New Labour, New Danger

(N.B. I’m afraid you’ll probably only get my witty post title if you were in the UK and vaguely politically aware during the election campaign of 1997. Anyways...)

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To be more precise, I got another job. As you may already know, my first job after moving back to UK was in a patisserie. When it became obvious that it was terrible and I wouldn’t be sticking round for long, I did a cursory internet search and found advertised the job of my dreams happily based just 20mins walk from my flat. I was involved in the interview process when I wrote my Ladies in Waiting post, not knowing if the potential job would pan out or if I would be shortly rejoining the ranks of my waitressing sisters. Well, at the end of the process, 15 candidates became one employee, and thank the God of fabric, that was me! I have been there for two whole weeks tomorrow and feel safe enough now to divulge....

Ok, I haven’t mentioned the best bit, it’s a sewing job!!!!!!!! An ethical sewing job! Yes, really. I now work for the charity TRAID which run a chain of charity shops around London. The shops sell second hand clothing donated by the public collected in donation banks across the. The garments which can’t be sold for whatever reason, and also donated lengths of fabric and seconds stuff donated from the retail clothing industry, get sent down to a workshop (where I work) to be sorted and then recreated and refashioned into new garments which are on sale in the flagship Camden branch under the label TraidRemade. Some special pieces are also available on this site. Everything that isn’t appropriate to be refashioned, plus all scraps generated from the creation process, then get sold on as rag to be reused in other forms or pulped and made into products like fleece and sofa fillings etc.

I work with a lovely creative lady and a small dog called Piglet to produce garments which will hopefully get sold therefore giving unwanted garments a new life and generating funds to help combat poverty. Did I mention I get to sew? All day? With creative imput too? SO exciting.

‘So where’s the danger, Zo?’, I hear you ask. Umm, are you mental?! I spend all day with easy access to refashionable garments and lengths of donated fabric, a lot of which could be mine for a small donation to the ‘Karma tin’ which goes to the charity. Plus the refashioning ideas that are being batted about and put into covetable effect have already resulted in ‘Oh, I’ll just cut one for me too....’, which is how this top came to pass. I have already gained two big bags full of clothing and fabric that is now mine, and this is only Week Two.

You may be all, ‘Ah! So that’s why Zoe is back on the refashioning tip!’ I can’t deny that my new employment has brought the value in refashioning and its endless possibilities firmly back to the forefront of my mind. I’m so excited to learn new sewing methods and construction tips. But I’m going to have to enact some serious self discipline to avoid a tidal wave of new garments and fabric pieces drowning us in our tiny flat.

Back to the top seen here. The pattern was based on one I drafted for myself yonks ago from a well-fitting T-shirt and the gathered sleeve head pattern piece from the Sew U: Home Stretch book. For my own version, I used a men’s sweatshirt instead of the T-shirts used for the ones I made for the range to keep me warmer. The collar is the same however, and used to be men’s shirts. The two buttons I bought in San Francisco a few years ago and I think they bring a touch more femininity to what is basically a sweatshirt.

I don’t think I am allowed to show you what I create at work for the range, but any useful tips and tricks I glean and variations I create for myself will definitely be shared. Happy refashioning people.

Stash Amnestied

This week, I am honoured to be the subject of Tilly's monthly Stash Amnesty feature (which can be read here). Tilly's genius concept basically provides the subject a non-judgmental arena in which to display their hoards, which can be quite a touchy subject. I doubt there's a sewer out there whose been at it for more than a couple of years who isn't a bit embarrassed about the scale of their stash, which can result in defensive behaviour when questioned (well, it does round these parts). Tilly's Stash Amnesty neatly side steps that and instead offers an interesting insight into the sewing space and thoughts of the individual through her cleverly devised questions.

