Journal

Diamant bag project

Heyyy Saturday. You’re not as foxy as usual. My neighbor had a party until 5 am this morning and I’m now on my way to school. 🙁 But only three more days to go now. I thought I could show you some more of what I’ve done in Digital fashion studio the last couple of weeks.

We had an bag project where the brief instruction was to design our own bag, think up a story around it, the technical drawings and colors and then also do a photoshoot for it. This is how mine turned out.

My campaign photo, imagined in a glossy fashion magazine. Sister helped med take this photo. Thanks sis!

The mood, quite glam and party focused. Was inspired by the mirror art that is popping up here and there within interior design and by precious stone shapes.

Materials. The bag would look really nice in black leather or mirrored plexiglass *heart emojis*. Anyone who wants to sponsor a bag startup? 😀

My first sketches and the first try out, made from an origami base.

I wanted to make a clutch in a different shape, something that would be a conversation starter and I feel I succeeded with that. I like how it turned out, I still need to add a colorway to that board and finish the technical specs. Accessory design is really fun and I’m going to take a course in that next semester, maybe I can make this bag come true 🙂

Finals are coming

It’s Friday, but in my world right now it is not a matter of tgif, it’s more like wtf – is it Friday before finals already?!? 12 h shifts in school have been the method this week and let’s not talk about how the weekend will look like (work, a lot of work).

But, on a positive note (cus that’s all that matters) you get a pretty good overlook of all the things you’ve learned this semester. And it’s a whole lot in my case. Yesterday I sat All day with my sketching portfolio, and although I’m not gonna be Da Vinci any time soon I’m pretty impressed myself with my learning curve.

We’ve covered the basics in sketching, such as drawing correct postures, faces, hands and feet, pleats, checks and stripes and so on. We’ve also done a few portraits “in the style of” different artists.

The necesseties right now, vitamine C en masse and a podcast (Josefin&Vanja on repeat, or bloggbusiness). A portrait in the style of artist Julian Opie.

From Viktor & Rolf’s “The shirt collection”.

Anyways, off to work om today’s subject, draping shirts!

Breakfast in Paris – Café Petite

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 10 december, 2015
Kategorier I Paris, Parisian Life
2 kommentarer till Breakfast in Paris – Café Petite

Bonjours mes amis, it’s Thursday and it means breakfast in Paris! Today it was Andrea’s turn to pick a place around the Republique area and we met up at Café petite. This place actually serves breakfast all day, good to know for breakfast lovers or brinner (breakfast for dinner) advocates.

We chose the Petite dejeuner menu, which included bread with jam, freshly pressed orange juice, pain au chocolate, a hot beverage, and a cute little egg cake (don’t know the real term for it?) which was super tasty and savory.

Mmm so good!

Big windows gives you plenty of view of the people passing by, a perfect relax and people watching place.

Typical French rustic interior.

Love the red chairs contrasting ot the red and white facade.

This was also a fun detail, you can order a Café aux lettres = you write a letter while you drink your espresso and they post it for you. Very nice touch! Perfect place to go to if you want to eat a very French petite dej with a little extra. Does anyone have a breakfast place to recommend in Paris? Feel more than welcome to share. Wishing you a happy Thursday!

My wish list 2015

Christmas is drawing closer and even though I really don’t need anything (reeeally don’t) I can’t help but putting up a Christmas wish list. Some of these goodies I’ve had my eye on for a while, and all of them are totally unnecessary necessities. They make me *happy*!Notebook from Garance Doré (one side New York, one side Paris) * 18k gold pearl earrings (I’ve lost mine 🙁 ) * Black opium Edp (I want a new signature perfume) * Rosegold vans (or any pair of sparkling sneakers) * Pretty poster/one year calendar from Kristina Krogh.

What do you want for Christmas? 🙂

Creating a pair of trousers

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 8 december, 2015
Kategorier I Creativity, Fashion
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Before we started the shirt I finished my other project in draping class, a pair of very wide trousers in a custom fit for me. I have lately seen a lot of ultra wide trousers in street style photos and absolutely adore the woolen ones. I showed my teacher this moodboard before we started creating:

My favorite is the one far right, with a polo. My teacher is super talented and thought that I should do a pair of trousers in wool, without darts on them. These are darts, for those who don’t speak sewing and in wool you can achieve them with a hot iron and wet cloth. (Amazing! I just love wool.)

So we started out by adjusting our trousers block, a very basic pattern of trousers. I took my measurements and added the extra centimeters equally on each side and on the darts on the pattern.

Here you can see my adjusting lines, adding the width of the leg to the basic pattern. You better keep track of which line is which 🙂

On the construction, which you first make in paper, I had to keep the darts. The toile fabric (cotton muslin) does not allow shrinking darts, so to be able to check the fit I had to keep them for now.

When you’re done with the construction, you deserve a food break (Usually plenty breaks…)
I then cut out the construction in muslin and started sewing my toile together.

This was the result. After a little tinkering with the center front/crotch curve I had a green light to start with my trousers in real fabric. I chose a nice melange wool, bought 3 meters for 40€ at one of the very many fabric shops at Sacre Coeur. I practiced the art of shrinking the wool with heat and water first.

You mark the area you want to shrink, sew a thread through and then pull to desired length.
Iron it on a special rounded iron board, with a damp cloth over (you have to be careful to not burn the fabric).
And this is the result of the ironing. Quite cool huh!

After that, I lined my fabric and sewed it all together (and more than one time yelled at the sewing machine), and after a lot of hours spent on this project I could finally test my result:

Woop! The feeling of putting on a pair of trousers you custom made for yourself, with a special haute couture technique (called resorbé in French) and it actually fits like a glove, is very nice!!

