Guest Post : Jamie of Paint The Gown Red

Hey everyone - I have something a little different going on today. Jamie, of Paint The Gown Red, and I have swapped blogs for the day! Jamie is super adorable (I mean, look at that cat hat!), so please welcome her to HollyDolly. And don’t forget to head on over to Paint The Gown Red to check out my outfit!

#1

Why, hello wonderful Holly Dolly readers! I’m Jamie of Paint The Gown Red, and I am super excited to be here today to share with you my handmade style. I’m often inspired by Holly and her incredible handmade pieces, and thought for this guest post I’d challenge myself to put a little dolly in my dress. However having just learned to sew this year, my sewing skills are a tad limited. But everyone’s got to start somewhere. Can you guess which piece is a Jamie original? 

If you guessed the cat hat, you’re not completely off base. This adorable cloche was handmade, but not by me. It’s actually by Jessicozy for Dear Creatures. I first spotted the cap in the Dear Creatures Fall lookbook and contacted them immediately to see when and where I could get one. It wasn’t for sale. I must not have been the only one crying, “woe is me” for a few months later they started selling the lovely cat hats. 

The one of a kind item that is in fact handmade by yours truly, is the apple skirt. It was one of the first pieces I ever made, and I’m pretty pleased with the result. There’s something very special about handmade clothing; it’s never perfect, each piece is unique, and you can always see the time and labor invested in its production. To me, that makes handmade all the more valuable. 

Thank you Holly for letting me be a part of your lovely blog. I hope you all enjoyed my handmade style and please stop by Paint The Gown Red and say hello!  

#2

#3

#4

#5Blouse: Free People 

Skirt: Handmade

Petticoat: Legs Avenue 

Shoes: Barneys COOP

Hat: Jessicozy for Dear Creatures 

Purse: Vintage 

Handmade

handmade1

Ever since I started making weekly garments for Design Diary, it has also motivated me to tackle projects in my own to-do pile. The pattern and fabric for this dress has been sitting around for quite some time now, and I finally got around to putting it together. It might be a little late in the season to be making a plaid, flannel dress. But at least the bright colors make up for it and make it spring appropriate.

And now I’m even more excited to finish more garments in my project pile!

Stay tuned.  

handmade2

handmade3

handmade6

handmade5

dress: handmade (based off a vintage pattern)

necklace: shopHollyDolly

heels: Shoemint

Flamingos, and Giraffes, and Deer, Oh My!

IMG_6325

Where did I wanna spend my 25th Birthday? At the zoo, of course! The last few years that I lived in Buffalo, it kind of became tradition for Boo and I to go to the zoo right around my birthday. So I was really excited when the weather was so nice this past saturday, so we could carry on the tradition! I posted a few photos in my instagram recap yesterday, so I won’t overload on the animal photos. 

Instead, lets talk about my dress! If you follow along on Instagram, you may have seen that I was making myself a birthday dress. Well, ta-daaaaaaa. I picked this fabric up on a whim from the clearance section of Joanns. I had planned to whip up my own design, but seeing as I waited until the last minute (typical), I ended up using this Colette pattern. And I love it! Although, I’m pretty sure the pattern was designed for busty gals, because I had to alter it a loooooot up top. So be warned, if you want to give this pattern a try yourself!

IMG_6408 7.19.48 PMUntitled-2IMG_6201IMG_6377

Someone kept wanting to get in my pictures….

IMG_6370Untitled-1_3

dress: handmade, Colette Pattern No. 1001- Macaron

hair bow: shopHollyDolly (available now!)

flats: Blowfish Shoes (won in a giveaway) - here

Convert

IMG_5468

worn on January 16th, 2011

I told you that you would be seeing more of the faux fur items from yesterdays post :) I’m kind of obsessed with the vest, and I have the urge to wear it with everything. No really… everything. Would you mind? Well you may not have much of a choice, because I can pretty much guarantee you right now that you will be seeing a lot more of it.

Now I know why so many of you fashionable ladies are so into this fur trend. 

IMG_5541 IMG_5548 IMG_5579 IMG_5496

vest: handmade

tee: Urban Outfitters

skirt: Vintage

necklace: Express

belt: Coach

tights: H&M

boots: STEVEN Steve Madden

Stitches and Stitches

worn on June 15th, 2011

stitches #1: I mentioned the other day that I’ve been sewing a lot again. Well this top is something I’ve been working on. Polka dots and ruffles = my dream shirt. I can’t decide whether I want to keep it for myself or put it up for sale in my etsy shop. Actually, I wanna try this design out in a few other fabrics I have. So maybe after a few design adjustments (the neckline is a little lower than I would like) and construction changes, you may see a few of these babies in the shop. 

stitches #2: If you follow me on twitter you might have seen this last night. But not too long after these photos were taken, I had a little accident. I was making dinner, and the sneaky little knife slipped while I was chopping onions. It hurt. Bad. Long story short - I ended up in the ER and now have 5 stitches in my little baby pinky finger. Not only did I hurt myself, but the freakin’ Bruins won the Stanley Cup :/ Lets just say… I’m not a fan. It was a bad night, obvs. 

top: made by me

bandeau, pants, and sandals: Urban Outfitters

rectangle bracelet: Fusing Colors

flower bracelet: Janet Rhodes - Cleveland, OH