To be honest, my current sewing mise en place isn't the most inspiring or photogenic I've had over the years. After all, I'm living in one of the most afluent areas in this poky little country where space is at a premium, so the natural-light-flooded space with adequate storage and cutting tables etc. that I dream of is currently just that, a dream. In fact, if we are talking about dream spaces, check out this recent post by Cheap Opulance which basically sums up my ideal sewing space.

As I explained in Tilly's post, the majority of my fabric stash is currently shoved under my the bed in my folks' spare bedroom in Essex, so sadly no shots of piles of neatly folded luscious fabrics from me I'm afraid. However I was able to share the fruits of my main weakness: vintage sewing patterns. But once again, what I have with me here in Brighton is only a fraction of the true scale of the problem.

I think it's fascinating getting a glimpse into the stash and space that other sewers create with. Whether it's the corner of a kitchen counter or a refurbed warehouse, stacks of vintage charity shop fabric finds or handmedown notions from your mother-in-law, the situation is always as individual as the, um, individual. Tilly's Stash Amnesty is certainly an interesting opportunity to snoop about that we wouldn't usually have access to (albeit an edited version; you think my sewing table usually looks this clear?!) and I for one am hooked on these monthly installments to indulge in that opportunity. Thanks Tilly!

Revisting Refashioning

Despite having signed up to the Wardrobe Refashion pledge for life, I actually do hardly any refashioning of existing garments per se. The last time I made a garment that started out life as a different garment (as opposed to a flat piece of fabric), was back in June when I made a top out of a crazy blouse I found lying on the street next to a bin. Even then I'm not sure that counted as a refashion as I almost completely deconstructed that original blouse before cutting the new pattern pieces, using only the buttonholes and hem when making the new garment.


Over the last year and a half, I've been attempting to make an increasing variety of garments, particularly since getting over my fear of using stretch fabric. My initial Me-Made-March challenge, in which I attempted to get through an entire month wearing only things I had made myself (excluding bras, socks, tights and shoes) proved a massive catalyst in this process. To complete this challenge, I quickly realised I would have to get to grips with making all kinds of previously unattempted items (like a coat and underwear) if I was to succeed without freezing or being excessively uncomfortable. Well, I succeeded, if you can call rotating between two tops for a whole month a success, and was spurred on to repeating the challenge (Me-Made-May). So I hit the sewing machine to create a wider variety of garments so virtually no outfit repetition would ensue during May and I'd enjoy the challenge more.


I guess I kind of got hooked on the challenge of pushing myself further and further, relying on the fruits of my sewing more and more, to the point where now I have created the vast majority of my wardrobe. I'll admit, have been toying with the concept that if I can't make it, maybe I shouldn't be allowed to wear it. But I've recently started to question that potentially overly evangelical approach. Perhaps it's because Winter is well on its way and I still haven't really mastered knitwear and I'm getting really cold that a more pragmatic approach is starting to seem more appropriate. I'm starting to think that it may be better to have had a hand in forming every garment I own rather than having made every damn item completely from scratch, and allowing more refashioning projects back into my life and wardrobe.

Aside from the desire to avoid freezing my arse off and going back to a two-top rotation, I have recently been (re-)reminded that refashioning has some significant benefits over making all garments from fabric off the roll. For me, the main benefit is that by using a previously loved garment, it is possible you are extending that original garment's lifespan, possibly even preventing it from ending up in a landfill. Also, by not using new fabric from a fabric shop for your project, you are not creating a need for and directly supporting the production of more new fabric, which we all know by now can be a frighteningly destructive process, environmentally speaking. By refashioning, you can be one in a chain of individuals to have used and enjoyed a garment, the thought of which may gross many people out but which I personally love. Also, if the project allows, you can often retain necklines, fastenings, seams, hems or a combination of the above from the original garment, therefore removing some of the sewing processes and speeding on your creation no end. Who doesn't like a quick-fix, wear-it-that-evening sewing project from time to time?


