On the Storefront October 29, 2009

So this is kind of old news, but Forever 21 and Francesca’s Collections are now open at West Towne Mall, and Rethreads is open on State Street.  The Forever21 is ginormous, and the Francesca’s here is bigger than the one at Deerpark chez moi. Bigger is not always better, but so far the Forever 21 remains organized and has a lot of cheap and trendy items to offer; and I like seeing more of Francesca’s clothing, accessories and gifty items too. Rethreads, a buy-sell-trade clothing store has a great variety of second-hand and vintage clothing at reasonable prices. Check out what I found: This high-waisted hand-sewn skirt with a velvet yoke and trim for fifteen dollars!

And it was all yellow: Autumn in Madison October 28, 2009

Sweet website that I thought I would share with you. October 20, 2009

As I was lamenting my loss of online flashcards concerning seam finishes and specialty fabrics and the like (forgot to save them before moving onto voguepatterns.com) my friend Kerry knocked on my door to tell me about this fabulous website! I love the inspiration boards, I love how she makes something super cool and unique  out of inexpensive materials, and I especially love the title- P.S. I made this. Whenever I wear something I’ve made, I secretly look forward to getting a compliment, so I can tack on the “I made it”.

So that made losing the flashcards less painful because I had something pretty to look at. Thanks Kerry!

I Spy… Plaid Coat. October 18, 2009

What a nice coat, the red bag  is a great accent, and those boots -pretty sure they were Marc Jacobs.

I Spy… Black with Pops of Print. October 10, 2009

I especially love their coats (two different stylish silhouettes), and shoes (shiny patent leather and the chain detail on the boots)

Just Stitch it. October 10, 2009

This is my book of embroidery for Structural Enrichment I. The task at hand was to stitch sample designs of several types of line, border, open-fill, solid-fill and decorative stitching. Then we made either books or boxed to hold our work. Many people used fabric they dyed for their books/boxes, like me.

The Terrace. October 9, 2009

Oh, the Memorial Union Terrace. The perfect place to sit on a sunny day. I certainly do hope we have some sunny days left! Other than lounging on Bascom Hill, The Terrace is my favorite place to be on a sunny day. It is a great place for attempting to do homework, and then getting distracted by people watching, duck watching, lake watching, ice cream eating, music-listening… etc.

I Spy… Ruffles. October 9, 2009

One thing I love about being a Design student in the School of Human Ecology is that everyone has a great sense of style that I get to witness everyday. I was just about to compliment Lauralyn (right) on her lovely ruffled blouse when she complimented me on mine! So here we both are after pattern-making and apparel class.

While I was not a fan of the ruffles on Project Runway last week, I did not understand why Nicolas was so anti-ruffle.I love ruffled blouses because they are romantic and versatile. In fact, this shirt is probably my favorite item in my wardrobe right now, just because I can wear it so many different ways. (fyi I do not follow that “no white after Labor Day” rule) Ruffled tops are flattering for women who are small-chested (like me), since they add volume on top.

Sister date and mommy-daughter date, layering the blouse under black dresses.

I spy… Badger Pride. October 3, 2009

So I went to my first Badger game last weekend versus Michigan State, and we won! What is great about our team colors is that they are so wearable. Even in the sea of red, people still put their own twists on Badger gear, from red pocket squares to red shoes (middle) to red ribbons (right). I liked all the vintage-inspired fitted shirts (left) and the more subtle takes on Badger pride, like cute red and black plaid shirts and scarves.

You can get your Badger pride on at:

• University Bookstore
• Insignia Campus Apparel (on State Street near the Bookstore)
• Campus Street Sportswear (on State Street near Urban Outfitters)
• Name of the Game (on University Ave near Lucky apartments)
• Lids (on State Street, mostly baseball caps with some t-shirts mixed in)
• Bop (women’s, more expensive)
• Jazzman (men’s, more expensive)
• Victoria’s Secret (women’s, available online and in stores at East and West Towne malls)
• Personalized tee shirt stores on State Street like Personalizing Shop, and Underground Printing (this is where you can get your Sconnie shirts and the ones that say Worst State Ever with a picture of whatever state we are playing against)
• Websites like U-stuff (tees with an illustrative style highlighting Badger game traditions like Jump Around) and Wisconsin Relic (not actually UW Madison specific, but cool general Wisconsin pride)

Farmer’s Market Flowers October 3, 2009

As the weather gets colder, I thought I would (hopefully) cheer you up with these pictures (from a few weeks ago) of blooming flowers at the Farmer’s Market around the Capitol Square. One of the oldest and largest farmer’s markets in the country, the Dane County Farmer’s Market provides fresh, diverse, and affordable goods to the public. It is a feast for the senses- I love going to see all the colorful produce, smell the “hot spicy cheese bread!” and snag some free samples. It is also nice to realize that Madison is not only composed of college students- seeing families stroll around the Capitol Square, as my sister would say, “makes my heart happy”.