more stuff I made

This post is another tribute to my dear friend B. who never seizes to inspire me to try new things.

While visiting her, she was knitting a circular, twisted shawl  – a Moebius scarf.  Like with most everything, she pointed me to a you-tube tutorial by Cat Bordhi. (this is the one).  But not only was I intrigued by the scarf, I also loved the needles my friend was using.

The system itself is pretty well known – various gauge needles that attach to a cable of varying length, in order to fit your particular project. HOWEVER, this pictured system (Knit Pro) is only available in Europe as of now. I did get two different gauges of needles and two cables.

Since you knit this scarf in an endless loop, I had no real sense of how many stitches I needed. In addition, the cable is twisted like a figure 8 and therefore you cannot try on the scarf as you go.

Which resulted in this:

a turtleneck!

Well, I wasn’t discouraged that easily. I watched Cat Bordhi’s video one more time and in it, she offers a free pattern on her website, which I printed out and took with me on my last trip to Europe. I actually started to knit ON THE PLANE over.

just right to fit around my shoulders

My friend was knitting a length that would twist around your neck twice, but I am actually pretty pleased with how this turned out as you can see the twist of the scarf. This gets two thumbs up from me… thanks to following the instructions.

Rummaging around in my mother’s closet, I found a leftover of yarn, that I started to use when I finished the blue scarf above.

not quite as wide on my shoulders

For this one, I invented the pattern and drew it out on graph paper first. This one literally had to end when I ran out of yarn.

I like my Moebius creations. They are a perfect necklace alternative.

And as for the knitting needles, I am now scouting for another project. I have already been to a yarn store!

 

… add a layer!

For a while, I was interested in this one dress we presently have at the store. I tried it on multiple times but could not quite decide that it looked good on me. In fact, I wasn’t so much interested in the DRESS but in the SLIP that came with it. Getting the dress just for the slip? No.

The slip is actually a nice dress all in itself. A sleeveless little shell. Would work well as a summer dress. Well as a little number UNDER some things. Also well with a t-shirt and the dress OVER it.

However, I still wasn’t going to get the dress even for those many possibilities.

So what’s a girl to do? ( … a girl with  a good number of sewing machines at home?) —–>>> MAKE ONE!

I did.

It is not black. It is burnt orange.

I made it from some soft bamboo that I had left over.

So okay, it is still officially Winter here and I wanted to wear this dress in any of the ways I had imagined wearing the one at the store.

bottom layer: tights

Here you see the ‘store’ (black) dress, my self-made dress and some tight options. Getting excited!

striped tights, 2nd hand jacket

Now I HAD to wear my knocked-off  dress to work. This was a decent day, not too cold, so I threw on a lightweight cotton jacket and my favorite hip belt.

the 'cold' outfit

But what if it gets colder and I still want to take my orange slip dress out? I threw on a heavier wool cardigan. I am pleased with my little summer dress/slip/shell.

(Needless to say that I now OWN the cardigan. Did not plan on that. But am HAPPY! )

I’m not a Jeans girl

… or so I thought.

There was a time in my life where you would not even see me in any PANTS at all. So much so that a friend of mine once remarked that he almost would not have recognized me because he had only known me in skirts and dresses.

all shapes, all colors...

Well times have changed. I moved to the country of Levi’s, and I started to wear pants. A lot more. I even made some myself. Admittedly, pants are the hardest piece of garment to fit on a woman. (that’s why I don’t carry a lot of them at the store…) Try to fit a pair of Levis’s on me and it simply won’t work. I might be skinny but I do have CURVES. What I need on the hips gapes on the waist! I did a lot better with corduroy, dress pants and slacks.

Remember the time of the ‘carrot’ jeans – wide on the thigh, high on the waist and narrow at the bottom?  This type fit me for the narrow waist but, boy, were they ever uncomfortable! The pair I owned quickly got relegated to work pants.

I found Jeans in particular hard, cold and … not quite dressy enough.  Later, I gasped at the high price of torn up jeans, a concept I still don’t understand. (luckily, that FAD seems to have faded…)

The addition of spandex to Jean fabric was a revelation to me. Finally Jeans were comfortable to wear! Also, bringing the waist down solved the gap problem… and I bought a pair of medium-rise, medium dark Jeans at a woman’s home show, which lasted me a very long time. (probably because I did not wear them that often)

I now own a good half dozen pairs of Jeans. Light blue to super dark.  I love them all and wear them often. My favorite brand seems to be Mavi, a line out of Turkey. Their rise comes to just below the belly button, which makes them comfortable to bike in. I can also eat quite a bit without having to pop the button open.

Jeans CAN be very dressy, especially the darker kind.