I just realize I forgot taking a pic on the back, where the technique of reducing the fabric is even more obvious but I’ll do that some other time. When seeing the pics I’m thinking about changing the bottom hem just a little, add another centimeter to the length. What do you think of my pair of trousers? 😀

Monday pepp & tips links

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 7 december, 2015
Kategorier I Inspirational
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Good morning Monday! Another new week is here, and as a matter of fact this year only has four weeks left. How crazy is that! Zooooom said 2015. Let’s make the best of the weeks still left in it then. Here are this week’s Monday pepp & tips links.

Christmas Cards

’tis the season to write Christmas cards, and on that topic I’ve found two handy tips (pardon my pun) on hand lettering. Firstly, how to do it by One artsy mama and secondly, how to turn it digital from Lauren. I’m doing mine today.

Color of the year

Last week Pantone announced Color of the year for 2016. This year it’s actually two! Rose Quartz and Serenity, pale pastells (yes I like them very much.) Quartz did a very interesting article on the subject with a fun video including my favorite clip from The devil wears Prada.

The tools kids (people) need to succeed in life

I found this list from American Psychological Association on educating children on how to cope with life (especially now after the last month’s tragic events over the world). I thought that these tools are equally important for adults who either never go to learn them or forget them from time to time. If you don’t have the time to read the article, here’s the list on what tools you need to succeed here in life:

Gratitude

Last but not least, a lil reminder that gratitude makes a whole lotta difference. How happy should we be to be able to wake up to a new week and just go for it?! Let’s!

Birthday drinks and new shoes

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 6 december, 2015
Kategorier I Paris, Parisian Life
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After class last night we went out to celebrate Phoebe’s 22nd birthday. Everyone knows that all work and no play makes you a very dull horse (or something, it’s a proverb for “you need to have some fun too”) so I put on my new sparkling shoes (from New Look), my fake fur and bling earrings and to the restaurant I went. I have lovely class mates and will miss them when a lot of them leave Paris in a few weeks.

Can’t wait to see where all these talented people end up!

I am clearly no longer 22 so when the others headed out to Belleville for more party me and my glittery shoes went home to watch series and eat candy in bed. Those shoes tho. Love em!

Today I’ve been at the studio for another couple of hours, the school has kindly enough given us access to it on Sundays too prior to finals. I’ve heard they actually have to pay some fee for that, I don’t know if that’s true or not. The French and their holy Sundays, everything is usually closed and silent on Sundays. But now I’m home and enjoying a little bit more of that Swedish candy (thanks mom & sis!) and a Swedish fashion mag. Missing home a little right now. With that I’m wishing you a happy 2nd of Advent!

Draping class & French pastries

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 6 december, 2015
Kategorier I Fashion
1 kommentar till Draping class & French pastries

“Life of a fashion design student” could also be the title of this blogpost. Yesterday I went in to uni around 11, stitched up a dummy arm (yes, you have to have an arm when you’re gonna drape a shirt and NO it’s neither easy or fun) and at 2 pm started a draping class we had missed due to the teacher being sick.

Draping is however quite fun, I prefer it a thousand times over pattern making, which is very dry and flat. Draping a fabric on the form makes it so much more understandable. But it is also not easy and a lot of math goes in to it. Today we started draping the shirt which we’re supposed to finish next week and then start our own design to finish within two days. Stressful? Ya.

We draped the yoke, the gatherings, the cuff and pleats.

This is what I came up with after 5 hours of draping. It does look a little like a shirt!

Our teacher apparently felt a little sorry for us for coming in on a Saturday night, so he brought us French pastries. The French are hard to beat in this area, I tell you that.

I had the fraisier, a marsipan pastry with lovely vanilla cream and strawberries… Gah! Definitely made the class easier after that.

My mini Christmas tree

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 4 december, 2015
Kategorier I Paris, Parisian Life
2 kommentarer till My mini Christmas tree

Yes I got myself a mini christmas tree… It’s so cute! And brings christmas spirit to the max. I bought it on Tuesday evening in a small florist shop, walking home with it under my arm through a christmas decorated Montmartre in a quite nice temperature and just felt a warm glowing feeling in the pit of my stomach. Think I’ll remember that moment for a long while. Highly recommended if you need a little christmas spirit injection.

So with my mini tree I’m wishing you a happy Friday. Soon weekend!

Cozzzzyyyyyy <3

Breakfast in Paris – Le Pain Quotidien

Inläggsförfattare Av Sandra
Inläggsdatum 3 december, 2015
Kategorier I Paris, Parisian Life
Inga kommentarer till Breakfast in Paris – Le Pain Quotidien

It was one tired breakfast in Paris lover who got out of bed this morning. I think you can see that from the photo haha. But as always, a yummy breakfast out is the best way to start the morning! I put my coziest, fluffiest sweater on and met up with Andrea at Rue des Martyres, one of my favorite streets here in the So-Pi area. If I get to stay in Paris after my diploma is done, I want to live around this area. They were putting up big christmas trees decorated with gold and red bows in the little square just outside of the café.

This street has a lot of breakfast places to try, but this time we decided to check out Le Pain Quotidien, somewhat the French equivalent to Starbucks. It was a little christmas decorated and not too crowded.

Cute rustic interior and free wifi. Perfect Coffice.

They have a breakfast menu for 10.20€ where you get an assortment of organic bread and their yummy spreads and jams, either a croissant or pain au chocolat, a hot beverage and fresh juice.

They had a fantastic white chocolate spread you have to try!! A little bit sweet but tasted just like the real deal.

The staff was friendly and helpful, maybe a tad slow in taking orders (it’s been the same in all Quotidiens I’ve been to, they seem to be a little understaffed) and they played soft christmas music in the background. All in all a relaxed and nice breakfast place, and you could also add eggs and granola to your petit dej if you want. Recommended!