Vacation Wrap Up: 8.30.12

Fully energized with vitamin D, I am just coming down from my vacation high and it's probably a good thing since I haven't been inspired to type a single character on my blog since. I recently flew in yesterday without any bruises or horror stories from Hurricane Isaac (thank you Lord!). I had a blast from prepping for our travels to our stay and leisure time spent there. I challenged myself to put off social media for the week to really take a mental break and escape the pressure from updating Twitter, Facebook and Instagram but I think I scaled back rather than eliminated my time spent on the internet-especially during the downtime that I had after dinning out and being too full to do anything else or by passing the time away under a shaded umbrella by the poolside.

I actually went for a couple's wedding which was beautifully celebrated with blue skies and enough laughs to last a lifetime. I couldn't ask for a more perfect day for a beautiful couple. Here are a few pics that I pieced together of the happy moments of my vacation!

Enjoy^_^



Must-have travel item for the trip...Vogue so heavy it almost didn't make it as my carry on ^_^







I made this dress more than 5 years ago and I still love it because of the colours and its form fitting look.

Prepping for a wedding or any special occasion makes the event that much more exciting:D


After soaking up some sun rays, we used the rainy days from hurricane Isaac to do some shopping. I love shopping in a comfortable outfit-one that is not overly pieced together and easy on the eyes and heels^_^

My love for window displays will never dissipate.... I love visuals too much after doing it for so many years.
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No one should ever pass up a Godiva stop for a little taste of heaven. We treated ourselves with chocolate covered strawberries, truffles and other chocolate goodies.


This is one of the last outfits that I ended up wearing on the trip, but as a person who loves clothes I have to say that I probably packed way too many clothes because I still had clothes I hadn't worn! 

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Target Tuesdays: Summer Grunge...boxy blouses, bandage skirts, and belt bag purses

When I say I'm back this time I mean it! Where has the time gone my fellow fashionistas?! Ugh I've been trying to sort a lot of stuff that's been going on lately but I'm back on track! Thank goodness I don't get my blogger privileges revoked for neglecting you guys...but I really missed writing and doing my Target Tuesdays. Plus the other day TargetStyle shouted me out on twitter, so let's get into today's outfit before they forget me. [^-^]

No matter how sunny and beautiful it looks outside during this time of year, there's always room for the summer grunge look! Black on black with combat boots to top it off is one of my favourite looks to rock. Its almost like I rolled out of bed and put on the closest things next to me that was clean with that I just woke up hair properly in place to finish the look.

This Target outfit is definitely a whatever goes ensemble that requires no earrings, bangles, or a stitch of accessories. This means you may have to put your driver's license and debit card in your boots because this outfit requires no purses or clutches of any kind (trust me it works, although my foot is kind of sore from walking on my Visa card all day) All you need is a simple top, bottom, boots, attitude, and killer eye make-up as your accessory.

 

Speaking of accessories, I love this little belt bag! It's too cute and very functional! Ok I lied, you don't have to walk around limping with your debit cards in your boots, you can put them in this belt! It's pretty secure and has a little strap to ensure your stuff doesn't fall out.

The boots in the picture unfortunately aren't from Target since I've had them forever, but I found an amazing pair of buckled ankle boots for $12.99 on Target's website here. AMAZING!

Poka-dotted bandage skirt, Xhilaration $12.99

Boxy Black Blouse, Xhilaration, $16.99

Mossimo Belt Bag, $16.99

boots are vintage

PS:  I missed you guys!

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DIY Bandage Skirt

I never thought of doing DIYs until people started asking me to and I am not sure as to why I haven't pursued the idea sooner. Many of the items in my closet are designed and sewed by myself since I can never find what I'm looking for in the store that is the correct fit, shape, or colour. And if I do find it, it's highly over priced...the story of my life! So here goes...thanks Necca from Chictopia for requesting this DIY! (this may look like a lot but read through it first and then proceed)

The great thing about the bandage skirt, introduced and made popular by Herve Ledger, is that it sucks everything in leaving you with a nice form fitting skirt or dress. The material is cut into strips and sewn in layers to give the illusion of a flattened stomach and slimmer hips. (usually people with curvier figures wear them to accent their figure like Beyonce for example).

So because of this I started off by laying my four neon pieces of fabric in strips side by side (I'm missing one colour because I used it all-these are the scraps that I have left over). I knew that I didn't need a lot of fabric so for each colour I only purchased a 1/4 of a yard (you can use more at your discretion). There aren't very many fabric stores with higher end fabric like the NYC stores in the garment district that I frequented for cool finds. So the closest thing that I could find were bathing suit/costume material which came in many neon colors and stretch for added elasticity.

I doubled the fabric (so that the skirt would have some weight and thickness so my panty line wouldn't show *that's key*) and cut  4 strips (one of each colour) into 4.5inch pieces. I then sewed around the perimeter of each strip and left a little opening to flip the strip inside out. (Remember you're just sewing the strips in a rectangle but the stitching is exposed. Leave an opening so that you can turn it inside out for a smooth finish. Hand stitch the small opening closed).

 

Then I took all four strips and sewed them together "back to back" with a small seam. This makes the skirt look like individual strips made to create one finished piece. Remember the above picture is scrap so its a bit too short to wrap around my body. Use as much fabric as you need and cut whatever access you don't need.

This is what I mean by "back to back" small seam (or just pinch the fabric). My bobbin kept messing up so the stitches look sloppy on the inside but clean on the right side. Bathing suit material is extremely slippery so don't get discouraged if it runs away from you on the machine.

 Now you have all four strips (or however many you choose) sewn together into this long piece of fabric. The next step would be to actually make the shape of the skirt that fits you. You can take a favourite skirt that you like and use it as a pattern or do what I did...wrap it around your waist and pin it to yourself. The reason being is that since the fabric is stretchy its difficult to see how tight it really needs to be in order to create the smooth finish.

The skirt will dramatically shrink-my skirt ended up measuring 12 inches across at the waist and 14 inches across at the bottom. (that's measuring from tip to tip not the circumference-so it would be a 24 inch waist, but it stretches beyond that). I based the measurements on what felt comfortable enough to get over my hips but tight enough to lay smoothly on my figure. Now I know it looks funny because the seam is at the side (usually the left side would mimic the right) but I did that intentionally because once I turned it inside out I moved the seam to the center back to avoid seams down the side of my thighs....

 Tip: Make sure to line your strips up with the center back or else the colours will be off kilter. It looks crooked here because of how I cut it out, but once on its completely straight.

TADA!

A bandage skirt similar to the picture in the Cayman Islands on my blog.

Journey to the Caribbean

Thanks!

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