October fashion screensaver inspired by Kirafashion

(click here to upload the screensaver or print a copy.)

In a whim, I drew the October screensaver inspired by the beauty, natural grace and stylish love for fashion, expressed by Kira, who writes the Brazilian fashion blog http://www.kirafashion.com.br/.

Until pen touches paper, I actually never know what I am going to draw, and this month was no exception. My pencils just sort of found their way around the page, until the message came through.

When I’m drawing I want to bring the viewer into an imaginary world that is filled with the mood, the feelings and the glow of the natural changes in the seasons that inspire my fashion swings.

For October, I’ve carried Kira into a forest, filled with the gentle winds of fall and styled her with a black leather biker jacket, thigh high boots, lacey tights and the denim Parisian pouf skirt (naturally from my book, Denim Revolution.) It’s a romantic mix of old and new, the familiar and the unexpected, reflecting the friendships that we value. I hope it inspires you to be free, express yourself and enjoy October and all that it blows into your world.

How to mend and patch jeans like a fashion pro

- click here for tutorial -

Sometimes jeans are literally hanging together by threads and it's time to express your fashion prowess, experiment with your sewing skills and start mending and patching. Not only will it improve the durability and life of the jeans ... but it is so fun to enjoy the results.

On this blog, I am going to share with you some mending and patching tutorials - starting right here (click here) with my most basic technique, and also a heavenly one - just for denim - that I call, "cat and mouse."

Hope you love it, and shoot me any questions or images!

Denim is our comfort clothing and more

(above and below - Ralph Lauren Spring 2010 collection)
Denim is our comfort clothing. And when it becomes shredded, worn, ripped and stained it is even more appealing and personal. That's the moment when our jeans take on a new energy – built around a romantic history of having lived, loved and traveled. Designers know this and try to find ways to satisfy and define their denim beliefs. Carine Roitfeld and French Vogue rarely let an issue go by without a denim story or at least the "model's own jeans." Currently, at the spring 2010 fashion shows on both sides of the Atlantic, designers are sending jeans down the catwalk, that look like they are the model’s own, accessorized like model’s do, with all the knick-knacks that they seem to inherit from the previous shows or fittings. The look is never more charming when it is authentic and you do it yourself, mending, patching or beading your own way.

Hobo jeans

Old rugged jeans have been reinvented into these lush, hobo jeans, by a quilter with an abundance of wonderful patches ... I love what she did and wanted to share it - as it reminds one to stash away fabric scraps and even old or stained clothing if the fabric is interesting, as they soon become our "new" treasures and the latest fashion looks!

A peek into the CHANEL atelier

While ... roaming around the internet, I landed on stylebubble, who’s enthusiasm for fashion discoveries and her daring style is always sooo inspirational, and she led me to these wonderful photos by Luciano Fileti, that capture a very privy view into the Chanel atelier, the craftsmen and women, with their beautiful working tables, their delicate, whimsical and stylish touch, on all things and everything in between - creating marvelous fantasies. Isn’t it simply amazing what one can do with paper, and black and white!

... and powdered ink, ... is that what this is? And how fine craftmanship seems to transcend fashion, place and time, and carry you into another world ... .