I liked some of her excerpts from her sketchbook about her clothes

I’m pretty sure this cape or whatever it is is pretty strange and awesome. Like nothing I have ever seen.

Designs by Common Place

Kind of nice how models were “fuller” back then, but also unfortunate that I even use the word “fuller” because the models above aren’t full at all, just compared to how
anorexic the girls look today…

via Indecorous taste

I won’t pretend I’m vietnamese or an expert at making their food but I might go bankrupt from spending 7$ everytime I want Vietnamese summer rolls at Whole foods so I decided I should learn how to make these myself. To my surprise these are deceptively hard to make! I think I ripped and demolished about four rolls (the skin is extremely delicate after you dunk it in hot water) and all the insides fell out because of my slashed wrappers!

Crepe like vietnamese spring rolls, these turn transparent when cooked.

70% of this dish starts out with dried carbs. Don’t think because they aren’t fried or slathered with thick sauce that they are ass or thigh friendly!!

Use fresh shrimp, or if you’re really feeling like Rachel Ray, just use cooked shrimp that come in those cocktail packs at the supermarket… I skewered them before steaming them to keep them very straight so they are easy to roll up.

Don’t overcook the shrimp, undress them and take the sticks out. You see how they’ve remained pretty straight.

After slightly cooking the outer wrapper, shock them in cold water so you can handle them and lay it out on a clean board. Start your first layer with fresh cilantro, and add on horizontally sliced shrimp. Place the colored side DOWN so that when you’re done rolling them they look somewhat attractive.

Thinly sliced carrots, use a mandolin…Also marinate them in Nước chấm (I made mine without the red hot chili pepper) sauce so the carrots don’t taste too plain.

Add Boston lettuce (not too much) Bun noodles, or vietnamese rice noodles…also marinate this in a bit of Nước chấm sauce.

Roll it up…

When you’re done it should look something like this. You see mine look pretty hefty..but I think its more traditional to make them thinner like thick pipes? Not sure..they taste good both ways..but if you want to make it thinner just add less stuff.

Its also common to use peanut sauce but I prefer the clean tasting Nước chấm sauce.

I know that Ghesquiere is called out for lifting other designer’s work verbatim, but he was one of the first designers in college that I really got excited about. I think in a way he sort of redefined womenswear. Before Ghesquiere, designers were either “unwearable and fanstastically creative” (like Galliano, Mugler, and JPG) or they were “commercial and wearable”. Ghesquiere sort of made me realized you don’t have to compensate for the two, that it can be both. He bridged the gap without compromising for creativity. This was one of my favorites of Ghesquiere, I think its fall 2004.

The jacket is by Juun J. I think the design is amazing. Half motorcycle jacket, half regular, 1/4 fur…Too bad for me its already sold at seven new york!

Singer is one of the oldest sewing machine companies, and their design model doesn’t change much. You know sewing machines have stayed the same for ages…unlike apple products that change and break on repeat. (I still have no idea why I yearn for the iPad….iTampon..iWhatever…knowing that its basically a laptop with a hacked off cover and no keypad, also if you’re one of those people who likes to have a million windows open between multiple apps, you can forget about “iPad” being worth $500, rather buy half a designer shoe..)

Anyway my studio is getting too cluttered with sewing machines. Its getting a little hectic in here, 1 home sewing machine, 1 industrial machine , 2 sergers, 1 Pfaff, 1 tippman and now this ancient looking thing. Just made its way over the weekend into my studio. You can see this machine has a very narrow base so I can sew tight spaces..Can’t wait to start using it!

Voluspa Candles

Running low on Diptyque Coriander, I was on a search for other candle brands. These Voluspa candles are my new favorite, I like to have one burning on my desk if I’m working on something at night. My favorite scents are “Fleurs de Fete” and “Tuberosa Agave”. Each candle comes in a decorative tin with its own cap so the smell doesn’t air out..