Don't get me wrong, I'm still thoroughly committed to making my own wardrobe and encouraging others to do so. I am more so than ever, but basically I have got off my high horse about feeling the need to have stitched every single damn stitch I'm wearing at any given moment. I'm just relaxing a little and taking the opportunity to mix my stitching up a bit. The creativity required to turn an old hideous garment into a wearable thing of beauty is, after all, a slightly different set of talents compared to those needed to concieve of something and make it from scratch. It's time I flexed some of those muscles, before they lose their strength all together!

The Book Launch Shirt

Well looky here! An actual finished garment from ‘Le Maison Zo’. Such an occurrence is a rare event these days, what with The Coat Project currently taking as much time and attention as a room full of naughty three-year-olds. All this talk of menswear sewing around here recently must have motivated me into finished this project which has been languishing for way too long.

Happily, I was able to get this shirt finished for my boyfriend with but minutes to spare before we headed up to London on Thursday to attend a launch party. We were celebrating the ‘launch’ of Beauty in Decay, a book about Urban Exploration, the copy (AKA, the words) of which having been written by my aforementioned boyfriend. Although it was the compiler of the images who got his name on the spine, my boy was required to sign a mountain of copies along with some of the photographic contributors who were also present.

I’m embarrassed to say that this shirt for my boyfriend was planned back in May after I got a bit spendy one day in Ribes i Casals, a fabric shop in Barcelona. It is based on the Jakob pattern available from Burdastyle which also formed the base of the only other thing I’ve made for him to date: the short sleeved western shirt. Whereas with the western shirt I drafted a new yoke pattern and new pocket detailing, this time I used the original pieces. He’s quite a slender chap and even the smallest size came out a bit too wide for him last time round, so this time made some alterations so that the sizing would be better around the chest.

Obviously I made this version short sleeved but created mock turn-ups instead of simply turning the sleeve edges under. Forgive my rudeness, but can you believe Burdastyle included a full length sleeve version and a sleeveless version but omitted a short sleeved version?! How many guys do you know would choose the sleeveless version if you offered to make them a Jakob? Anyways.....

All in all, I’m really pleased with how this shirt came out. The fit is much better than the first and the beautiful cotton fabric was so nice to work with, it was easy to create a nice clean finish to this garment. Obviously this version didn’t have all the fancy topstitching of the first, so after all the prevarication, it actually only took a couple of sewing stints to get it finished. After the excessive wait, hopefully it will prove to be a good, wearable garment that he will enjoy wearing as much as he has the first.

If I Were a Boy.....

Today I want to talk about an issue that I spend a disproportionate amount of time considering: what I would wear if I were a boy. I say disproportionate because the likelihood of me ever becoming a boy, or even being ask what I would wear if I was a boy, is so tiny in comparison to how much thought I’ve given this over the years.

Of course, how I’ve answered this has usually been in relation to which men in popular culture I fancied the most at the time. Subsquently my answers in the past would have included reference to Kurt Cobain, Beck, Daniel Johns, Q Tip, Lenny Kravitz, MCA and Ad Rock (sorry Mike D), to name but a tiny fraction. Equally unsurprisingly, how I imagine I would dress as guy has always been a kind of male version of the tip I’m on at that time in real life, eg, when I was rocking an eclectic charity shopped look, that’s how I imagined I would source my clothing as a guy, and when I was more into a hiphop influence and street ware, similarly I pictured myself as a little English Beastie.

Naturally, my answer to the question today will also reflect both the points made above. These days I’d like to think I can form an opinion on a guy’s style without being so hormone driven, but it’s interesting to me to find that many of my male celeb inspirations haven’t changed too much.

