Some of you may have noticed that from time to time there are a variety of typo's, misspellings and malapropisms with the writing of this blog, and some of the other writing coming out of Lady K Loves.
This isn't out of laziness, or not double checking and proof reading things, it's simply because I have dyslexia. It's really not a big problem in day to day life, in my case it simply means the ability to take sounds and turn them in to a series of letters (and the other way around too) doesn't work very well.
One of the aspects of this is that I may well get the right letters just not in the right order, and some times I even get a right letters to spell a word.....just not the one that I wanted! However, I can still construct an eloquent sentence, I just might not spell all of the words correctly.
Though my brain doesn't hold series of numbers or letters in my head very well, it works much better in a different way. I'm far better at the maths needed to cut pattens, work out shapes and design clothes that fit and flatter, so there's always a sliver lining.
Anyway....I just wanted to provide a little information as to why there will be a lack of good spelling cropping up here.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Powder Compact
I've wanted to post about this for a long time.....When I was little I really wanted a powder compact, they always looked so pretty, and something about the solidness of them really appealed to me. That they didn't just get thrown out when the make-up ran out, weren't plastic and cheap. They're truly glamours, combined with matching cigarette case, perfume defuser or lips stick holder it's the sort of thing dreams are made of.
But then as I grew up I wasn't really one of wearing foundation everyday and I didn't really know how to use powder. Until I found a blog post which someone else had written telling you how to re-fill them. The idea of just having a compact case to use as a mirror didn't work for me, I have a real love for practical design rather than just pretty.....
So deciding they were the way forward, I changed how I did my make-up a little. I'm very lucky becuase for the most part I have pretty clear skin so now I use a combination of concealer with powder. Mainly concealer is for my under eye's and occasional blemish, plus around and on my mouth to give my lipstick something to hold on to, then powder on top......
Anyway, I doubt you care about my beauty routine, here is how you can refill your own vintage powder compact. The good news is loose powder is normally cheaper than pressed so you can go 'up' a brand or so for the same amount of money, you'd normally spend. The resulting finish is very soft, once you run a brush over it, the top layer loosens very easily and has the finish of loose powder, with less potential for mess.
You will need
2. Next gently pour in some of the pressed powder, if you can pour in small spoonfuls of the surgical spirit, other wise pour very carefully. Now mix together to form a paste.
3. Repeat step 2 until the whole tin is full. I was busy nattering away and taking pictures so put way to much alcohol in it...hence why the whole dish is swimming on my table. It's probably worth mentioning here to make sure you do this on a surface which is either protected, covered or on which a little alcohol won't hurt. Glass tops are very good for this as long as they don't have an fancy finishes.
4. If you would like a texture on top you can press a piece for fabric into the draying pan.
5. Leave to dry, this is really important, if you use it too soon the surgical spirit will dry out your skin and give you a break out. The best way I've found to be able to let them dry enough before use, is to have more than one, what a shame!
6. Enjoy!
I first read how to do this over a year ago....and I can't find the blog anywhere, but DC Metro Retro and The Vintage Lifestyle File, both have blogs on this, with the same technique but no pictures. I also found Powder Compacts which is run by the lady behind Vanroe compacts, which sells restored compacts and has a page on refilling with loose of modern pans from various brands. She also talks about the alcohol option detailed above as being messy, it is a little, but I really enjoy the ritual of it, like setting your hair, or cleaning and refilling a zippo lighter, polishing your shoes. It makes sure you look after it, keeps in in use and at it's best performance, it's the chance to clean it all out, take care of any little bits which might need a touch up and get it back to full working order. That said I'm after 2 new mirrors for mine and would love it hear from anyone who knows a UK based company that can help.
But then as I grew up I wasn't really one of wearing foundation everyday and I didn't really know how to use powder. Until I found a blog post which someone else had written telling you how to re-fill them. The idea of just having a compact case to use as a mirror didn't work for me, I have a real love for practical design rather than just pretty.....
