reasons why I hate my natural, unprocessed hair.)

Adding this mini skirt to my etsy shop.  It was originally part of an unfinished dress for my senior collection, and I just detached it and fixed it up.  It's really small for my in-between sizes waist, so I figured one of my abandoned corsets would come in handy.  I really need a model for these things, but it doesn't feel right having one for anything I can do.  Plus, I'm broke.  Like most of my skirts, it is inappropriately short.  You can't bend or lean in these things.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Illumelline

Added another skirt to my Etsy shop.  I love this color.  Pastel shades are my favorite.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Illumelline

 Top: Charlotte Russe

Skirt: self-made

This was my first sewing experience with vinyl and it was all good until I got to the waistband.  This vinyl turned out to be cheap in quality, as it's thin and paper-like and rips to shreds if it's stretched.  Fortunately, I didn't pay too much for it.  I made this skirt with the intention of putting it in my shop, but the waistband twists a slight bit, so now it's part of my wardrobe.

I also don't know how to sit on this without getting a wrinkly butt.  It's so flimsy that any move makes it wrinkle and it can't be ironed.  Oh well.  This is "fun" fashion for you.

The new skirt in my Etsy shop.  (Ignore that random thread hanging.)  I bought 12 yards of this lace on Etsy and had no idea what to do with it.  It was ridiculously cheap, so I couldn't resist.  Tulle skirts are my favorite, and this was a kind of experiment that I really ended up liking.  I plan to do variations of this skirt with lace and maybe dot or heart tulle.  I currently have a red and pink skirt in progress.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Illumelline

I was meaning to have my skirts modeled on a person instead of a dress form, but it took a while.  I finally made myself do it while struggling with a tripod that can't stand the weight of the camera anymore.

 I'm still not sure why I bought this fabric.  It was an impulse buy, which usually happens when I have money to spend.

 I still love this skirt.  This was a good impulse buy, fabric-wise.  I was in the tulle section of the store, near the velvet/dupioni area, when I spotted this.  Plaid was never my thing, but pink always is.

 This is my angry resting face.

And finally...

All skirts made by me.  And available on my etsy

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Illumelline

Side view:

 Back View:

I love this skirt.  I'm tempted to keep it, but can't for obvious reasons.  The fabric is polyester shantung or dupioni.

I got this flocked taffeta at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago.  I used to be obsessed with iridescent fabrics, so this leopard one was a no-brainer.  I used satin ribbon for the hem instead of regular grosgrain.

Side view:

 Back view:

Now available at my Etsy shop Illumelline!

(Ignore my chipped nailpolish.)

Top: Charlotte Russe

Skirt: Forever 21

Shoes: Privileged

I'm currently in the process of trying to break in these shoes and it's terrible.  This was also my first time wearing these chevron pieces out, mostly because of fit issues and problems with coordinating.  I never saw this trend coming, but I bought the corset a couple of months before it blew up.  I got the skirt on sale a couple of months into it.  At my old workplace, we were selling chevron scarves and bags up until January.  Trends never die in small towns, it seems.

 Sometimes I get bored of plain black tops, but I usually buy dresses and skirts and it's what I like to make as well.  There's always a top shortage in my closet, which is why I prefer winter.

I need a hair trim, but I hate the salon experience.  I can't be the only one.  I don't like the expectation of having to talk to my stylist while they tell me my hair is damaged or lie to me and tell me that it's not too bad.  I don't want to be rude, so I always answer...but I'm always glad when they give up.

I finally opened my Etsy shop, but there's only 2 skirts in there so far.  I was going to wait until I had at least 5, but it seemed pointless.  I have 3 more that are almost done, and then a fancier one on the way.  I'm excited about it, which is terrible.  Making things to sell almost makes me possessive of the items that I finish and I have to fight the urge to keep them.  Especially that fancy skirt.

Anyway, here are the two so far:

Next on the list, are these two mini-dresses.  I design for short girls like me, so most of my garments take that into consideration.  Models always look scandalous in my designs, and it amuses me to no end.  I thought it would be more fun to show me wearing these as a before/after type of thing since taking pictures of my mannequin is not quite as exciting.

This dress needs some embellishment work on the bodice and lining for the skirt.  I've been shopping around for the right kind of lace to use that won't clash with the lace pattern already present.  It's really boring to me, and I hope to cover it in something.

Excuse the face and the fit.  My mannequin has a bust 2" bigger than mine, and I usually fix it to fit me, but this happened to fit a model.

This one needs to be pressed.  I need to hem the sleeves, and apply lace appliques to most of the nude mesh areas.

I had such great plans for these two dresses, but no great execution without the time.  They were both supposed to be gowns, with a sheer nude skirt stemming from the bottom of the mini.  They were supposed to have skeleton leather appliques and studs and spikes.  I look at the drawings and get a little sad.  I still want to make them eventually, but I need to get the simple stuff out of the way first.

Polyester organza skull print with satin lining, 2" satin waistband, and exposed back zipper.

I hate how cheap organza looks with flash, and indoor lighting.  Truth be told, this was probably Halloween costume fabric, but it was too cool and too cheap to resist.  Did I already say that I have about 20 exposed zippers? Prepare to see them on everything.  (Except the girlier, fancier things obviously).  I'm kind of bored having to make these simple skirts, but it'll give me a chance to use all of my flashy fabrics without being super tacky.  When it comes to buying fabric on a whim, the flashier, the better.  When it comes to the actual stuff I enjoy designing and dream of wearing, it's all nude mesh, tulle, and lace.  I hoard the gaudy stuff because it's cheap, but I'm really dying for $80/yd beaded lace. 

(Expect some striped things on the next post, as I finally restocked my black thread.  It was stopping my one-woman production.)

Dress: Made by me

Cardigan: Rafaella

 If I look uncomfortable and oddly pale in these, it's because of the sun.  Sometimes it's hard to find good lighting while trying to battle the insecurity and ridiculousness of trying to take a picture without anyone seeing me.  This is the first time I have ever worn anything that I have made.  The things I sewed while in school were all ugly, or messed up in some way.  This is the dress from a few posts back, and I decided it was rather fitting for Valentine's Day.  I make it a point to usually wear red, pink, or heart-related things on this day just because I can.  Most of my dresses (as you will see later on) are too fancy for everyday life.  I'm not really sure where to wear them, I just think they're pretty.  Most people wouldn't wear this out to a regular sushi dinner, but I have no problem with it.  The cardigan makes it sort of casual, right?  I realize how tacky red and gold look together, but I just don't care.



Bonus: Dress without the cardigan! Working with nude mesh has taught me that only toothpick thin girls can get away with ice-skating costumes.  The rest of us just look wider.  But when it comes down to it, who hasn't worn something that looked terrible on them just because it was pretty?

(I guess I could look slimmer if I lowered the waist.  Oh well.  Next time.)