Purple "Express" Vest

This is a post I've been sitting on for a while, and I decided (since I have to urge to post something) to share this one. Especially since I'm wearing it today :)

This is a project I worked on when I was in school. One of my classes gave us a team assignment to design a line of clothing for Express. In teams of 5, we had to create a cohesive collection of 10 articles of clothing (2 per person). It was a long project that we had to put a lot of work into, but it all turned out beautiful. We also had an end of the semester fashion show in which all of the teams, from each class, showcased their collections.

I created a pair of pants (that I wore for the show, we ended up rolling up the bottom) and a purple, button down vest. The pants are a gray linen with a zipper closure, belt loops, with pockets. The vest is a pretty simple design that hits just below the hips, with four buttons to close in the front.



Front View of Collection
All the ladies, besides the girl in the gray dress on the left, were part of the group
The last member found a model to wear one of her outfits



Side View of Collection

View of Vest with Complete Outfit

This vest is what I am wearing today. I love the color and simple design. I wear it quite often and love how many things I can pair it with

Front View- Open



Front View- Buttoned



Back View



It was such a fun project to work on. It was a little stressful at times (especially since I was the group leader), but the final look of the collection was something we were all happy with. It's definitely a memory I'll have forever.

~JV

Bridal Shower Apron

A couple weekends ago, I went to another bridal shower, this time for my sister's best friend. Two bridal showers in one month can be overwhelming (especially on the wallet). But it's all worth it when you see how happy the couple is with your gift, and with each other, of course :).

This shower gift was the one my sister had suggested I make for the wonderful bride-to-be. And I took that suggestion to make the first shower gift (check it out here) which was earlier in the month.

This one I wanted to go with a vintage look and incorporate some of her favorite colors. My first idea on how to choose the colors was to look at the registry. I ended up buying some Moroccan style bowls that were blue, yellow, and red, and used that as my inspiration. But of course I started to second guess myself as I was fabric shopping, so I asked my sister what colors to use. Wouldn't you know it, she said to go with something like an aqua blue and mustard yellow. Of course that matched the look of the bowls :)

I didn't want to make it matchy-matchy with the bowls, so I stuck with the colors but went with this beautiful floral/bird print fabric.  The yellow fabric is a floral print, and the blue has a textured tiling look to it. The pattern is for the lower half of the apron so again I decided to add a top half, with an adjustable strap. It also has a tie strap that you can create a bow in the front, or leave it in the back. The lower scalloped edges have buttons to hold them in place. The top four buttons are blue, and the bottom four are yellow.



Front View with Top Added
Adjustable Straps & Bow



Close Up View of Front, with Bow



Closer View of Front with Buttons (Yellow and Blue)



Side View with Bow



Tied up and ready to be wrapped

Simplicity 0384 View A

I really love how this one turned out. My favorite color is blue and I'm in love with all of the prints of the fabrics. I was tempted to keep it myself, but I don't do much in the kitchen :)

I know she loved it and now she has the perfect accessory to wear while making delicious appetizers :)

~JV

P.S. Sorry for the phone pictures, the boyfriend took the camera when I needed it most :)