So deciding they were the way forward, I changed how I did my make-up a little. I'm very lucky becuase for the most part I have pretty clear skin so now I use a combination of concealer with powder. Mainly concealer is for my under eye's and occasional blemish, plus around and on my mouth to give my lipstick something to hold on to, then powder on top......
Anyway, I doubt you care about my beauty routine, here is how you can refill your own vintage powder compact. The good news is loose powder is normally cheaper than pressed so you can go 'up' a brand or so for the same amount of money, you'd normally spend. The resulting finish is very soft, once you run a brush over it, the top layer loosens very easily and has the finish of loose powder, with less potential for mess.
You will need
- 1 powder compact
- selection of cotton wool and buds,
- surgical spirit
- spoon/fork/mixing implement
- loose powder
1. Use the surgical spirit to clean the whole compact out, if it has a pan in the bottom (which you will need so if the one you buy is missing the original one you can probably get a replacement from here), take it out, clean all parts and leave on a clean surface to dry.
3. Repeat step 2 until the whole tin is full. I was busy nattering away and taking pictures so put way to much alcohol in it...hence why the whole dish is swimming on my table. It's probably worth mentioning here to make sure you do this on a surface which is either protected, covered or on which a little alcohol won't hurt. Glass tops are very good for this as long as they don't have an fancy finishes.
5. Leave to dry, this is really important, if you use it too soon the surgical spirit will dry out your skin and give you a break out. The best way I've found to be able to let them dry enough before use, is to have more than one, what a shame!
6. Enjoy!
I first read how to do this over a year ago....and I can't find the blog anywhere, but DC Metro Retro and The Vintage Lifestyle File, both have blogs on this, with the same technique but no pictures. I also found Powder Compacts which is run by the lady behind Vanroe compacts, which sells restored compacts and has a page on refilling with loose of modern pans from various brands. She also talks about the alcohol option detailed above as being messy, it is a little, but I really enjoy the ritual of it, like setting your hair, or cleaning and refilling a zippo lighter, polishing your shoes. It makes sure you look after it, keeps in in use and at it's best performance, it's the chance to clean it all out, take care of any little bits which might need a touch up and get it back to full working order. That said I'm after 2 new mirrors for mine and would love it hear from anyone who knows a UK based company that can help.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Blogger Dresses
For those of you who don't follow Retro Chick or Andi B Goode.....this week both girls blogged about the dresses they designed for Lady K Loves....
Both are limited edition, with only 7 being made in total, one in a bespoke size for both of the bloggers and then one in each size from an XS to a XXL (we're listening to your requests for larger sizes and producing then where we can). We know that releasing these at the middle of the month might make buying them a bit tough for some people so we're offering a holding service with a deposit. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.
The dresses are £90 each, made out of vintage fabrics and trimmings.
I love both of them becuase they're so different. It was really exciting working on the project, the distance and our busy schedules made it take longer than originally planned. But I hope we're found something which is a bit of the bloggers and a bit of Lady K Loves.
LKL x
Gemma in her Retro Chick dress
Andi B dress worn by Miss Kitty Boo as the sample is a little small
Both are limited edition, with only 7 being made in total, one in a bespoke size for both of the bloggers and then one in each size from an XS to a XXL (we're listening to your requests for larger sizes and producing then where we can). We know that releasing these at the middle of the month might make buying them a bit tough for some people so we're offering a holding service with a deposit. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.
The dresses are £90 each, made out of vintage fabrics and trimmings.
I love both of them becuase they're so different. It was really exciting working on the project, the distance and our busy schedules made it take longer than originally planned. But I hope we're found something which is a bit of the bloggers and a bit of Lady K Loves.
LKL x
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Photo Shoots, Cocktails and Tattoos
It's been busy here and there's not been time to fill you in with all of the exciting adventures we've been up to!
A couple of weeks ago now we did a photo shoot with Betty Flowers, Sarah French and models Hannah, Stef and Debs. It was a really busy day, we started at about 10 in the morning and didn't finish until 7:30. However it was really worth all of the effort, and was so much fun I don't think any of us noticed the time.
Betty working on Hannah as we all set up.
