I went to RegentTweet 2014!!

RegentTweet is a one-day treasure hunt meets marathon event happening on Regent Street, for professional bloggers. Apparently, I am one of those. I have been blogging since the late nineties, and running my SeamstressSophie blog since 2008. A few years ago i also added a blog to my main website (eurydice13.com), just because I wasn’t busy enough, clearly!

What happened….
The day started at Zedel, the french brasserie hiding under piccadilly… Sort of. It used to be a hotel, then things got bombed and it closed down… Only to be finally artfully restored and reopen barely two years ago! Speedy service, very good food, and the most old-world glamorous decor I have seen in a long time.

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I happily discovered through twitter that a friend was also attending, and as soon as we had registered, we snuck off to Godiva for some breakfast strawberries.

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That was a most excellent idea, because we then had to pose for the photographers…. And doing so on a stomach with strawberries in is a much better experience!

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The rest of the day was a blur of running from shop to shop, trying things on, discovering new brands, talking to shop owners, personal shoppers, sales assistants, and more. Here are some highlights, including the cutest miniature Paris Brest that goes with the “café gourmand” at Zedel.

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We finished the day at illy, at the north end of regent street. I love that caffe. It has inspiring and uplifting decoration, delicious coffee, excellent service, wifi, and huge windows that allow the light in. Heaven! Oh. And to die for sandwiches.

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And, lastly, thank you RegentTweet for all the wonderful things I got to take home on the day. I think my top three favourites have got to be the Brooks brothers non-iron shirt, the bootcut GAP jeans, and the illy art collection espresso cup! (the one thing not in the photo). I loved all gifts, these are just the three that I will most definitely keep forever and use the most.

A special mention should go to Karen Millen for the surprisingly well packaged yellow purse, and to Hackett for the wonderful monogrammed luggage tag. I LOVE it!!!

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Alexander McQueen sample sale?!

A friend went to a meeting in the building where, last night, there was an ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SAMPLE SALE!!! (this is for 2013)

I only just found out. Googled it. And realised I cannot make it there today or tomorrow. I’m gutted. Maybe next season. Definitely next season!

In the meantime, anyone who can go, should!

If I read the comments on that posting page, you need to print this image and show it at the door. It is your invitation. Enjoy!! And share the loot using #seamstressSophie ?

ALEXANDER-MCQUEEN-SAMPLE-SALE

better t shirts please!

Not enough t shirts with wide necklines.

I used to laugh at my grandmother who would chide me “cover yourself up, I can see your stomach” when I was playing on the floor with toys. Then I grew up. The chiding (and my peeking stomach) didn’t quite stop. Then I grew up some more. Moved to the UK. Crossed into my thirties. And realised, all of a sudden, that despite having survived temperatures in the negative 30s (yes, I’ve breathed minus 39C air. It hurts.), I was cold.

t shirt in kelly dress Of all places, I was cold in London! Why? I think it’s the humidity. So I took to wearing a tee shirt under everything in the winter. This is excellent practice as it protects jumpers, dresses, etc… from being sweat into. However, unless you’ve got a very closed collar, you end up having an ungraceful and unprofessional tee shirt neckline peek out.

When I’m wearing a very rare, 1950s Grace Kelly-esque vintage woollen dress with silk ribbon edging, I do _not_ want my Primark tee shirt to peek out from inside. I do want it to act as a barrier between my skin and the wool (in both directions, wool itches), but I don’t want anyone to know I’m wearing it.

This is a call to all t shirt manufacturers to think about how their t shirts are worn – most often under another garment – and make them easier to hide. Wider necklines. Soft fabrics. Long enough to tuck into low trousers or skirts. The closest I’ve found are the tees from Primark, but given that sometimes the people assembling them miss a seam… or the neckline trim is quite thick (and not something you want to show off in an office), I use them sparingly. And patiently wait for another company (perhaps H&M? The Gap? – the Gap has always had amazing jersey) to step in and do t shirts right.

As for my belly, it’s fairly toned, and still peeking. Except now, 30+ years on, I know why. I’m long-waisted. My waist is 1 to 2 inches lower than what most companies design for. This means I can’t shop for tailored dresses anywhere… (except at McQueen – which I can’t afford – or REISS) and it is the reason why this blog, and my sewing hobby, are kept alive.

Reiss dress

Reiss dresses do fit me properly

Vivienne Westwood’s buttons…

This weekend I went to Wimbledon. I wasn’t entirely clued in that we were going to go watch the tennis (I’d assumed this was a selfless shopping trip offer from my boyfriend. Oops.) and had some fun shopping. One of several (maybe 6?) stops was Question Air, where I came across a rack-full of Vivienne Westwood (one of my favourite designers!!). I looked at lots of things, but the item that caught my attention the most was a simple summery top with a cowl-necked front and straps leading to a squared open back. There were buttons down the side, and as I was trying it on, my boyfriend noticed one was missing. As if on cue, seconds later, “tap… tap tap tap…” another fell off!! You can play slot games at Kingcasino.com to distance yourself from stressful thoughts and situations because they give you exciting scenarios to think about.

The shirt was the last one in my size, and already reduced to £120 from goodness-knows-what. I bargained it down to £100 due to the 2 missing buttons. Thankfully the manager had found 1 button, and combined with the spare one in the box I could restore the garment. And (shh!) I had carefully picked up the one that fell off as well, so I do actually have 1 spare, just in case. As soon as I got home I took all of the buttons off (I needed a snip on 2 of the still-attached 4). The buttonwork on the garment was awful. They’d knotted double-thred once, and made about 3-4 loops around the button, without securing it at the end!! Obviously the buttons would fall off!! Vivienne would do well to check the work coming out of her italian manufacturers!

