This lady had style!

There are days when you wake up to a somewhat fresher view. If you first give up slightly and then give in a little, expect to be astounded. Things will inevitably cross your path. People leave this earth, and seamstresses, I hope, go to a place where sturdy reliable sewing machines are cordless and virtually noiseless. But in leaving, they leave behind a train of beautiful memories, traces of who they were. I seek to leave something behind, as trivial and inconsequential as my calling might be; and in the process am rewarded tenfold by what others, of perhaps a similar disposition, graciously left behind.

I feel honoured and perhaps a bit too giddy whenever I receive generously, and can only promise my absolute best to restore and re-use and do justice.

As I said, this lady had style and thanks to her ever charming grand daughter I was allowed a precious opportunity to have a glimpse in her world and draw some beautiful conclusions and estimations. It's a fresher view of a person whom I never met and yet, somehow, got to know well.

Choices must be taken responsibly, and gifts of the sort, accepted even more diligently.

                                     

Here are some kid gloves and belt buckles that I'm very looking forward to transform. I absolutely love the ageing process on leather and how that buckle looks suspiciously like 2 Babettopolis 'B's

A collarless summer suit with gathered skirt, an embroidered terracotta shirt dress and a pleated shift dress in the loveliest printed fabric

A flimsy and sturdy mix of underwear for which I have some serious embellishment plans

The dress I, embarrassingly enough, couldn't wait to try on. Apparently it makes me look like a Caribbean owner of a banana plantation by day and a socialite by night ~ pass the fruitbowl, mister! (my target was very far off the mark. I had really hoped it would make me look like Sonia Delaunay). So yes, I washed it, replaced the zip and went over all the seams to strengthen them just in time for dinner. Next to it, the long skirt of dreams.

Secret-Rose-Sarah, I know you're out there, please take good note of this top. I want to reproduce it with geometric embroidered shoulder panels. Next to it, a lovely piece of tattered black lace I will use as a headscarf.

And two lovely suits I haven't yet had time to tend to. Simple straight cuts make for very elegant and timeless pieces .. every item, most of which are tailor made, reasserts my belief in the need to stop and think before investing in something that fits your body shape and your lifestyle.

I am the happy owner of a pretty washing line.

* for the record: dear all superstitious out there, my closet is simply not the best place to be.

This, on the other hand, is a picture of me, taken by my dad under strict orders to not show what a horrible state I was in at 10pm after a marathon day in the pottery studio.. I found clay in my earlobes and colour on my back when I got home (wtf!). In any case, I am putting the finishing touches on something new for Babettopolis. Will keep you posted about it all once the pieces survive the second firing. I don't want to 'jinx' it by revealing too much. Suffice to say that my lifelong aim to bring something special to the table just got literal.

Musing about the act of sketching and more work

I pat myself on the back whenever I find that I've been good enough to save a copy of a sketch for a dress. With big projects like this flamenco dress I usually sketch in detail and if I'm in a patient enough mood/have the colours within arm's length/have enough time, I also sketch in colour. I can safely say that I enjoy it but circumstance often dictates that I go directly to the rice paper to draught a pattern and simply get going. Also, once a sketch is finished (and to such a degree) I kind of feel cheated; a drawing becomes a mockery of the time-consuming process that looms on the horizon for a seamstress! 

With this flamenco dress we kept to a traditional palette and patterns, but one walk down the textile shop got me thinking about several other possibilities in orange and turquoise and yellow and lace. A flamenco dress must complement the dancer's personality and her personal stance towards the dance, every little detail has to come together to make up one rational whole. With so much going on it's easy to lose your plot, so it's a fine line that we thread between visual coherence and a bag of crazy haberdashery trimmings. Ruffles, like the hills, come alive to the sound of music so I can't wait to see this graceful dancer, in her dress, in action next December!

And now on to summer-friendly items of clothing, lined in practical airy cotton and in colours that help keep up the spirits when the heat just gets too much. A lover of the 60s asks me to re-interpret some classic shapes for day-to-day staples that are toddler friendly and breeeeeeezy!

And a young fashion lover opts for a purple strapless dress with open pleats instead of closed up darts which can be accessorized over and over. We kept it simple, waistband-less to allow unrestricted belt size options and with a discreet slit at the back.