... paired with a fancy cardigan

Jeans ALWAYS look good combined with a a blouse

or a white shirt.

Jeans can dress DOWN a fancy jacket or top.

Dark Jeans work well for the office combined with a jacket and they can dress UP a simple t-shirt or ‘bland’ sweater.

I am now definitively a Jeans girl!

Happy New Year!

 

… and so the Holidays begin

With one US American Holiday solidly behind us, the next one is FAST approaching.

First order of business:  Get the Christmas lights up at the shop.

And while I am the one that cuts their Christmas tree three days before Christmas is actually happening and decorates it maybe TWO days before – you simply cannot wait that long when you have a store.  We need to get our customers into the Christmas shopping spirit as ’tis is the season that helps us pay our bills.  Big time.

At least we waited until AFTER Thanksgiving.

Like always, Naomi is our creative director and I simply help putting things together.  And also like always, I think our windows turned out spectacular!

Then boxes with new merchandise arrive… and they contain heavenly items fit for a PARTY!

Darlin of London - Elsie skirt and Faye cardi with grey pearls!

Elsie skirt paired with Hazel cardi (gold lurex shimmmer!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these items can be worn separately -  the two cardigans will look stunning paired with black slacks or jeans and the skirt can be worn mostly all year!

Darling of London Ciara dress, black chiffon with flower embroidery on top!

Darling of London Elsie dress - same fabric like the above skirt and POCKETS!

Hazel fully lined lace mini dress - thanks to sweet Simone to model this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Citrine, we also have everything to go with these adorable outfits – from stockings to scarves, jackets to coats AND the best jewelry!

Yesterday, this beautiful lady came in to get earrings to match the black chiffon dress.  She wanted the earrings to be the center piece of her outfit and Michelle Obama to notice them.

Chalcedony drops on sterling by YedOmi

Yes, you read that right – these earrings are going to the WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS PARTY!!!

 

got dresses?

Need tights!

Tights are warm!

Tights make the outfit complete!

Tights shape your legs!

Tights are sexy!

….and today’s wool tights DO NOT itch!

Falke Twist (black and petrol available)

Smartwool Estonia (teal mix and black/grey available)

Smartwool Galloon (fuchsia and black available)

Falke Smart (bronze and platinum available)

Falke Sign (black/grey)

making a shirt case

Admittedly, throwing on a sweater or a t-shirt is a lot simpler than a buttoned shirt. A shirt you have to iron, hang, and button. HOWEVER, a shirt looks so well dressed. A white one even more so.

The white shirt looks clean, crisp and makes a statement of confidence. You can combine a white shirt into endless outfits; it can stand by itself, as a jacket or double as an additional layer.

A white shirt on slacks or dark jeans looks very professional. Worn open over a long-sleeved t-shirt together with a scarf looks romantic and adds warmth.  Buttoned up and tucked in with a contrasting camisole underneath jazzes up an otherwise bland outfit.

At the store, we have a few white shirts right now that I played with the other day:

long shirt, basket weave cotton (Whitewash)

This shirt accentuates a woman’s  body without being clingy. Because if the long darts in the front, it is supposed to be worn OVER pants or a skirt. It would look best on a tall, high-waisted woman – the proportions are just right!

a great combination!

the same shirt with a shawl and under a long vest

white - with fun accents! (Whitewash)

A crisp white shirt that is a little different. Printed flowers inside the neck and the cuffs, flower embroidery down the left arm along with the stripes make this the perfect shirt for jeans and boots!

stripe shirt with a color pop!

A last one for drama – this shirt is is structured it has so much going on that you almost forget that is is WHITE!

dramatic collar, topstitching, wide tie (Anni Kuan)

bonus attributes

Admittedly, I fall for unusual stuff. In the past, I have bought clothing that had an interesting shape, wild pattern or consisted of a variety of (suspicious) materials. Very often, there was only one left in the store and also very often, it was on SALE because of that. Combine an unusual item with a sale price – you got me.

I probably don’t have to tell you that as soon as the ‘unusual’ item joined the other inhabitants of my closet, it discovered it had NO friends. Nothing that would even remotely look good with it. Questioning my sanity, I would ask myself in bewilderment WHAT on earth got me to buy that thing in the first place, let alone what I imagined pairing with it. Yet, it was there. In order to justify the purchase I would break it out a few times, wear it, love/hate it….and ultimately get rid of it after many seasons of just taking up space on a hanger.

I have gotten slightly better and can stay away from beautiful (but difficult) fabrics and clothing that is intriguing but highly impractical. Having a store helps. Buying clothing for customers has taught me a thing or two about what works and what not.

