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I Believe in the Power of Clothes!

I believe in the power of clothes. Ever woke up one morning only to look in the mirror and feel an overwhelming feeling of disappointment that the reflection staring back is fatter, frumpier and more tired looking than the mental image you have of yourself? To dress in your usual clothes and feel them just a bit tighter than last time? It’s easy to let the dowdiness take over, to go with the flow and become consumed by the “fat” feeling. It can ruin your whole day and leave you feeling really bad about yourself. I think clothes are the remedy, clothes can make you feel utterly fabulous! Reach into your wardrobe and choose an outfit that makes you feel special. No; not your wedding dress, or your favourite Saturday night outfit, something thats suitable for the occasion (work, shopping, whatever) but something that makes you feel lovely, so that everytime you look down at yourself you think ” I love this top/ skirt/ dress/ scarf etc” Choose a colour you love to wear. Add details to your outfit that personalize it and say somewthing about you, a scarf, piece of jewelry or brooch. I find I use brooches an aweful lot they are an easy way to change the mood of an outfit and can introduce a new colour the overall look. They nearly always draw attention and get a comment from someone; and lets face it, if someone takes the time to tell you they like what you’re wearing it makes you feel like a million dollars. The power of clothes are amazing! I feel better already 🙂

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Velvet & Silk

In my recent experimentation with printing I’ve had the oppotunity to rediscover devore. This is a printing technique which works with mixed fibre fabrics. I used silk velvet. I cut a stencil and used a silk screen and squeegee to print with thick devore paste. The paste, once printed it left to dry on the surface of the fabric. I then used a heat press to warm the devore paste. This melts away the pile of the velvet, leaving the backing net and revealing the printed pattern. It’s a beautiful if not complex and potentially dangerous technique. The results are wonderfully femanine. I’d like to think I could incorporate this into a scarf collection but I think I need to perfect my skills before I unleash the results on the public.