Rose Cafe Bustier + M7971

Shoes | Coclico

      I finally made the very popular Rose Cafe Bustier dress pattern in a gorgeous deadstock Amour Vert silk. A few months back I met up with a lady I know from the sewing internet and she took me to Fabrix, which mostly stocks deadstock/leftover/overstock fabrics, and which I definitely recommend if you are in SF. It is the type of place where you probably never know what you are going to find, but you'll probably always find something good. In this case, this 100% silk (which has an abstract animal print and is such a pretty rich berry color in person) was only $6.99 a yard! I bought 3 yards but wish I had bought a little more. I initially thought about turning it into a slip dress, but the slip dress pattern I have is cut on the bias, and this fabric isn't very wide, so I decided against that because I was worried that there was not enough extra fabric to recover from any mistakes. After seeing a few inspiration photos online, I landed on making a Reformation style dress (sample photo below) by using the RCB pattern for the bodice, mashed up with the McCall's 7971 for the skirt. I also decided not to make a toile, to test the fit, and decided to just cut right into the silk.

Mexico City: Outfits & Shopping

Windbreaker | Oiselle
Pants | Rag & Bone (secondhand)
Purse | Me Made (Free All Well Full Moon Bag)

     I'm a chronic over-packer, but when I went on a recent trip to Mexico City I restricted myself to a carry-on and purposefully left room in the bag, anticipating I was going to do some shopping. I basically wore the same thing everyday but here is a look at those outfits, along with some photos of the shopping (All of the brands are Mexico based brands and I did not get all of these pieces, btw).

     I think the MVP article of clothing was the above windbreaker, which is the Oiselle April Showers Anorak. I bought it on clearance about two years ago and never really needed it in Dubai, so it's been mostly sitting in my closet. It's very lightweight and has a hood and front zipping pocket. The sleeves have elastic ends so they fit snugly and it is very easy to squash into a ball and fit into my purse (the circle purse above) even when it was full with a wallet, phone, keys and hand sanitizer. I would say it is more water resistant than outright waterproof but worked well when we got caught in the daily light rain. (It was of no use in the full-blown thunderstorm.)