Some of you may remember this post where I found out I would be blogging for Guess! Well my first post is up and I couldn’t be more excited!
I focused on my love for menswear, featuring classic tailored pieces with a feminine edge and of course a great oversized Guess watch.
In other news, I’m leaving for my honeymoon today, and I’ll be taking a week off from posting to enjoy life!
xox
Alana
(watch: Guess, hat: Le Chateau, blazer: BCBG, pants: Zara)
I fell in love with almost everything seen walking down the Antonio Berardi Spring 2012 runway show, especially the jacket seen below! After a little research I discovered the sequins are made of embossed leather and I knew I had to make some myself!
Supplie needed:
- a plain jacket/blazer
- approx a square foot piece of leather
- coloured beads
- coloured nailpolish
- scissors, needle & thread and super glue
I began by painting my piece of leather with glossy red nail polish. I found this to be the quickest and easiest method to achieving a permanent glossy embossed effect on leather.
I also started stringing beads together on one long piece of thread.
I cut out several small leaf like pieces from the painted leather and secured them to the blazer using super glue. I didn’t follow a design per say, just took quick glances at the original and created my own pattern. The super glue holds the leather extremely well and is much quicker than using a needle and thread!
I kept the design fairly simple, but the great thing is that you can start with less embelishment to the design and add more after!
The leather sequins adds a nice touch to the blazer, making it less flashy but still embellished! I already have a few other projects using leather in similar ways and it’s really fun, as you can create any pattern, style, colour and effect with with the added luxe of leather accenting!
Cheers!
Alana
Cue the walk down the plank and the face plant that never was!
Welcome to my Summer Lookbook week 2! Today’s look was inspired by the incredibly beautiful Antonio Berardi Spring/Sumer 2012 runway show, where flowy pieces were embellished with embossed leather, and deep red was the standout colour. I love leather accents and the colour red, and these designs were incredibly intricate and beautiful!
I decided I has to try this for myself, taking the idea of an embellished jacket with red leather sequins woven down the arms. I used fewer leather sequins than the original to make it a little more wearable, but after looking at the pictures, I will probably add some more!!
I paired my DIY jacket with a plain soft t from Club Monaco, black pants from Zara and boots from Steve Madden. I plan on wearing this all summer to dress up a simple outfit of jean cutoffs, boots and a loose tank, or over a simple fitted maxi dress. For some reason this jacket seemed appropriate for captaining a pirate ship, much to the dismay of a few children playing that day who thought I was goofing around on the job.
Stay tuned for the DIY jacket, and the DIY leather embossed sequin instructions and more summer fun all week! To see the other looks and DIYs from my Summer Lookbook click here!
Cheers!
Alana
Photos by Erica Parsons
When it comes to wearing colour, I have very specific rules. Is that weird?! My rules are as follows: if you are going to wear a bright colour make sure it’s an accessory, or make sure the fabric is high quality. It’s a pet peeve of mine when someone wears a super colourful outfit and you can instantly see the fabric is awful, and they are most likely uncomfortable. Since popular colours come and go, I usually spend more on high quality clothing in fire engine red (my favorite colour which I know I’ll wear season after season), and try other colours in small, affordable pops. I found this turquoise necklace at The Bay, and it’s the perfect example of a bold accessory in a colour I may not wear head to toe.
It feels like everyone is wearing more and more colour this summer, which I love, but as I’m working on building a quality vs. quantity wardrobe I’m trying to choose items that will still be relevant and wearable 5 years from now!
In other news, I have some super fun projects coming up very soon, and I can’t wait to share them!!!
Cheers!
Alana
Sunglasses: Vogue, pants: Zara Basics, top: Gap, Blazer: Zara, Necklace: The Bay, bracelet: vintage