Pockets:  we always have stuff that needs to go someplace.

Elastic Waist:  no two people are alike and waist circumferences are amazingly flexible.

Reversible: the ultimate travel solution – two garments in one!

 

reversible cashmere/silk shawls by Rapti - so soft and comfortable!

pockets on this Anni Kuan skirt! put both hands in and look cool!

elastic waist and feminine! (by Darling of London)

elastic waist AND reversible, new skirts by Indira

Pulling items from the store to photograph these outfits, I found so many separates to go together… I bet any of these would have lots of companions in YOUR closet!

 

 

photo shoot

Although not a shy person, I am always reluctant to ask my customers to pose for a picture when they buy (or try on) an outfit that looks just right on them. Call it privacy reasons. Call it lack of real camera skills. I just don’t do it and later regret not having pictures of anything on a REAL person.

By the time I have a serious photo shoot with a professional photographer and the pictures up, I usually have sold out of the merchandise.

Most of the time, I am trying something on at the shop and want pictures RIGHT THERE AND THEN. Still in love with the camera on my phone, I have taken a  good number of pics of MYSELF and will take the risk of posting them RIGHT HERE.  Call it self-promotion. Shameless self-promotion, because all of what I have on looks FABULOUS on me. There you have it. (I DID say, I wasn’t shy)

Neesha black dress, Falke fishnet stockings

This dress either shows off cleavage, a nice necklace or can be worn with a camisole underneath. The stockings are out of this world.

Hazel beaded racerback top

A little ‘complicated’ number that I had to tweak a bit to make it good. The front was gaping, therefore I added two pleats… and now it fits!

Hazel ruched turtleneck, Sofada lace sheath, Anni Kuan crop jeans

You can’t see the lace really well but this hot sheath will look good over anything tight-fitting. I love the cowl neck on the sweater! (shows off my pretty YedOmi necklace)

Mavi Cora low rise, super dark denim jeans

 I’ve been sneaking around these jeans for days now. I really do not need another pair of jeans but they fit so well! I am small but curvy and most jeans gape in the back for me.  Not this one!  They hug my hips just right and have the right flare at the bottom to make my legs look proportioned.

Wanna see for yourself? Come on over and try on any of these!

the little skirt that could

Summer is all about skirts!

Skirts come is so many shapes and colors – narrow and full, mini and long, printed, striped, checkered… They are so versatile – they can look as if part of a dress, draw all the attention to them, will work on a body that has different size requirements for top and bottom…

They are breezy and cool for summer weather. And they are so feminine!

When you look at MY closet, you might think, I am collector of skirts. I have SO many. In silk, cotton, linen, wool – lined and unlined, full and pencil. I wear skirts year round – short ones with tights in the winter, more modest lengths in summer.

The colors! The patterns! … and then I realized I have hardly a solid color skirt.

That’s when I decided I will try this Neesha skirt that is selling really well at the shop for myself.

it is simply GRAY.

 Like with all items that I take home from the shop, I needed first to see with WHAT this one would work before I make up a definite opinion.

And, wow, did this little number surprise me! I was able to make this skirt fit for the office, make it look retro, matched a huge number of tops to it!

To give you an impression, I have put together a few looks (of the many) to show this skirt off.

easy outfit, great color combination

elegant with silk blouse

airy with my decade-old halter top

a blouse I hardly ever wear

retro with halter top

simple: gray and white

dressed up with fitted blouse

paired with Neesha t-shirt

an undergarment dilemma

A while back, I scored this awesome top by Anni Kuan on ebay.

It is a deep black silk mix with subtle lurex sparkles all over. I also love the neat bead work around the edge.

What I especially love about this sweater is the unusual neckline… almost square, not quite. Wider on the bottom that around the shoulders.

I took this sweater to Europe twice this last year, thinking that I will find an occasion to wear it. Let’s just say, occasions I had. But I ended up NOT wearing it because I did not have the right bra to fit THIS particular neckline.  No matter what I put on or how much I stretched the straps to the outside, one part of my bra would always show. I will admit that I do not own a whole lot of them, because -um- I guess, I really do not have that much that need holding up and prefer to go without whenever possible. So the variety this sweater needed was not in my possession and the sweater went back home, unworn, un-admired, twice.

That’s when I decided I need to do something about it and ask an expert. Because I DO want to wear this beautiful piece.

I trotted over to Victoria Secret and asked the ‘expert’ ladies there (who are, btw, half my age or younger…).

What I needed was a ‘balcony bra’! Something with a wider chest, a lower cups and the straps as far on the side as possible.

It works!

And while at it, I chose this model.  Might as well, huh?

roooaarrrr!