By Hand London Flora Dress

I have been waiting to write this blog post for about three months now - ever since I picked up the pattern for this dress on my last full day in London. So get ready for a long post, I've got a lot to talk about!

I first heard about ByHandLondon last fall from one of my professors at school who knew I was learning how to sew and that I was going to be going to London. She suggested that I check out their website and I fell in love. I've got a thing for small companies run by by smart, creative, and inspiring women and ByHandLondon is just that. It's a small, London based, pattern making company that was founded a few years ago by three friends. The patterns that they create are unique, universally flattering, customizable, and (most importantly) do-able by anyone! In addition to their patterns, that can be purchased online or in select stores, they run an amazing website and blog which features how-tos, sewing tips, brand updates/new product releases, and their amazing sew-alongs. Let me just put it out there that without the sew-along guide being around to answer every question I could have had this dress would not have turned out as well as it did.

As for the dress I made, I selected their most recent pattern release which is the Flora Dress. I was drawn to this dress because of the shape - I knew it would suit my figure and it looked like it would be perfect to wear to friend's summer wedding I knew I would be attending in August. Once I got home from my travels I was eager to finally get started. I picked up my fabric from Hancock Fabric and set to work. Unlike my previous sewing endeavors I constructed this dress completely on my own, that's how user friendly the pattern + sew-along made the whole experience! There were a few times that I had to ask for input from my mother and together we watched many video tutorials on how to put in an invisible zipper - but all the cutting, stitching, pressing, seam ripping, and re-stitching was done by me. (I'm very proud if you can't tell). Overall the process went very smoothly and was just so much fun - I am so happy with the product and can't wait to make another new ByHandLondon piece!

For reference size-wise I am 5'9" and wear a size 4 or 6 in store bought clothing. When following the measurements on the pattern size guide I made a US size 10 top and size 8 skirt - it fit perfectly! 

Here's How I Styled It:

What I Wore: [Shoes: Madden Girl (old) similar, Belt: BCBG, Bag: Coach Poppy (old) similar, Earrings: Betsey Johnson]

Via my Instagram

Thank you so much for stopping by - hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday!

My "Back To School" Stack

Since it is basically the middle of August and my countdown to my return to Portland has begun I have decided it is finally time to start talking about one of my favorite subjects.....back to school shopping. Unlike when I was 10 and would purchase the entirety of Limited Too in preparation to take on the new school year my current "back to school wardrobe" shopping strategy is usually just to get a few key pieces to refresh what I already have. Although it should probably be noted that I still do the whole "I'm not even going to touch this or take the tags off of it until school starts" thing to make things feel even more exciting and special. I don't know what it is, but even at 20 years old there is nothing that excites me quite the same way going back to school and the beginning of autumn does. 

Alright, let's talk about clothes. Like I said, my shopping strategy is to get things that will work well with the rest of my wardrobe so I gravitate towards classic styles and patterns that are still current and somewhat trendy. Let's take a peek and what I've collected.....

Tops: I snagged this striped top with fluttery sleeves from Anthropologie (currently on sale!), a light-weight striped popover from Old Navy, a chambray top with an embellished collar from LOFT, and a neutral crew neck sweater from The Gap outlet, similar. None of these tops were purchased for any particular reasons other than "this is cute and I want it", because sometimes you just have to live life that way. 

Dresses: The only dress I've picked up for the up-coming season is a chambray (I really can't get enough of chambray) shirt/shift dress from J. Crew Factory Store. I had been eyeing it online for quite some time and when it went on sale I thought it was as good as time as ever to replace the chambray dress I had been previously wearing to death. Said moment of weakness brought to you by trying to stretch out my lunch break at work. 

Bottoms:  I am not a big pants wearer in general but when I do they either have to be dark dark dark blue or black and I for some reason didn't have a pair of plain black skinny jeans, so to remedy that issue I picked up a pair of super comfortable ones from Old Navy. The one new skirt that I did get (my skirt collection is getting a little out of hand these days) is from J. Crew. I got it on sale for only $20 and I really cannot wait to wear it, it's probably one of the most flattering pieces of clothing I own - it's still available in a few colors and sizes! 

Outerwear: My two outerwear purchases are very "Portland Friendly" i.e. one has a hood and one is a fleece pull over. My reasons behind getting both of them were fairly practical - the fleece, from Mountain Hardware, is intended to be worn during runs/hikes when the weather gets cooler and pretty much any other day I want to wear bright turquoise fleece, and the sage colored utility jacket will be perfect for layering over everything I wear during the majority of those low 50's, dreary, overcast Portland days that I have become so fond of.

Shoes: I'm at a point in my life wear it is just not physically possible for me to house all of the shoes I want to own, so for back to school this year I just got one new pair of shoes because that was honestly all I knew I'd be able to fit in my suitcase/tiny apartment. They are part of black D'Orsay flats from Lucky Brand and they are perfect. Just trendy enough to make me feel cool but still very classic and I know I'll be getting my money's worth out of them. 

And that's about it! It's more than likely I'll be picking up a few new things here and there before I leave but I'm already worried about packing all of my stuff up to take back to Portland, it's always so overwhelming.

Let me know if you liked this style of post, it was a fun one for me to write (i.e. finding a way to justify all of my purchases). Until next time,

Eva

Bits & Bobs: 5 Things About Me

It's August and I'm already in 100% fall mode. All I do is think about planning my back to school wardrobe and subsequently have to sit on my hands so that I don't online shop. Thus, my outfit inspiration for this summer has fallen to the wayside and nobody wants to see photos of me wearing the same pair of jean shorts and different variations of white t-shirts everyday. So, today I write a non-style related post about me! Here are 5 little tid-bits that will help give you a more well rounded glimpse at who I am and what I like.

To begin, let me give you a more accurate representation of what I usually look like:
Anywhere near a pastry is what I call my natural habitat

1. I am slightly obsessed with Meyers-Briggs personality types/test. I completely identify with pretty much every attribute that is connected to being an INFJ (hate large groups, very independent, strong intuition, etc.) and now, somewhat blindly, have begun to believe that these personality types must be just as accurate for everyone who takes the test. So be forewarned that if we ever meet in person I will probably ask you what your Meyers-Briggs personality type is within my first time meeting you.

2. My celebrity "dobblegängers" I am most often associated with are Carrie Mulligan (specifically in "An Education") and Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey.

Can't say I see a whole lot of resemblance there.

3. The fictional character that I feel I most relate to is Amelie Poulain from Amelie (if you have not watched this, please do yourself a favor and do so now!!!!). From enjoying alone time a little too much to loving cracking the top of a creme brûlée we are almost exactly the same person.

Going to the "Amelie Cafe" in Paris and recreating this iconic picture was my top priority when there over spring break.

4. If I could give my former self any piece of advice it would be DO NOT SHAVE OFF YOUR EYEBROWS THE DAY BEFORE 7TH GRADE YOU WILL REGRET IT FOREVER. 7th grade is a dark time for all of us, having no eyebrows just made it worse.

5. The three places at the top of my current "dream vacations" list are Iceland (Bjork, hot springs, and a language I have no hope of ever understanding), Morocco (food, architecture, and camels), and Thailand (just like the cultural treasure trove of the world).

And there you have it! Thank you all for stopping by,

Eva