My One Year Blogging Anniversary!

Can you believe it? One year ago I started this little blog with the idea of doling out a few tips on dressing on a budget and here it is a year later. I am still here, still letting you know about the latest bargains I have found and still spending way too much time shopping! LOL! Last year was turbulent at times. I went through a serious illness and had surgery. I ended up having to retire from my costuming career but I am still here. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. Having this blog gives me a purpose and I love that I have made new friends that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't of done this. This upcoming year may be interesting with what is happening with my husband's job. I may truly be pushed to be stylish on a shoestring. If so I will document it all for you. Hopefully it will be inspiring and not just plain insanity!

So thank you everyone for following me and befriending me. I really appreciate it. Here is to another year of dressing well on a budget!

Pel

Friday Finds Jan 29th

I can't tell you how excited I am to get my Forever21 order in. It is from their Forever21 Twist Limited Edition Collection. This may be the last items I get to buy for a bit since it seems that my husband may be out of a job on Sunday. Let's hope not, but it doesn't look good. So on to happier things. Like NEW CLOTHES! Yay!



Navy Checked Jacket $27.40. This is a really cute jacket and it is well lined so it is warmer than I expected it to be. With its high cut it is suitable only with my high waisted trousers and skirts and with dresses, but that is alright, I have plenty of those.



Cherry Red Cardigan $24.80. I have been waiting on pins and needles for this cardigan. The black cherry embroidery is so adorable! I want to wear it every day :)


Bow and Ribbons Cardigan $24.80. Another great little layering piece. I will get lots of use out of this. I think I may want a red tee or top to use as an under layer. I will have to look in my fabric to see if I have any so I can make one.


So here is to a good weekend for all of you and that my husband will continue to have a job!

Pel

Wishing

I saw this dress on etsy.com. It is not my size, just a tad too small. I wonder how big the seam allowances are on it? I bet I could let it out.


Dream Dress


My dress collection is slowly growing. I wonder how many dresses a person should have? All I know is I love all of mine and they are so easy to wear.

Pel

Shoes to Dream About

I dream about shoes all the time. I may even be addicted to them. These are ones that I am lusting after right now.

Shoes to Dream About by Peldyn featuring Not Rated shoes

Items in this set:
Mod Retro Indie Clothing & Vintage Clothes, $115
Mod Retro Indie Clothing & Vintage Clothes, $43
Not Rated Interview Heel - Black, $50
Urban Original fashion shoes, boots, gladiator sandals, flat boots -..., $21
Alice Cullen & Rosalie Hale clipped by Gothic_Pheonix, $23

I really do hope to get at least one or two of these for this Spring :)

Pel

Friday Finds Jan 22, 2010

This week was a week of basics shopping. The clearance racks at Target are full of great little pieces right now that can fit into any wardrobe to make it more versatile. I know they slipped right mine with nary a splash! Sometimes you want a splash and sometimes you just need items that can carry a supporting role.



Basic white. You can do a lot with a basic white shirt. This one is sleeveless and has a great pleated detail around the slit front. Darts at the bust and help give it shape and at $4.98 it was a total steal! The cuddly pine green cardigan was a total steal as well for $4.98. I like the longer profile of it, but you could alter it if you want to a shorter length. Casey's Elegant Musings has a great tutorial on how to do just that.



Purple tunic $8.98. This may seem to be a showy piece, but think of all the layering possibilities! I plan on wearing this under vests, sweaters, dresses. With maybe another shirt under or on top. Who knows? I just wish I had gotten it in black as well. I may have to go back!



Flowered tunic, yes I bought a flowy, flowery tunic. I am a flower child! Makes me feel almost like Spring is here. Well, I can dream, right? Another good layering piece. I do love to layer. My shoes here are from my Modcloth.com order. I LOVE them! I haven't worn pink shoes since the 80's. I bet my friend Valerie remembers my pink ballet flats and those pink, Reeboks I think they were? I haven't wore pink since. But these shoes were so cute I had to buy them. Only $34.99 and the sizing seems to be true.



Bright green sweater $8.98. This sweater looked really cute layered over the flowered tunic and I liked the colour so much and how comfortable it was I figured I would get a lot of wear out of it. I usually dress up so much I needed relaxed pieces that I could dress down. It is hard to clean the house or watch TV in a dress or pencil skirt! I am actually wearing it now to write this article :)




Bright green handbag $11.98. The pièce de résistance was finding this bag in a matching green on clearance! Seriously, now I have to find shoes in the same green it is so luscious.



So while I have not spent all the money I made making the wedding dresses (I am still owed $120.00, I hope I get paid that soon) I made a serious dent in it this week :) Just what I needed to lift my spirits after all this rain we have been having. And since most of it was off the clearance rack I can say that I was frugal, right?

Pel

Vintage Inspiration

I have an extensive collection of vintage patterns that I turn to when I need a little boost of inspiration. Many of them belonged to my mother and grandmother. Others I found at yards sales throughout the years.



My mom loved it when Butterick re-released these patterns and snatched them up. I particularly love the suits. I must at some point try to make one for myself.