Part of the aim of the shoot was to get some great shots of the swimwear which had recently come out in new colours, which you can see above. We used a lovely cocktail bar, affectionately called Volcano Joe's in Black Market in Hastings Old Town. Joe makes a mean cocktail, and was a really great help all day, particularly since he didn't mind us steeling Debs (in blue) for these shots.
We headed out to the sea front to get a few of the new Annette knit, shorter leg jeans and polka dot Shirley dress, whilst the weather and light was holding out and got some great shots but the miniature railway line and station. You can see some of the sea front attractions in the back ground. It is one of the things which works really well in Hastings, as long as the weather holds out you can always find a great location to shoot at.
Next up was the lurex dress, She's Not So Dumb, it's named after an old war poster I had. From a modern point of view it's hugely insensitive,and stupid. But I think you have to take a different view point and hope that we have come a long way from these ideas! All that said, it's a great image, and I love the idea of this siren wooing men in to revealing all of their secretes.So the She's Not So Dumb dress was born, though doesn't really have much to do with this one.
The other shot I really wanted to get was the one below, as I've written about before, our Dorris Dress in white with black polka dots has a look of the famous Berts Belles image. And this is one of what we got, the wind wasn't going in the right direction, we spent a lot of time trying to pull Hannah's skirt up whilst the wind fought us, and then we looked behind us to find a band of builders watching from half way up a building on the other side of the road! I think we made their afternoon much more interesting.
Finally we went for coffee....it was all too much! And coffee was also on the way to our final location of the day Madam Butterflies Tattoo Parlour
There was also loads of shots to get done of things like the new knitwear, Bernie and different colours of the capri pants, including the limited edition purple leopard print ones. We were looked after by not only the guys in the studio, particularly Ben, Betty's wonderful gentleman who not only put up with all of our giggling, but also set everything up for some shots including his tattoo gun!
A couple of weeks ago now we did a photo shoot with Betty Flowers, Sarah French and models Hannah, Stef and Debs. It was a really busy day, we started at about 10 in the morning and didn't finish until 7:30. However it was really worth all of the effort, and was so much fun I don't think any of us noticed the time.
Betty working on Hannah as we all set up.
We headed out to the sea front to get a few of the new Annette knit, shorter leg jeans and polka dot Shirley dress, whilst the weather and light was holding out and got some great shots but the miniature railway line and station. You can see some of the sea front attractions in the back ground. It is one of the things which works really well in Hastings, as long as the weather holds out you can always find a great location to shoot at.
Next up was the lurex dress, She's Not So Dumb, it's named after an old war poster I had. From a modern point of view it's hugely insensitive,and stupid. But I think you have to take a different view point and hope that we have come a long way from these ideas! All that said, it's a great image, and I love the idea of this siren wooing men in to revealing all of their secretes.So the She's Not So Dumb dress was born, though doesn't really have much to do with this one.
Finally we went for coffee....it was all too much! And coffee was also on the way to our final location of the day Madam Butterflies Tattoo Parlour
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Adverts
Just a very quick one this morning.
You may have noticed we now have sponsors, or adverts or what ever you’d like to call them. I just want to make sure it’s known that, no body has paid to be on this site as a link, these are for the most part friends, who do great work, who I want to help spread the word of the great things they do.
You may also notice over the course of the blogs I write, a lot of these peoples names will appear, which is great, because I get work and socialise with such talented people.
Get clicking and seeing what other people do!
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
A Month Of Weddings
August has whizzed by in a blur, but despite all signs at the start has managed to be a very lovely and romantic month.
I was treated to dinner by Los Furias Tiki right at the bringing of the month, and even before that I attended, what turned out to be a very beautiful wedding of some long standing friends. I won't be posting any of the images from the weddings them selves on here, because that feels a bit rude and impersonal given that none of the married parties blog or the such like. However I managed to find some outfit shots to be able to show you what I wore, apart from to the last wedding....but I'll explain why in a while.
First off was Al & Liz's wedding, who have been together for years and are a lovely couple. I wore a Lady K Loves dress to this one, since it was in a church followed by reception in a field.
So this is me in my red Dorris dress, we're all walking to the tree where a skiffle style band played and the couple had their first dance.
