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1920's Vibes.

10/26/2014

I felt very 1920's in this outfit for some reason. Just the combination of the skirt length, the jacket with fur collar layered over top, and the hat- I felt like this chick... minus the guy.

I will keep this post short and sweet:

I wore a black knit midi dress (midi refers to the length- above the ankle but below the knee. Quite scandalous, really). I layered a beige boxy sweater with curved hem over top of the dress, and finished it off with a denim jacket with fur collar, and of course a brown floppy hat, and brown ankle booties to match!

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Anabel's Coat.

10/26/2014

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My favourite thing in the world is being able to wear something that I have created. But it's even more exciting when someone else is wearing something I have created!

A friend of mine, Anabel, was on the search for a new Fall coat, and came to me with some ideas and photos. We sat down in Starbucks, me with my fashionary, and Anabel with her ideas, and we designed a beautiful cape type coat together.

I had previously made a similar cape type coat to the one Anabel was wanting, so luckily, I already had a basic pattern. All I needed to do was alter the design lines and fit!

I drafted up the new pattern one evening, and sewed up the prototype in a very unfortunate muslin that did not do the coat justice when we had our fitting- however, she seemed pleased with the outcome of the 'lab coat like' prototype.

We hit up the one stop shop for fabric, notions, Halloween costumes, Christmas decorations, and a bunch of other random things at a lovely place called Dressew on Hastings..... it really is the motherland of all fabric, in all seriousness tho.

What I love most about knowing how to design, pattern draft, and sew is getting to show the process of going from a simple sketch, to a finalized garment, and everything in between!

This is what I like to call "my pop up studio". I usually just end up taking over every possible space I can find in my house, and use it as my work space.
My family loves it.

Charlee will usually make herself comfy on my work space. Whether its the fabric I'm cutting, or the paper I'm drafting on, Charlee is usually close by... or right on top of it.

So here is the initial flat which in no means is a perfect flat, however, it gets the point across on how the coat should ideally look as an end product.
On the other hand, we have that unfortunate prototype I was talking about earlier... We'll just leave it at that and move on to the final piece.

After just some minor length adjustments to the pattern that were determined in the fitting, the final piece could finally go into production! I made the final piece in about a day, and delivered it to Anabel the day after!

Here is the final coat, finished with a Kachi label, and a Kachi hang tag! (I'm all about the presentation!)

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eShakti.

10/23/2014

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eShakti is an online retailer which offers an amazing service to their customers- the convenience of tailored to perfection pieces, right from your own home! I was contacted by their media relations to review this customized process, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to customize your piece, and how accurate the fit is!

{YOU CAN NOW USE THE PROMO CODE 'kateandkouture' ON THEIR WEBSITE FOR 10% OFF OF YOUR CUSTOMIZED PURCHASE FROM NOW UNTIL November 21ST 2014!!}

I was lucky enough to get to pick the garment I wanted to customize, and immediately fell in love with this dress that has a taupe and black pleated full skirt, and fitted bodice with embroidery around the neckline. The website took me to the customization page where I could fill in all of my measurements, pick the colour combination, sleeve length, and skirt hem length.
The measurements page is very user friendly! It tells you what measurements are needed, and shows you where to measure to and from! After completing my measurements, I was able to fill in all of my shipping information, and once I submitted my customized order, I immediately received a confirmation email showing what piece I ordered and all of the measurements I submitted.
I was also given a tracking number so I could see where my package was and it's estimated time of arrival! Sure enough, it showed up right around it's scheduled delivery date!

I tried on the dress right away and was amazed with how accurate the fit was! It was absolutely perfect and identical to what the website showed! It is a fully lined, quality garment that is made with an easy-to-care-for fabric, and flattering design lines!

Here is the lovely dress, and the different ways I styled it!

I was more than excited with the overall appearance of this dress! The black contrast band sits on my natural waist, and the entire black and taupe striped skirt is pleated at the waistline releasing fullness towards the bottom of the skirt. The bodice of the dress fits my torso like a glove! There is a zipper in the side seam of the dress to allow for the embroidery on the back! The front and back of the bodice have top stitched princess seams which helps create the perfect fit, as well as some appealing design lines!
I decided to keep the skirt length JUST above the knew because I think it is a very classy length, and decided to make the dress short sleeved because I think it makes the dress look quite modern and chic. I specifically love the contrast of the dainty, damask embroidery with the chunky striped skirt. This detail around the neck, and the heavy stripes really balance the outfit. The sleeves and fullness of the skirt also balance the outfit and make it look quite proportioned. And of course, the black waistband is quite flattering!

OH! AND THIS DRESS HAS POCKETS!!!!

I always love a good jacket, and I knew I had the perfect one to pair with this dress!

I paired my black Eli Tahari blazer that has intricate black embroidery all over the front and back, and on the shoulders! It tied in with the embroidery on the dress, and adds extra texture to the outfit! I wore my black MIA lace up heels from Macy's with this ensemble for a bit of an edgy, but still chic look.

Because I'm an accessories girl, and all about the shoes, bags, jewelry, hats, and scarves, this outfit was in much need for a faux fur shawl! I think adding accessories is a great way to make an outfit much more unique, and to add your personal style to it!

For a completely different look, which is (I would say) more casual, yet still quite sophisticated and fashionable, I threw a black turtle neck sweater overtop of the dress and belted it with a black leather belt that has small gold hardware on it. I love the combination of the relaxed sweater with a more structured and flared dress, it is very Parisian!

Don't forget to shop eShakti online and use the promo code 'kateandkouture' for 10% off of your customized purchase!

[Shop eShakti Here]

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A Dress, A Turtleneck, and a Pair of Jeans.

10/8/2014

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Remember that time when you were little, and most likely a tom boy and the only way you would wear a dress was if it was paired with jeans (or track pants)...? No? Just me?
Well then.... moving on.

So it seems my childhood fashion choices are coming back..... but hopefully it stops with the whole dress/jeans combo as I was a pretty unfortunate fashion icon back in my single digit days.

When staring into the abyss that I call my closet, occasionally a few pieces catch my eye and I know they need to be paired together. I wanted to ignore the fact that I was considering pairing a dress with jeans, but they just seemed right together. Somehow they complimented each other in a way that I wasn't expecting.

Let me show you what I mean:

I'd like to think that by now I am almost a professional layerer (thanks to the world's most stylish New Yorker, Olivia Palermo). I actually find that if I haven't layered an outfit, it feels incomplete.

I posted about this dress a while back during the summer. I picked it up from Winners, and it is a sort of a trapeze dress with paneling and inseam pockets sewn into the paneling. Quite pretty, really. And because our Fall season happened quick quickly, I had never gotten the chance to wear the dress on it's own.

I find I am playing around with silhouettes, print mixing, textures, and shapes a lot more, so I am trying new things, and trying to keep my style different. I like the way uncommon pieces look when paired together, and I was quite pleased with how this turned out!

I paired the black, trapeze dress over light grey ripped skinny jeans. Because of the length of the dress, I belted the dress at my natural waist and sort of billowed the dress over the belt a little to shorten it. I then layered a black knit turtle neck sweater over top so the skirt peeked out as if it were a peplum. To add texture to the overall look, I wore a (faux) fur scarf, and snake skin textured leather booties with some gold hardware.

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1920's Vibes.

Anabel's Coat.

eShakti.

A Dress, A Turtleneck, and a Pair of Jeans.

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