In other news, we did make it to the Courts in Wimbledon, and despite just having grounds tickets (post 17:00, for £14 only!!) we got into Court 1 and watched the last set of the really good match between Querrey and Malisse. Disappointed that Querrey won, but whatcha gonna do?

When I got back home, I found that the green silk dress I’d gotten at the previous London Fashion Weekend had bled a LOT of colour into the washbasin. So much so that my hands would come out coloured blue! (ok, blue-green, but let’s not get technical). So the next day I ran off to Primark while England was being destroyed by Germany’s blitz-team and got me a wifebeater (tank top in the UK. North americans have a much more colourful name for it though!) in white. Which I subsequently dunked into the coloured silky soup. It’s still in there, more than 24 hours later. I shall be getting it out tonight (possibly) using dishwashing gloves. My hands went blue after seconds in there. I’m not dunking them in again!! I’m curious to see how it will come out. And if the colour will stay on in the next wash.

Also, I came across this pair of shoes in LOOK (a decadent weekly glossy with silly things and gossip, but it’s a fun browse) and I am _so_ tempted to buy them!!!

FCUK Sample Sale!!

FRENCH CONNECTION SAMPLE SALE

Womens dresses from £20, Tops from £10

Mens jackets from £40,  Shirts from £20

Kidswear and accessories from £5

New stock arriving daily

FRIDAY 29th MAY 09.30 to 19.00
SATURDAY 30th MAY 10.00 to 17.00
SUNDAY 31st MAY 10.00 to 16.00

CENTRO ONE
39 CAMDEN STREET
LONDON
NW1 0DX
(Entrance on Mandela Street)

No parking on site (street only, so you’d have to be very very lucky)
Nearest tube: Mornington Crescent / Camden Town (Northern line)

£1 Entrance fee will be donated to the Leukemia Trust (Registered charity number: 216032)

No cheques or Amex accepted
Enquires 020 7036 7200

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T’is the season!!

I go to the FCUK sale every 6 months, and invariably find great pieces to take home!! I can’t wait to go to this one too, and see what goodies I might unearth this time! Also, the discount is pretty significant, especially if you’re a sample size (8-10) where you can grab items like jeans or tailored jackets for £10!

(not so) Secret Sample Sale!

To my great joy (and slight panic-stricken dismay) there are TWO sample sales this weekend!

Both at the same time (eeek!) and thankfully at the same place!



Both sales are held:

7th-9th May 2010
Friday 12pm – 8pm
Saturday 12pm -7pm
Sunday 12pm – 6pm

T2, THE OLD TRUMAN BREWERY
87 BRICK LANE LONDON E1 6QL

TUBES: Old Street, Aldgate East, Liverpool Street, & Shoreditch.

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Monday-after update.

It wasn’t too big, the stuff wasn’t any more discounted than at London fashion Weekend (!!) and in all honesty I’ve seen nicer things at Dorothy Perkins. I did splurge on a Vivienne Westwood baby blue gingham graffiti shirt (£99), and a poofy summer dress by eucalyptus (£48). But generally, there really wasn’t much, or much of a discount. 🙁 My friend got lucky, finding a gorgeous Patrick Cox handbag for £200 instead of £350! But there weren’t that many great things.

I wouldn’t go again, whereas I’m a regular to the FCUK one. Btw! It’s coming up!!!

Purple faux fur jacket and the V&A

I didn’t make this one. I found it at the Woking Hospice Charity shop (for £12!!) and decided to alter it. At an over-generous size 12 from Oasis, it was huge on me.

So I put a seam down each sleeve to make them more narrow. And a seam down each side of the body at chest/waist height, to make it narrower there too for a warmer, tighter fit.

I also moved the hooks it has for closures from the edge of the coat to the side, turning it from a single-breasted jacket to a double-breasted one. There are no buttons to emphasize this, just a thicker front. Amusingly, the side pockets overlap right on the front. Thankfully, I’m not too scared of looking too padded, so I’ve happily been walking around in it all weekend. It’s much warmer than my French Connection wool & cashmere coat, despite being 100% synthetic. I guess the thickness of the fur makes up for lack of good materials!!

Bottom line is that if you find such a jacket for sale anywhere, altering it is incredibly easy (took me less than 30min while pausing to watch Adventures of a London Call Girl on tv) and definitely worth it!

Oh, and this weekend I dropped by the V&A to see their decode exhibition. Some cool interactive things, but nothing to really make me go WOW. Aside from one exhibit which allowed the users to upload pictures and participate that way in the “art” being shown… If they have an IPHONE. I’m a user / visitor too. And I was not allowed to participate.  And that’s everything that’s wrong with Apple and its fanatics. I’m a user too. Why segregate?

On the bright side, there was a goooooorgeous dress on show. Can’t remember from whom. Oh, right, Christian Lacroix. Of course. 🙂  Too elaborate to truly be worn, and yet so surprisingly desirable…

Christian Lacroix gown at the V&A

Planning a “Tuxedo Tuesday” with friends. Loosely inspired by Barney’s “suit up” line on How I met your mother, combined with us girls’ perpetual desire to dress up but not having sufficient occasions for it. *sigh*. Maybe some day soon!! Anyone ever tried it? Where did you go? We were thinking a pub, or hotel bar…