With 2011′s biggest event being the royal marriage the whole world seems to have wedding fever.  I have always had a love for wedding dresses, with their pretty details and acres of silk but recently I have been getting bored seeing the same old strapless gown over and over again. I decided to do a bit of research into alternative dresses. Don’t get me wrong, I still want pretty and white (nothing angers me more than a bride who doesn’t make an effort).

Although I have never actually made a wedding dress, I did come pretty close with this silk prom dress that I made for a friend’s black and white ball. The flower on the front is made from layers of silk and tulle with some pearls sewn into the middle. I think if you wanted a simple knee length dress it could be perfect.

Another knee length alternative is to go for feathers. I have rarely seen feathers used in wedding dresses, but why not? What could be more glamourous than this cute Marchesa dress.

For those that would prefer to be slightly more demure, this Ellie Saab dress covers you from the knee up with assorted circles and feathers.

Finally for those who want the long gown why not go down the sequin route…I know what you’re thinking but hear me out. Last summer I attended a number of Hindu weddings, where my dress had more in common with the napkins than the other guests who had beautifully embroidered and sequined saris. I’m not going to lie, I was outrageously jealous and it made me reconsider the use of sparkly things on my clothes. This Naeem Khan dress has exactly the right combination of simple shape but show stopping fabric. Perhaps leave out the feathered gillet (although definitely appropriate to wear on a different occasion)!

I’m in Canada, it’s winter, it’s cold, it might be blindingly bright outside but don’t let that fool you because it’s -25 degrees out there. I have to wear about 7 jumpers just to allow sufficient blood circulation. Last sunday I was sitting there with my ski socks on, browsing the the weekend online papers when I noticed the new Dolce & Gabbana collection and suddenly extreme jealousy set in. Not only are these girls bronzed goddesses while my skin is working a nice red/white mix, but they were wearing the most amazing summer dresses. That was it, I thought why not just recreate summer here, if you turn up the thermostat to maximum and open the blinds to let in the most amazing sunshine they have here it will be like summer just inside. If fate would have it these girls were wearing broderie anglais dresses, which couldn’t be more perfect for canada with a significant french population and an abundance of snowflakes shaped just like the patterns on broderie anglais fabrics.

So I searched a bit more and found my perfect selection of white broderie anglais dresses:

This one by Dolce and Gabbana would be amazing for lazying around the tuscan countryside, at first glance it’s quite modest but I love how you can see peeks of skin underneath.

This next one by Alexis Mabille has such a pretty top and would be a great dress to wear running around a hot city in the summer.

So I have playtime sorted but what about working…well I found this great outfit by oscar de la renta. Ok, perhaps a bit too grown-up but I think it’s sort of fun and I am in love with her hair!

I’m off to Germany next week to start an MBA, so in order to start my student life in style I thought it may be a good idea to throw a fabulous leaving party complete with a I-can-party-all-night-long-now-I-don’t-work outfit. I started off in an art-deco place but my pattern cutting quickly went in a different direction and I seemed to end up in the 50′s instead of the 20′s. As I’m not pencil thin it was probably a good thing anyway. Black and white is never a bad combination and I’m quite a fan of layering chiffon on top of a more sturdy fabric to create some interesting shades a patterns. The dress is an incredibly simple white “prom dress” with circles of chiffon sewn onto the bodice. I love that it’s too short to wear to a work party because for me there are no more work parties for a whole year!

With temperatures in London soaring and no sign of rain, I thought it would be a perfect time to research city looks that can withstand the heat but also are appropriate for work. I wanted to find outfits which would inspire me to design dresses which mix smart, sleek, causal and cool (as in temperature, although I’m not adverse to being the other “cool”). I thought a good place to start might be with Italian designers, as unlike us Britons they are annually blessed with several months of gorgeous sunshine. This white dress by Gucci would be perfect to wear right now, although the colour isn’t great for eating spaghetti with a rich tomato sauce it is great for at keeping you cool and shouldn’t we all just be eating salad in preparation for the beach anyway. The best thing about this dress for me is that it looks very smart but then it has all this great beading and detail at the top which keeps it really interesting and fun.

Inspired by the sun I also noticed this great yellow dress by DVF, as you already know I love making things out of silk but I’ve never made either a shirt dress or a wrap dress and I love how this combines the two. I don’t think you can fail to look chic in this dress no matter what the occasion.

Finally, I spotted this very pretty dress by Stella McCartney, although it has long sleeves it looks wonderfully airy with the light coloured fabric broderie anglaise decorated with mini holes.

