first pleated skirt!

i am sooo excited to share with you my first hand-sewn garment ever - a two-toned, hand-silk screened pleated skirt created from diy couture's easy-to-follow instructional book how to make a pleated skirt. 

the skirt is made from two pieces of fairly thick bottom weight fabric (65% cotton / 35% poly) in gray and electric blue that were sewn together. i used my gocco to screen print the blue fabric with a super cute friends with you inspired pattern before sewing. the stiff fabric and pleats kept reminding me of cheerleading skirts and seeing as friends with you is in the business of spreading friendship and joy, i thought the name "good cheer" fit this skirt perfectly! 

i followed the book's directions to the letter, making 12 pleats in the front, 12 in the back and a 4cm waistband. it was really tough working with this thick bottom weight on my first try, especially since it's 35% polyester - it was really difficult setting the pleats and the overall shape is very sculptural... it sort of has a mind of its own. while i loved the stiffness of this bottom weight during the printing process, i made sure to pick a much thinner, mostly cotton version for my second skirt. 

overall, i'm crazy thrilled with how it came out and *love* it to pieces. i'm still in total disbelief that i'm actually making my own clothes and have to keep reminding myself - it just seems too good to be true! but, it's not - it is true - and, it's all thanks to diy couture who demystified the process and made it simple enough for me to take the plunge. what i found out in the end was that making this pleated skirt was easier than a lot of other non-garment projects i've made in the past. when explained in an easy-to-follow format that's aimed at the beginner, you'll be stunned and how quick and easy making your own clothes can be!

xoxo

☆ c. emilia ☆

*outfit details: vintage purple striped ruffle jacket // black tank top - james perse // pleated skirt pattern - diy couture // black lita - jeffrey campbell // vintage clutch // rings - forever 21 // large gold hoops - ebay // vintage black doll's hat

lunch at del sol

after reading about del sol a few months back on enjoying toledo i decided to give it a shot for saturday lunch with my honey. when we used to live in washington, dc we were total foodies and made it a point to eat at new restaurants weekly. in toledo, there isn't much of a fine dining or international food scene - it's a pretty traditional american-home-cooking kind of town with only a few really great stand out restaurants deviating from the norm.  

we were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful decor of the restaurant and the gorgeous waterfront view. there's an enormous variety of artwork throughout - large glass and sculptural pieces, dozens of paintings, and gorgeous mosaic work. the food was delicious and i really appreciated the creative approach to plating. we were fortunate enough to have the place almost to ourselves, which was pretty cool, and eating in a hotel sort of made me feel like i was on vacation, which was an added bonus i hadn't anticipated on.

i wore a really cute patterned vintage shirt that will be up in the shop tomorrow is available in the shop layered over a simple blank tank, skinny jeans & jeffrey campbell wedges. i love how versatile these kinds of shirts are - i can use them as added layers over tanks & t-shirts or by themselves with a skirt or pants. they're so easy to dress up or dress down and have such fun, interesting patterns and color combinations - the light pinks & blues in this one are the best. 

keep your eyes open - there'll be more cute vintage button-down shirts in the shop later this week!

xoxo

☆ c. emilia ☆

*outfit details: vintage patterned long sleeve shirt // black tank top - target // black skinny jeans - H&M // black "99" platform wedges - jeffrey campbell // large gold hoops - ebay // rings - forever 21