We check into Improvised Life part-time support staff and contributor Sinnae Choi’s website periodically to see what the multi-talented artist is up to. We were amazed at the LOL beauty of the human hair merkins she collaborated on… And learned that a merkin is by definition a pubic wig. Who knew? and… Why not?!! Writes Choi…
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Recalling Virginia del Giudice‘s recent post on using needlework to cover holes in vintage garments, Susan Dworski alerted us to an inspiring iteration on the theme of embroidery fixes:
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In July, we posted a compelling backpack we’d bought only to discover that its design was profoundly flawed. So we hacked the backpack to see if we could devise a fix, a lesson in trying ideas out, and flexing our own (untrained) design muscles to make things better or at the very least learn a few things.
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Marella Consolini sent us her inspired transformation of a gorgeous linen shirt bought on eBay for pennies, that turned out to be SO big, it languished in a drawer, waiting for something to be done with it. “Finally it dawned on me: the back was big enough to turn into an oversized linen tea towel”. Here’s how she did it.
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We recently received another inspiring fabric fix from Virginia del Giudice, photographer and co-owner of La Percalina, a fine vintage clothing shop in Buenos Aires.
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We love designer Zita Merényi’s Provo-CUT collection of seared-and-soldered neoprene garments. Forgoing traditional draping and stitching, these pieces are instead constructed panel-by-panel, pleated together, and heat-joined into dimensional, puffy, future-ish jackets and cloaks punctuated by thick, raw seams and unlikely openings. The gist: synthetic fabics melt, so heat, not thread can be used to join the seams.
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When we looked at images of the COS Lightweight Backpack online and read the product description we thought PERFECT. Just what we’re looking for: Made from a lightweight technical fabric, this cotton-lined backpack has an all-over print and fastens using a magnet and wide drawstring. Multi-functional, it can also be worn as a tote bag…
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We love this curiously stylish newspaper hat that a new dealer wore in 1947 in Paris at Place de la Concorde. Captured by the great Inge Morath. Dig the little ends turned up. “Chic” can be fashioned out of pretty much anything! With thanks to Chris Eldredge!
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Since when is it hip, slick and cool to lie in bed and stare at your clothes and shoe racks––no matter how neatly organized––when you’re rustling up romance? I’m talking about a very particular theme of design porn these days: highly-styled, out-in-the-open clothes racks that make me wonder: What would happen in this uber-neuter scheme if…
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Holton Rower sent us his latest off-the-cuff improvisation, done while making dinner: an inspired fake fingernail made of celery. Hmmm. Wondering about that exact moment when Holton SAW the possibilities in an ordinary stalk of celery.
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(Video link HERE.) I was bogged down today in a creative funk, head-buttingly blocked, wandering in a dark wood, wrestling with a component for a necklace that is carved from clear, rock crystal so that it seemed, well… simply invisible. How do you showcase something invisible? I recalled something I’d read in an interview long ago with…
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At Design Boom, we stumbled on an art installation called Third Eye by the band, the Krrrrr, and artist Anya Muangkote. Barbarians that we can be, we couldn’t really wrap our heads around the art, but are smitten with the paint-splattered jumpsuits. Now there’s a swell outfit that would also be quite thrilling to make.
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We USED to wear high, wild high heels. Over the years, the heals have slowly come down in height as we find ourselves unable to walk tilted forward…and because we really want to WALK, far and fast. Footwear designer Silvia Fado put her creativity to work solving the problems of unwearable heels, that, while they make…
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When I was presented with a beautiful net bag recently, something made me loop it like a scarf around my neck so I could wear it. It is one more surprising use for a net bag, which, I’ve discovered you can make yourself.
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Photographer Virginia del Giudice has both a wonderful eye AND, we discovered, a fine hand with fabrics. Witness her beautiful “fix” of some permanently-stained fabric. It reminds us of kintsugi, the artful repair of damaged things.
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Our friend Chris Eldredge alerted us to a fashion trend he’s noticed: Men Wearing Skirts. He said that he’s seen a number of stylishly dressed men wearing skirts lately —definitely NOT in drag. Interesting. A search took us to The Facebook page of Women Wear Pants. Let Men Wear Skirts, which features a lot of…
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While following the trail of “bottle gardens“, we came across this oddly-compelling DIY: a tiny terrarium necklace. Needing little care once it’s made, it is a swell way to wear a bit of Nature. See the step-by-step how-to at Ecouterre.
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We confess to not paying much attention to Lady Gaga (is it our age, or just interest?). But we are charmed, smitten and amazed at the crazy-wondrous flying dress she had commissioned. This video about it offers a compelling overview of clear possibilities in the realm of personal travel. Will we soon each be able to…
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Binder/presentation clips are essential resources for quick emergecy fashion fixes like the cuff links Anthony Giglio improvised on his way from the gym to a luncheon. We rely on them for all sorts of fashion and home solutions.
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Lately, we’ve been seeing some cool dresses with the distinct texture of Nature…from moon landscapes to birtch bark.
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