A couple of weeks ago I opened my curtains to summer, it had finally arrived. With this abundance of sunshine and nothing better to do than sip Pimms in the garden I found myself with a distinct lack of suitable outfits. Sitting in the garden decorated with beautiful flowers I too wanted to be covered by bright pretty petals. Although one of my favourite challenges on project runway is creating a dress from plants and flowers, this did not seem like a very sustainable way to dress so instead I went about finding fabrics that gave the illusion of being flowerbeds. I quickly remembered a sari which my sister had got for me from india which was printed with yellow and green flowers and made me think of the alps during summertime. As I was in a hurry to get back to sunbathing I quickly put together a simple dress, with braided straps to give it an alpine feel. Not content with one new dress I also decided to make a simple pleated skirt from some japanese fabric I had been forced into buying by a pushy shop keeper a few months ago. It turned out to be a good buy as the skirt has been the recipient of many compliments.

With football fever gripping the country I was first inspired to research football fashion but this quickly bored me as t-shirts and shorts made out of shiny material are not what I like best, however my train of thought then moved to South Africa where the world cup is being hosted. After a bit of googling around I found out that South Africa is home to many amazing designers, which is no suprise really when you think of the fantastic traditional cottons that many Africans wear. Although many designers stick to using these classic fabrics many are using fabrics that are still dyed in classic colours but have a more contempary print. A great example is this dress I found by Chichia, which is incredibly simple in shape but a masterpiece in print – I love it!

The next beautiful dress that I spotted was the opposite of this one, simple in fabric, complex in design. The dress by Stoned Cherry has a greecian goddess feel to it, but a goddess who has moved to africa and dyed her white dress yellow to match the sun. The best part of the dress for me is the braiding, which really gives it a personal touch.

Finally I was very excited to find a highly intricate beaded dress by Spero Villoti, it should be sold with a warning to be worn only after 3 months of intensive gym going but if you can pull it off it would look amazing at a 1920′s flapper party. The dress is great, not only does it have a very cool pattern but also swinging beads at the bottom. I have been desperate to make something with osterich feathers for a long time but now I am thinking beads.

Designing may be my main passion but unfortunately it doesn’t pay the bills. Therefore I decided to venture into the world of office apparel. The clean lines and smart tailoring makes a nice change from my usual party dresses. That’s not to say workwear can’t be fun, with the right fabrics it makes 9-5 a joy. Making outfits for the office is actually fairly easy, I’ve made both a classic pencil skirt and shift dress, whose pattern’s deviated only fractionally from my basic blocks. Where I’ve really had some fun has been with the fabrics, as with most garments natural fibers look better. This is especially true in the office with harsh lighting, therefore I choose a beautiful red broderie anglaise for the dress. I love this fabric and it’s perfect for the office with it’s intricate detail smartly displayed in a single colour. Although the dress is very simple, the pockets on the side and black buttons down the back add some interesting details.

I’ve also made a brown woolen pencil skirt with a matching cape. The cape can be worn to work but also looks great with a pair of jeans or over a summer dress in the evening when it’s getting a bit chilly!

I’ve recently been through a monochrome phase, I don’t know if it’s the dull unispiring colours of the British winter or just because I seem to have an excess of black and white thread in my sewing box calling out to be used. All is not lost though, my penchant for black and white has been coupled with a desire for silk. Since reading the Great Gatsby I’ve been obessed with creating silken gowns, but alas my life does not revolve around weekends in the country where one has to dress for dinner and society balls. I do feel however life can always be made better if you do add a little silk to it so I have created some more useful pieces to my wardrobe. The first of these is a black silk party dress, it really is a great LBD. The front is fairly classic in style but the back is where the fun really starts, it has a beautiful draped cowl back with has great movement. I’ve also created a beautiful white silk blouse that can be worn to the office (see above post for a picture).

My sister has just come back from India armed with handfuls of beautiful fabrics (as well as plenty of jewellry, scarfs and bags). Apparently everywhere you look there are amazing saris and lengths of fabrics with fantastic prints. Although there are lots of places in london to get saris and other indian things, they don’t offer the range India has especially with the printed cotton. As someone who very much enjoys working with cotton, because it’s so easy to sew and wear, I was absolutely thrilled to get this lovely black and brown cotton. The leaves are hand printed on which gives it a very unique feel.

I decided that I wanted to make another summer dress that could be worn in the day or perhaps out in the evening with the right accessories. The top front and back are identical except I hand stiched together the front a little so it wasn’t too low! The bottom is about a metre and a half of gathered fabric. I think the simplicty of the design works well to showcase the beautiful fabric.

I had a great time last weekend at my one of my friend’s birthday party, it was held in a roller disco in South London. To make the party extra fun we all dressed as animals. As someone who has always like the fluffiness of bumble bees I felt nothing could be better and set about making a costume for myself and the other half of my swarm (my friend Rags!) The dresses were so simple and consisted of strips of black and yellow fun fur sewn together to create a stripy body!