Also, how cute did this bustier turn out?! I had found the material at a charity shop in Valletta back in the day when there were still a couple open (how sad is it to not have a decent charity shop/bazaar Valletta that does not open for just two hours in the early morning on one very particular day unless it happens to be a feast/birth/too hot day). So yes, I has bought this piece with the intention of doing something for myself with it, but as it usually happens, I placed it on the neatly folded pile of 'future projects' and forgot all about it until the right person came along, a fellow cat lover and pancake maker extraordinaire! It would have been a real waste to make nothing of it. The buttons turned out pretty sweet after an acrylic and clear nail polish makeover, sweet enough to steer the bustier clear of any lingerie connotations and make it all the more wearable. Miaou!

And after all that I thought, feckit!, time to make something for myself. So I made a skirt that is scant consolation for my holiday in Santorini which never happened but at least long enough to hide a tan-in-progess whilst keeping the mosquitoes out! 

In the pipeline ...

I woke up to a hot dark kitchen and realized that my flowers have dried picturesquely.

So I got to thinking about what needs to be done next in Babettopolis.

Here is some more felt in exciting new colours, courtesy of the ever gracious Michelle! I have, in the past, on interminable bus rides, whilst waiting for someone, late at night, been sketching a number of ideas for new hats. I plan to start working on them once I replace the bulb on my working-lamp, and once the weather gives up its nasty game. Roll on winter, give me weather that justifies hat making!

And here are bunches of feathers, generously donated by Rose, my mother's childhood friend! I have plans, many plans for these feathers, as does my cat! Pheasants, peacocks .. all welcome here!

Also I'll be going back to my dad's pottery studio soon, I have freshly made casts and moulds waiting for me in a line on the metal cupboard. I want to make tableware that tell stories, to help fill cupboards and tables with some charm. Fingernails full of clay, Balthus running around being a fuzzy (yet still somewhat endearing) nuisance, corona beer and the rest is my own little history (in the making).

I believe there's little else more satisfying than an object that turns out just as you had imagined it would, that comes out whole from its mould, that pleases the eye even in its most rudimentary state. 

Some excitement mounts! 

On the pastel front

Cannot believe it's been almost two months (already?) So much stuff has happened in the interim and yet the memory of stringing together rows of pearls, is still so vivid! These are the accessories I had created for a June bride with a penchant for the dramatic. Very few could have carried off this look, so I'm happy I was given the opportunity to help out creatively. The hat piece brought together all of my favourite elements: lace, feathers, pearls and netting, and the choker, incorporating a vintage earring with sentimental value for the bride, sat perfectly in three neat rows around the neck. From the looks of it, this turned out to be as smashing a wedding as everyone involved had hoped for.. so it's all goood!

Here's the bride at her first accessory fitting, and a close-up of the choker in the making. Below, a pretty photo of the happy couple! The perfect make-up from her favourite era brought everything together so nicely! I wish them both all the very best .. 

And for a guest at the same wedding, and a personal friend, I created a cupcake of a prom dress in a subtle leafy theme! Had it been for me I would have covered the whole dress in leaves .. but that's just me and my twisted need to keep up a chronic and splitting headache! Satin and chiffon in a pale peachy blush pink (I'm sure there's a technical name for it, but oh well!) come together nicely in the gathered skirt.

Here's the young lady herself at the wedding reception! 

 And here's the feathery and leafy head-band to go with the dress. At the bride's request everyone was 'encouraged' (to put it lightly) to wear head gear .. that, I must say, is my favourite kind of tyranny! you go girl!  

As far as pastels go, I've only just come to realize that they've taken up much of my last month. Here's a picture of a flowery bustier I made for another friend, Alexandra (*http://www.alexandraaquilina.com/) from a piece of sturdy cotton salvaged from a charity shop. After featuring on her handmade-market stall as decor, we decided to make something more respectable of it! Such lovely material deserves the very best! Now I'm determined to wait for a good photo of it as worn!

And we end this post with the queen dress of all pastel dresses.. a boat neck and belted, ice-cream van/parlour, cotton dress where all our favourite elements come together; including a gathered 3/4 length skirt, a flattering collar, and a pearl button fastening! It's the second dress I made for my friend Sarah (*check out her facebook page) this year.. and by now, I've (creepily) come to know her shape by heart! 

