Simplicity - Amazing Fit Pattern 1354 - Dress C

Dress C is short sleeves with fully covered back. I did tell S I was gonna make her a silk dress and this is the final dress for this pattern set. It's latte coloured silk with full interfacing already ironed-on. I like how its all shiny when the light hits it.

Sewing the sleeves was the challenging part. Ensuring it matched up exactly with the back band and total circumference.

Marc Jacobs Spring Summer 2015

Marc Jacobs does a militaria inspired collection for the girls this season, clothes delivered in a high fashion style that attests to his creative genius.

In menswear this season, Marc Jacobs tries to recreate a younger hodge-podge style that is not trying too hard and totally casual.

Did you hear Marc by Marc Jacobs will no longer be, as the primary label decided to merge its contemporary and designer collections into 1. 

 So these are the latest bags from Marc by Marc Jacobs this spring/summer 2015.

Textile Centre

Changing to a smaller wallet for my budget and purposes these days. There is a coin compartment in this Gucci.

Checking out Textile Centre @ 200 Jalan Sultan Road for sewing accessories and affordable fabrics. Surprised to find ready-made clothes and bags there too.

The big surprise for me are the sewing machine presser foots, most people think these footings come with the sewing machine at purchase. It's rarely sold on its own and here there is an entire rack full of footings from ruffle to non-slip. Other sewing machine parts like bobbin cases and needles are also available.

Great finds are the cute buttons sold in lots and spools of  pre-stuffed binding coz I am such a fan of binding and its soo expensive/rare to find.

Great bargains are the commercial thread ends sold by the kilo, $3.50 for a plastic bag full. Fabric @ $80/bale.

My haul: sewing machine footings, mermaid pearls, teal pre-stuffed binding and lamé that is absolutely not lame,

Matrix Biolage Fortetherapie Thermo Active Repair Cream

A nourishing leave-in hair treatment that has heat shield technology to protect against heat styling damage. Can we all agree this is true, we need to dry our tresses with a hairdryer that causes damage. So now I can wash my hair, rub on some of this cream then dry it with a hairdryer.

Matrix Biolage line of haircare products are all natural and in a way organic. So its gentle and safe to use daily. This one has mango butter in it, love the scent.

Frozen Lamp Chops

I love lamb chops! The frozen lamp chops from FairPrice are surprisingly good, $9.95 a pack. I don't buy frozen meat as it's usually quite tough but these are ok. Sometimes the chops are too fatty and need to be trimmed before cooking.  A few minutes on the grill and its done, enjoy! 

Simplicity - Amazing Fit Pattern 1354 - Dress B

Dress B is the short sleeves version of Dress A. I am making both dress A & B for my cousin Sylvia as this is the perfect size for her. I chose a pink & black mixed media fabric for this dress that she will be wearing to her brother's wedding this year. 

Full interfacing that is supposed to help the fabric hold its shape better or drape nicely.

Sewing sleeveless and sleeved versions of the same dress are different. Amendments have to be made to the order of fabric pieces sewn, as well as how much space to leave on the back band.

Final dress!

Missoni Spring Summer 2015

Womens wear this season is surprisingly formal. There are lots of collared shirts, boxy coats and trenchcoats. Lots of bright colours and watercolour florals. All this in addition to its signature chevron stripes of knitted fabric in flowy dresses and swingy tops.

Missoni Menswear is decidedly more relaxed beach comber style. With hoodies, T-shirts and cardigans in its signature zig zag knits. The signature knit done into a suit is interesting and definitely one to pick up for the clothes horse's collection.

Cartoon Merchandise Gifts

This year, I am gifting the little kids stuff from supermarkets. My bro has been asking me to change to food gifts the last couple of years and it is finally setting in. So I bought all the cute cartoon merchandise I could find to fill up gift bags for their birthdays.

Starting with these kids shower gels & shampoos. There are tons of cartoons to choose from, I only bought these based on scents. Hot Wheels, Monster High, Captain America and Iron Man. Buy from Beauty language, 2 for $20 or $10.

Sanrio and Disney Snacks from Cheers, priced between $2 to $5. It's not just the packaging and fun stuff to do on the back of the box, The biscuits are really yummy, the chocolate is marshmellowy and strawberry is creamy.

All the stuff I could find at FairPrice. There are Japanese flavour packets for rice, lemon tea that tastes very clean & fresh, wet wipes and tissue paper.

Cartoon Pasta from Cold Storage, the kids really love these. I think each colour is a different flavour as well.

More perishables from the supermarket, Dutch Lady milk and Sun Moon cut fruit packages. Topped up the bags with toothbrushes and toothpastes from Watsons/Guardian.

Korres Santorini Vine Set

Another gift I received is this Korres set of Santorini Vine Shower Gel and Body Lotion. I gift and use Korres fruitilicious bath products often. Everyone I gift this brand to, adores the true fruitiness. It's like there is pureed fruit inside (hopefully not). Santorini Vine is an ancient white grape indigenous to Santorini. It's not the grapiness I am used to, its very sweet and citrusy. Incidentally, this is the only Korres range I have yet to try so am looking forward to using it.

Yoghurt Drinks

Think of it as smoothies or lassi in a bottle. Prepacked in fruity flavors so you can consume in the comfort of your own home or pack it into your family's lunchbox. I am a huge advocate of these drinks because it not only tastes great (its a given that it has to taste great), it contains lactobacillus acidophilus that your body needs a certain amount of to maintain the normal functioning of your digestive tract and milky drinks help remove chili/pepper heat after a meal.

Marigold Yoghurt Drink

Blended with fruit juice, 0% fat. 700ml bottle @ $2.80.

Bliss Yoghurt Drink

Sweeter option that is low fat. 700ml bottle @ $3.

Magnolia Yoghurt Drink

Contains fruit chunks or nata-de-coco in it. 800ml bottle @ $3.05.

Simplicity - Amazing Fit Pattern 1354 - Dress A

Amazing Fit is Simplicity's plus size line for bigger women, its also called Amazing Fit as there are different patterns for varying cup sizes and even alteration instructions to achieve the perfect fit.

Dress A is a sleeveless dress with triangle cutout at the back. Perfect for a day dress that I am creating out of this green cotton fabric.

To liven up the dress, metallic thread is used to create decorative trims. You can also buy trimmings and sew it on. Matching colour tones adds detailing to the dress without being obvious.

The finished dress!

Jil Sander Spring Summer 2015

Jil Sander is famous for her less is more style of fashion and inextricably linked to Fashion House Prada and affordable clothing brand Uniqlo. Her sensible aesthetic is reflected in her clothes. This season we see a dash/stripes print.

In Menswear its this faded blue print with white background, very casual and relaxed.

We do see some colour in dusty pink and warm yellows. It looks really cruise-ish, resort-ish. White is turning out to be a big trend for the guys.