Here are actual vintage patterns and they are just fabulous! I must make the blue dress with the with white cuffs and collar. It is too perfect. The sleeve detail on the green two piece dress is also delicious. I will have to add it to my must make list :)

I have many more patterns, some from the 60's and 70's too. It is fun to see how fashion has evolved and to also see how often we go back to the same styles again and again. Some classics will never go out of style.

Pel

Friday Finds Jan 15, 2010

This has been a tough week for me. My computer had decided that it would rather be a disco ball than anything else, so it is now no use to me until I get a new screen. The first screen we ordered came in yesterday and they sent the wrong one! Needless to say I am not happy. All my program and pictures are on there. My husband's computer just does not cut it. He has no picture editing programs and he is also a gamer and is on it almost 24/7. *whine* I want my computer! Sigh.
Well, I did have some good things happen. I got in my sockdreams order, yay! We have had Springlike weather this past two weeks so I have been taking walks with my husband and the dog, and my perennials are coming back in my garden :)

So here are a few new things that you may like.

New wool jacket I bought from Liebemarlene on ebay for $26.00. It is a cropped style and is super warm!



New Kensie dress I bought from amazon.com with the gift card my sister-in-law Kathy gave me for Christmas. I layered a vest over it for more interest. Yep, this is the dress that is in the sidebar of my blog. I just could not resist it! The tights I bought at Forever21. They had thrown all their tights into a bin up by the registers. I went through and picked out about 4-5 pairs that looked interesting. Tom thought these were odd and told me I shouldn't buy them. I didn't listen to him! Of course once I wore them with the dress he got it *grin*



This cute wrap dress was on sale at Modcloth. It is really comfortable and I love it with my new brown, crochet, over the knee socks from sockdreams. I have to say that wearing the over the knee socks feel a bit sexy! I have 4 more pairs to try out so I will be having fun making outfits to go with them.

Here is to a great weekend for you all and that my new screen comes in soon. I am missing doing what I want when I want to online!

Pel

Friday's Finds Jan. 8th 2010

This week I am focusing on finds that I plan on recreating myself. These are totally cute clothes that have either sold out or are too, too expensive for my meager budget to afford. Anyways, what good is it being a seamstress if I can't make it myself?

• 1.Pleated Pencil skirt from Violetville Vintage


• 2.Long sleeved Mini Dress from RottenApplesVintage


• 3.Floral Print Shirtdress from ahemvintage


• 4.Striped Shirtdress from Violetville Vintage


• 5.Navy Print Dress from NOA NOA

I have been loving the look of shirtdresses lately. I guess I am looking forward to Spring! They look so charming and fresh. I did buy a couple lovely things right after Yule with my gift cards and off ebay but with this cold and the wedding sewing I didn't have time to photograph them. You will see them styled next week. Now to look through my fabric stash for just the right bits to make these lovely items!

Pel

At Journeys End

I am back again after yet another visit to Brawley to sew and fit dresses. But this time I am DONE. Yes I completed the dresses and all the girls came by, even the one recalcitrant bridesmaid whom we had a problem getting to show up for the fittings. I am so relieved it is over and now I can get back to sewing for me and my granddaughters again.


Here is one of the bridesmaids trying on a dress for a fitting. Still needed to do a few things to finish this one!


It is so hard to see the color and texture of the fabric. The flash makes it look shinier than it really is. Here it is closer to what it looks in real life.



The dresses were hung up in a row in the doorway as I completed them. A very satisfying thing to see!


The last skirt being sewn. Hurray!



Keirnath in her completed dress. Whew. All done!

I used to love doing weddings, and I admit that this was a bit of fun, but it does hurt me now to sew that much. I am just not up to it anymore. Damn this getting old and being injured. No one ever told me about this shit when I was younger *fume* Oh well, I will just have to accept the fact that getting old is sometimes not fun. But at least I have Tom to coddle me, I just whimper a bit about how my arm hurts and he will get me a nice hot cuppa tea and a celebrex. He is such a sweetie!
So once I recover from this I will do finish my bit of sewing for myself, until then I am relaxing!

Pel

New Year's Resolutions

As many of you know, I do so love shopping. I however have to keep within a budget and sometimes that budget gets strained. So my resolution this year is to be more frugal and to buy less and make more. I really need to be more crafty and stop being such an impulse buyer. Does this mean I will stop following trends? Hell no! It just means I will have to be more thrifty and ingenious in my ways of following them. It also means more thrift store shopping which is so much fun! Of course as I say this I found a lovely little vintage store online with wonderful clothes that are way out of my price range, sigh. Her mark-up is horrible! But I am saving pictures of my favourite items and I will be sewing them up so all is not lost! After all, that is what Style on a Shoestring is all about. Being fabulously stylish on a budget!

Here are some of my latest finds so you know I am not completely out of the game :)



Vintage hat Tom gave me for Yule from my wishlist :)

Vintage coat was a gift from my daughter Tarah's friend AJ who got it from a yard sale

Vintage lace slip from castlecharm on etsy for $7.00. Totally cute peeking out! This outfit was so much fun to wear!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and that your year to come will be filled with laughter and love and of course, loads of style! I look forward to spending it with you.

Pel