If I were a 31 year old boy (had my birthday last week, more relaxed and less hangover-inducing than last year’s) in 2010, I don’t know if I would be into sewing my own wardrobe (see?! All you needed to do was wait and I’d bring my blog back round to sewing eventually). Presumably, I’d be exposed to similar experiences and social factors in I was a guy to the ones I’ve experienced as a girl, plus I’d be subject to the same creative yet practical genetics passed on from my folks, but as many sociologists such as Beyonce have pointed out, life’s just not the same for a boy, so who can say? I would however, put money on ‘Boy-me’ giving a crap about what he wears, and if he wasn’t making his own stuff, he’d probably have a cool sewing mate whipping up stuff on his behalf. Let’s see what I’d make/get made if I were a boy:

Beck would still be one of my main boy-style role models. In each of his style manifestations from his Loser days to today, I’ve been behind him saying ‘Yes!’ and ‘Damn!’ where appropriate. Even after I found out he was a Scientologist. That’s how strong his style is. I’d probably get this kitsch-y western shirt (pattern recently acquired by myself from ebay) made up as an ‘ode’ to Beck (see what I did there?!):

Another, more recently acquired, style inspiration whom I’m sure would appreciate the western shirt above are the boys from Calexico:
It’s difficult not to let hormones to effect this study, but Tang! The latin-flavoured Americana they bring overlaps with another source of inspiration: QOTSA’s Josh Homme. He in turn brings a much needed dirty rockabilly element to this style stew.

To reflect that, I’d get a rockabilly shirt going on possibly based on this incredible pattern my boyfriend’s sister found me in a charity shop:

Do you see it?

I’d imagine I could achieve much of Michael Cera’s and Dave Grohl’s looks from charity shopping, but maybe I’d get some of the Burdastyle Jochen trousers made too:

These days, as a girl, I don’t rock as many streetwear elements as I used to, but a little piece of my heart will always be devoted to the Beastie Boys. For some casual comfort, I’d probably try and procure a zip through as awesome as this one (created by the deeply talented Burdastyle member fordelis):

And of course, let’s not forget how the Beastie’s rock a suit:

Not dissimilar to Mark Ronson’s sleek retro inspired vibe:

Or Jason Schwartzman’s:
Or even, to bring this full circle, to our beloved Beck’s. If I were a boy, I’d probably pick up an incredible vintage suit that would suffice for smart occasions, but I’d probably give it a twist with a club collar shirt like Peter’s.

So there you have it, more or less what I would wear if I were a boy. As this is unlikely to become a reality, I guess I'll live out these ideas by making them for my boyfriend. So, what would you wear if you were a boy (presuming you aren't one)? Whose style do you admire? Have you sewn much for guys? What inspired your creations?

Warehouse Dreamin'

I would like to share with you today a long held fantasy of mine: living and working in a warehouse space. Basically, a big industrial or ex-industrial space, all brick and concrete, with lots of light and air in which to spread out to live and create. Big areas to share with my boy and other invited ‘creatives’ in which we would work and generate ideas and hang out and relax.

I lust after potential sites for this dream lifestyle. My face is always stuck to the window of a train when it goes through an industrial area, taking mental snapshots. When I lived in Barcelona, my favourite jogging route wasn’t through one of the beautiful parks or along the Mediterranean seafront but through, you guessed it, the industrial area. I would take my mind off being a painful panting sweaty mess by playing my usual ‘That one, no, THAT one!’ game amongst the warehouses. Maybe it was watching ‘Heart Break High’ at an impressionable age (can someone corroborate that some of the characters did indeed live in a warehouse please? Did I imagine it?), but this fixation started a long time ago and seems to only have grown stronger. Hence already having a folder of images on my laptop full of pictures of inspirational warehouse spaces handily available to illustrate this post!

Because I would never want, not that I could EVER afford, a sanitised, pre-converted trendy warehouse pad with its token ‘original’ exposed brick work wall and fancy lampshades installations, nor would I want to live in something that resembled a filthy crack pipe-filled location of a scummy East London squat party: the not so tiny matter of making such a space habitable would come be a major issue. Adequate bathroom and kitchen facilities are not exactly standard in such a space, not to mention trying to keep warm in a space with such high ceilings made from such unsympathetic building materials. Having to make somewhere such as this habitable would undeniably be an exciting challenge (creating bed mezzanines, partitions between work and living areas, inventive storage solutions, open-plan kitchens, clothing rails which hang down from the ceiling), but not one I can realistically see me taking on.

