Autumn red

I love this picture! No idea who the photographer was, or who designed the clothes, only that it dates from 1944. I love the contrast between the dark suit, the cream overcoat and the red gloves and tights. I had this picture in my diary for a while, and finally bought some red tights last Saturday... from the children section of John Lewis. The tights are of much better quality than I thought, and at £5 for two pairs, a real bargain!

When my copy of Vogue arrived earlier this week, I was pleased that I was not the only one who fell for red:

The dresses at the front are from Jill Sander. The cut is based on a magyar/ kimono sleeve, and really looks fantastic, just as the colour, a deep garnet red.

Lumberjack-style red checks shirt...

 

I love All That Heaven allows, especially the clothes worn by Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson! Hudson is a free-thinking gardener and is often seen wearing a lumberjack-style flannel shirt; she is the ultimate 1950s housewife, always impeccably chic. He is the archetype of cool, so that is no surprise that Jane Wyman fell for him!
I had wanted a similar red checks shirt for a while and intended to buy a vintage one. Last Saturday I found by chance some great (and cheap) cotton fabric at John Lewis. It is not flannel, but at£5 per meter, it was too reasonable to resit! The colouring is really good, the perfect red, with quite a bit of white and some thin stripes of yellow and navy blue. It will also save me hours of shopping in thrift stores and the like! And I needed a distraction from sewing clutch, so this is a new project. I am hoping to wear it next Saturday!
So far, most of the body is done, but I have yet to place the pocket and insert the sleeves. I  have never used press-stud buttons, so there's going to be a bit of hammering in my flat soon!

 

New suede mini clutch with handmade felt flowers

  

I love working with felt; the colour and texture of this material are so playful; and I do not use it as much as I would like. So this is one of my first attempt to include felt in my clutch bags. This clutch is made of black goat suede on the front and dark grey wool at the back. I have decorated the front with flowers and leaves in a variety of greys and burnt orange felts for the flowers, and dark and medium greens for the leaves. I am quite fond of the pearl button buds!

- Outer: Black soft goat suede at the front, pure grey wool fabric at the back
- felt fowers and leaves with pearl buttons
- black nickel frame
- Lining: beige 100% cotton with an handy inside pocket
- All seams are double stitched

Approximate dimensions at widest points: 7” x 5” (18 x 13cm). The frame is 4.5" long (12 cm).

The clutch feels quite luxurious, I am rather pleased with it!