Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes

This is the time of the year when we start digging around in the bottom of our wardrobe in search of summer clothes, and end up finding amazing fashion gems! It is therefore the perfect moment to launch the "closet" feature of our little blog. Here we'll share garments that are important and significant, and we'll invite you to do the same. We'll show you clothes that have been in the family for years, clothes we've found, clothes we feel good in, clothes we've made and even clothes we've paid an absolute fortune for!

We'd love you to submit photos and stories of your own. There is only one rule: your chosen garment has to mean something to you!

Catarina, blogger and writer, will kick things off by sharing a picture and a few lines about her trustworthy army jacket. Enjoy!

This army jacket went through a lot before arriving in my closet. I can't account for its time in service, but I can trace its history back to a little second hand shop in Barcelona where it was bought by one of my work colleagues. Some years later, deciding to make a closet clearance, she organized a clothes swapping dinner. The jacket didn't excite the curiosity of the other guests, but when I caught sight of it, hanging alone on the corner of a sofa, I knew it had to be mine!

I love it a) because it is a timeless style, and b) because it is a double-recycled garment.

xx

Cat

Here comes the bride

This week I'll be sharing one of my current projects with you guys - a 20s-inspired wedding dress!

The bride, just like so many others before her, couldn't find an off-the-peg dress quite as perfect as the one she imagined, so she contacted Ears and Whiskers and challenged us to create a unique gown.

Besides preferring the corset-free style and slinky cuts of roaring 20s fashion, the bride also had a special request: a "keyhole" cut-out back!

I set to work immediately, designing a few different styles which matched various fabrics for overlays and underskirts, and short-listing lace samples (I normally use this site for my research, because their vintage laces are just to die for!).

After a bit of testing and consulting with the bride-to-be, we decided on the final look: beaded lace overlaying a bias cut satin gown. Subtle but memorable, just as a truly dashing 20's dress should be!

For us the hard-work is yet to begin. Awaiting are long hours of cutting, pinning, fitting, sewing and hand-finishing all sorts of details, including a full row of beautiful pearl buttons and a scalloped edging to trim the keyhole back.

We'll keep you posted on our progress! :)

Flower Power!

Daffodils are almost gone from the fields but flowers are here to stay, at least til' the end of this fashion season! Shop windows everywhere are blooming with beautiful patterns, while on the catwalks florals have taken on a more tactile dimension, featuring on beautiful embroideries and appliqués.

This flower-power trend is music to E&W’s ears – excuse the pun - in fact one of our blossoming creations just got highlighted in this month’s edition of Cardiff Life! That got me thinking about my never-ending attraction to florals, and about some of my past creations, like that silk dress with yellow flowers, remember? And after a little stroll down memory lane I've concluded that this trend matches our personality and something tells me we'll stick with it for many seasons to come.

So, whenever you feel like spring or summer just get down to Cardiff's city centre, visit our store and try on our blossoming creations!

Sewing bee

Finally, national television has recorded and broadcasted the undeniable proof that sewing doesn't just belong to old ladies with ten cats. Yes, I'm talking about the Great British Sewing Bee. The second episode is on BBC2 tomorrow night, and I couldn't be more excited!

I loved everything about the program. From the location, set in the old textiles district of London, to the contestants, which include old and young, men and women, working mums and truck drivers, it's great! Surrounded by sewing machines, fabrics, lines and needles, the contestants stitch their way through all sorts of challenges, knowing that at the end there can be only one winner [insert the highlander soundtrack here!].

But my favourite thing about the GBSB was the fact that they featured an upcycling challenge in their first programme! Seeing people on national television working on the neckline of an old t-shirt, and transforming something dull into something full of zest and personality, planted a big smile on my face. It really made me proud about all my upcycled creations and inspired me to do even more.

So, now it is my turn to inspire all you sewing bees out there. Grab an old t-shirt, search "t-shirt upcyling" on pinterest and go completely bonkers!

If it goes wrong, well at least you won't have much to loose... just an old t-shirt! :)

Image credits: Pinterest board by Stephanie Quintal