Try Handmade

Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Leopard Print

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The new fall trends have been announced, and animal print is in this season with leopard print leading the pack. Living in Hawaii, I typically miss out on the fall and winter fashion trends, but this one may be a little easier to incorporate into my wardrobe. Adding a small touch of animal print with the right accessories will instantly make a simple outfit chic and exotic.

A leopard print purse is a quick way to add a little sass to your little black dress, or any dress for that matter. This envelope style option from Hmmm…by Melanie includes a black chain strap, magnetic closure and is lined in black sequined fabric.

A leopard print hat may be a bit fashion forward for most, but this vintage-style cloche hat by The Millinery Shop is just too good to pass up. It is hand blocked, made from long haired felt leopard print fabric, and completed with a Bakelite buckle and hat pin. This would look amazing with a fall cape or winter coat.

Using black, brown, tan, creme and white yarn, this scarf is hand-knit by Crickets Creations to create the look of leopard print. Paired with a fall blazer or winter coat, it is sure to keep you warm and make a statement well beyond this fall’s animal print trend.

This turban-style headband from ChiChi is the perfect get-your-attention accessory for girls who love to be glamorous. Perfect for a night on the town or just pulling your hair back while running errands.

As the weather becomes cooler, embrace this year’s fall trend and incorporate a little bit of leopard print into your wardrobe! I’ll have my eye out for a leopard print bikini!

**The Leopard Shoes fine art print featured at the top of this post was created by Karcharz Photography.

Cocktail Party

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I’ve been daydreaming lately about throwing a lovely cocktail party, full of fancy dresses, music, laughter and great conversation. Unfortunately, my apartment is barely big enough for my craft supplies, let alone guests. I am undeterred, however; a cocktail party will come my way sooner or later, and when it does, I’ll be ready with the perfect handmade outfit.

Fashion in Hawaii is pretty casual, which means I’ll be extra excited to slip into this gorgeous 1950’s style silk dress by Fiori di Arancio. The high neckline, full skirt, and short sleeves are chic and elegant, while the organza bow adds the perfect touch of sweet. The dress can be made in any color silk, but I love the patterned fabric shown on the model–it’s classic, subtle and sure to turn heads among the little black dresses.

What’s a cocktail dress without the perfect statement-making ring? This bezel set option by Blue Wave Jewelry will add just a little bit of sparkle and modern flair to my vintage-style dress–a fashion juxtaposition, if you will. The different dimensions of this druzy quartz stone will catch the light perfectly, and set it apart from your typical cocktail ring. The oval shape and wide sterling silver bezel setting are classic.

A great clutch is always a must when you’re dressing up for a night out. This simple black option by Designs By Ambiana is made of vegan leather, lined, and includes a small pocket. It’s large enough to hold all of your things, but small enough that it won’t compete with the cocktail dress. The silver purse frame and chain will coordinate perfectly with the silver jewelry, and the pattern on the vegan leather is just the perfect amount of texture.

Now that I have my perfect cocktail party outfit, all I need is an invitation, and a drink!

**The image featured at the top of this article is a photograph by The Bunny Cage.

Ideas for Fairytale Fashion

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Everyone please welcome Helen Hobden to Try Handmade! She’s a seamstress, artist, writer, renovator, pyrographer… The list goes on – I think she’ll really fit in here. Please leave her a comment on her first post and let her know if you know of any great alternative fashion she should feature. Other than her own shop of course :)

I’ve been wanting to watch Red Riding Hood for ages and I finally have this weekend. I loved it! It was everything I hoped it would be; the snowy village scenes, the mysterious atmosphere; Grandma’s fantastic cabin in the woods, but especially the costumes. (Credit to Cindy Evans for costume design.)

Due to films such as this one and fairies being the new vampires in the literary world, fairytale fashion is getting bigger and better than ever and there are some fantastic outfits on the market. I have never really grown up as far as clothing is concerned and I relish any opportunity to dress up just like I loved doing as a kid. I just wish invitations to fancy dress parties came my way more often!

This is one of my absolute favourites made by Enlightened Platypus; it is surely the ultimate Red Riding Hood coat. Made entirely out of recycled jumpers, this must have taken her hours and hours to sew together all the different pieces in various shades of red. I know her work sells very quickly, so if you’re after one these coats, watch out for new listings regularly.

If you’re on the look out for the perfect fairytale dress to wear beneath the cloak, then don’t be tempted to buy a horrible polyester number in a cellophane wrapper that you’ll feel uncomfortable wearing. Instead look for a creation that will make you feel special and stand out in the crowd.

This lovely medieval style velvet dress with its large bell sleeves and decorated belt is beautiful. Yes, it’s blue, so may not be your first choice for Red Riding Hood, but this is actually quite similar to the dress Amanda Seyfried wears in the beginning of the film. You could easily wear this one to another party without a red cloak and go as a different fairytale character!

This cloak has my favourite hood – I love the pixie-ish shape of it. Although it doesn’t look like it in the picture, it’s actually made from lightweight wool and trimmed with black lace. I bet it takes the chill out the wind when out walking in the woods on the way to Grandma’s.

If dressing up to such an extent isn’t your thing, then there are several t-shirts with really cool designs that give nod towards the Red Riding Hood trend. One of my favourites is this one from limeyts.

ByRo! Designs

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No matter how implausible it seems while looking out the window, Spring and Summer will be here before you know it. Be prepared with a bathing suit from ByRo! Designs.

ByRo! swimsuits have special features for the “full figured woman designed by a full figured woman.” These design features include power-netting, princess seams and a more shaped and contoured fit to provide more comfort for the plus-size body. ByRo! Swimsuits are fashion forward with a contemporary and trendy design for the marketplace. Her fashion line also includes swimsuit cover-ups, sarongs, active-wear, cat-suits, sexy dresses and a new line of belly dancewear.

Pinning it together

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The humble safety pin. Its usual purpose is to act as an emergency fastener when a zip or button breaks, but it has evolved into a legitimate item of alternative fashion. Long gone are the days when it was only worn before the age of three to hold our nappies (diapers) together (scary! – how did our generation actually survive?) It quickly became an iconic symbol of British punk in the late 1970s, as sported by Johnny Rotten. In addition to holding together carefully and deliberately ripped jeans, the bravely stupid with a blatant disregard for hygiene safety, wore them through ear, nose and anywhere-else piercings.

The whole punk spirit is embodied in the above London Calling t-shirt by PaulinaClothing with mesh, rips and safety pins all over the union jack print. If it’s safety pins galore that you’re after, then take a look at the DeathBy13 store which sells some wickedly punky clothes, including these trousers with those massive pins all over.

They can be so versatile too: link loads together to make all kinds of necklaces, bracelets, key chains and use to pin on patches. So just reach for that annoying pile of safety pins in your stationary and other junk drawer when you feel your outfit needs a little bit of punking up. This men’s hoodie by 57thirtythree has a huge punk patch with safety pins all round.

When Liz Hurley wore that infamous Versace Little Black Dress to the premier of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994, the safety pin enjoyed a fashion revival and I remember a teen magazine suggesting we wear them in our hair – a look which I actually copied on a mufti day at school! She proved that they could be glamorous though, and I love the embellishment to this dress by lissabean.