With great sadness, I am slowly coming to realise that my fantasy will probably always remain just that for the following reasons. Firstly, acquiring a warehouse space is not something I am up to. I could never afford to rent such a space, and even if I was able to somehow locate one with a low enough rent, the legalities of actually living in a space meant for industrial means would most likely be entirely preventative. Secondly, if I was to consider taking the other, less legal road and found such a space unoccupied and apparently neglected, I’m just not gritty enough to attempt a squatting lifestyle. The risk of being kicked out and forced to move at the drop of a hat (been there!), abandoning all you’d created, would be too unpleasant and unstable. As would the increased risk of being burgled: imagine leaving my lovely sewing machines at home, not knowing if they’d be there when I returned. I’m just not strong enough for that! From what I understand, successful squats have someone physically there 24 hours a day, which would either make me something of a prisoner, or it would mean the need for flatmates, the lack of which has been the main benefit of our current digs and not something we are willing to surrender. Once again, I’m just too bohemian for the squares, but too square for the bohemians!

So, does anyone else harbour similar habitation desires? Has anyone actually lived in a space similar to these? If so, how did it come tp pass? Are there any other types of buildings that were not originally meant for living in, that take your fancy? Do you have anything to share that might give me cause to not give up on this dream? Does anyone know of any available and cheap warehouse spaces available in the Brighton area?!

Ladies in Waiting

They can be found in high class restaurants, organic vegan cafes, greasy diners and every kind of establishment in between; today’s post is a shout-out to all my waitressin’ sistas out there. Often underpaid and undervalued, I would argue that waitresses (and waiters, but this post is about the laydeez in particular) play an important role in society. Social interaction and, in particular, celebration have been conducted around food for millennia, and a good server can make that experience all the more enjoyable.

That said, waitresses are a varied as the menu. Some are attentive, pleasant and helpful, others rude, obnoxious or vacant. Some are professional multi-tasking divas while others are, umm, basically useless. Yet it could be hard to deny that the Waitress, at least in the West, is something of a cultural icon. Just think how many films there are featuring a waitress.

My first stint as a waitress was in a horrendously busy fish and chip restaurant at the seaside when I was sixteen which I had nightmares about for years later. Despite that, waitressing is a role I’ve come back to time and time again throughout my subsequent working life. My most recent waitressing position ended today (LONG story, but basically I quit due to issues I had with the management. Again.). My next job may be sewing related (I don’t want to say too much in case it doesn’t come to pass), but if not it may indeed be another waiting stint. I would be lying if I said the second outcome fills me with excitement, but it certainly doesn’t fill me with fear because #1) there are elements of waitressing I really like, and #2) if I say so myself, I’m really good at it.

Being a waitress gives you the opportunity to observe up close and converse with a wider variety of people than your normal day-to-day life usually permits. There’s also the feeling that you are directly contributing to someone’s enjoyment of one of the best bits of their day. Oh, and there’s the free food.

Probably the most iconic variety of waitress in Western visual culture is the US diner waitress. Their distinctive uniform styles, most notably from the 1950’s, have become synonymous with mid-century American popular culture. Key stylistic features often include contrast colour blocks, gingham, piping, wide collars, turned up short sleeves, aprons, accessible pockets and centre-front button or zip closures. As a fan of mid-century retro flavoured style, I have harboured a mild obsession for these uniforms and design elements for years. I know I’m not alone in this passion (hello frk.bustad?), many designers have used these visual cues for fashion rather than workwear intended garments in the past.


I plan to make a diner waitress inspired dress in the future, and by doing so I will be honouring the fact that, by serving coffee and witty banter in equal quantities, your waitress basically has the power to make your day better.