Next up was a a wedding double bill, firstly another set of friends from the same group where getting married, then shortly after we found out another couple we're good friends with also had planned their wedding, on the same day! So, ceremony and a little of the reception at one, followed by a drive through the country side to Wales for the second! I need to say a massive thank you to my brother who drove like the wind, and refused to give up when we had trouble finding the small farm in the Welsh countryside where the wedding was held!
First out fit is a dress I've been trying to finish for ages, and finally I knew how to do the collar on this so my bright pink Hawaiian pink dress was at long last ready, though not for the faint hearted.
Here's me next to Los Furias himself, the bride made her entrance up this lawn to a small red building which she was married in,
I feel a little bad that I've stolen this picture and cropped the bride out! (Plus it's not really up to the close zoom). Her dress was lovely, and being a rock'n'roll girl at heart, she had leopard print shoes poking out.
Finally on to Wales! And we got horribly lost, got there late, changed in car into something a little warmer, my Lady K Loves Rosie trousers and a wrap top from Voodoo Kitten 13, in bright pink Hawaiian print. This was a tiki themed wedding so in fact I was, by some standards a little under dressed with my plain trousers. As we got there so late, there aren't any full pictures of me, but, here you can see the his and hers mugs the couple had made for the day. All guests got one, red for ladies, black granite finish for the gents.
I'll add more images as they surface, there was a lot of recovery time needed after this wedding!
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Blogger Dresses
A long time ago, or at least that is what it feels like!....I had a conversation with the lovely Andi B Goode via twitter about some dresses she wanted to make but didn't feel she had the sewing know how. After a little conversation, we thought we'd do a small run of a dress designed by her. I also spoke to Gemma at Retro Chick as I know she's a savy dresser and shopper and always has an eye for style.
They both designed about 4 - 6 different dresses, which then got narrowed down to 4 for their lovely readers chose from. It was too hard to choose our selves as we all hard different things we liked for different reasons. People voted and below are the two winning designs.
Gemma's dress fabric is very different to her original design, but I saw it and thought she'd love it, and she
They both designed about 4 - 6 different dresses, which then got narrowed down to 4 for their lovely readers chose from. It was too hard to choose our selves as we all hard different things we liked for different reasons. People voted and below are the two winning designs.
Andi B Goode's winning design for Lady K Loves as voted by her readers.
Retro Chick's winning design for Lady K Loves as voted by her readers
The next stage was the fabric and the pattern, I drafted one up for each dress as shown below,
I made some changes to the original dress, the main on being that rather than having a straight waist line I lengthened the skirt and went for an under bust hem. While I know for some curvier ladies that can be a little daunting, the cut should work to help lengthen the body and the bust has plenty of room to be filled!
Andi's dress at the draft stage,the 2 button holes on either side of the skirt are for placement only, in the actual article they button holes are on the inside with the buttons facing in so it provides extra secure closure with out being visible.
Once the pattern and basics were worked out it was time to go to the fabric shop! Which was the really exciting bit since as much as possible of these dresses is made from vintage fabric. So a trip to St. Leonards, to the wonderful Wayward haberdashery was in order....which meant coffee and cakes at the lovely Little Larder. Wayward is fantastic, full of so much exciting and inspiring fabric, buttons, trims, vintage hand made lace, military braid, gold thread, cards, scarf's, blankets, throws, it's amazing. The point where I've nearly gone back though and deleted that, I don't want to share this shop, it's too good!
So after some coffee and being in awe, and wanting everything, and getting excited abut all of the wonderful clothes I could make I took some pictures of suitable fabrics for the girls and their dresses, and this are the ones they went for.
Andi B Goode buttons,
Retro Chick Fabric.
Gemma's dress fabric is very different to her original design, but I saw it and thought she'd love it, and she
did!
Main fabric for Andi's dress, again it's a different colour than originally intended, but it's part of going for all vintage fabric, not everything you want is there, but what is, is beautiful!
So the dresses are now done and have been sent off to the bloggers. I'm excited to see them wearing the dress they designed, and really hope you like them once they go on sale.
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