And as if there wasn't enough cuteness in one long post dedicated to pastels.. here's a cute photo of Sarah with my fuzzy fat cat Gustav! Which makes me wonder .. why don't they use more cats in political campaigns?

wedding bells a'ringin'

It all started, as it usually does, with a sketch!

Originally we set out to look for pearl grey taffeta and tulle, but due to unforeseen circumstances and a lucky turn around of events, we stumbled upon beautiful pale green taffeta with a very rich sheen to it and a matching chiffon from across the island. The bride loved it, her mother too, I couldn't but.. so we settled for it; and may I just say I'm still proud of the decision. Pale green gets a bad rep because it re minds many of us of the nightmare 'mint' craze of the late 80s and early 90s weddings But this green is special. It harks back to  50s summer weddings and that's an era we're all, somewhat, ok with it.

For this wedding, the bride also graciously asked me (*may i just point out that this bride in particular cannot help but do everything graciously.. so well mannered and graceful..) to take care of some minor embellishments for her dress as well. So I decided to create these beaded scalloped shells to go on her hand-made shoes (yes, made by the trusty shoemaker  I keep mentioning in every post!) and dress. I had seen a small (*damn those pixels!) picture of her simple 1920s inspired wedding dress before and thought that aesthetically and symbolically the 'shell' would go well with the whole theme. Notice that this picture was taken in artificial light in the early hours of the morning. That, my friends, is when beading is finished, late at night and well into the early hours!

This is how her belt turned out. (*and now I eagerly await a good photo of it as worn, by the bride's chosen photographer as he seemed to be doing a really good job on the day. So much so that I felt intimidated to bring out my camera and try)

This is a photo of the flower girls' and maid of honour's dresses plus underskirts hanging in my sewing room. I have to admit, I always feel really restless with clothes hanging on a hanger lifelessly.. only when worn do they make sense. So I'm always looking forward (perhaps even, to a certain extent, anxiously) to see them on their intended wearers. It is for this reason that I'm very happy I was given the opportunity to join the bridal party on the day!

oh and matching hairbands (which the Gozitans, I've been informed, refer to as 'geishas')! also finished in the wee hours, of course!

Here, on the hand, is the mother of the bride's dress.. a beautiful sea blue satin and matching chiffon cape. Cut on the bias for it to flow (perfectly airy for a July wedding on these islands). See what I mean when I say I keep obsessing about the need to see the clothes I make worn. I simply couldn't take a decent photo of this dress at home but at least I got a good shot of the sweetheart neckline that mothers favour so much. What I did to update it a bit is relax the neckline so as to complement the flow of the dress. In an ideal world, necklines and skirts exhibit mutual respect for each other, you see!

Have I already told you I was super happy with the cape? .. too much coffee when sewing is not a good idea. It makes you prop your mannequin on things and tip toe around like a demented, ill equipped and   sorry excuse for helmut newton in the yard.

Here you go, she looks effortlessly elegant and prepared for her daughter's big day!

More close-ups of the flower girls' and maid of honour's shoes. So pretty, they remind me of marzipan wedding sweets - the traditional kind every one likes to look at but few actually eat!

.. and the crazily wrapped around matching sashes with silvery beading and artificial flowers from a vintage stock  I had luckily come across!

The clothes are on, we're all in a state of 'aww' and 'yay' and also a bit of 'oh I'm so glad, so very happy for you all' .. the atmosphere at a wedding makes everyone go a little soft .. but time rolls on and it was time for me and my mum (who accompanied me on my first Arriva trip to Gozo for this purpose) to head back  to Malta.

Here she is, suppressing a laugh (we suffer from the same photo-related predisposition) and contemplating the sea. She's a multi-tasker with a love for both big and small adventures, African Safaris, Oriental cuisine, Gozo afternoons, (etc), here she comes.

And with this sunset over Gozo I wish Maria and Mark all the very best! They deserve nothing less!

back soon with more sartorial adventures!

Babettopolis, birds and (b)ineapples

I teamed up with Sarah from The Secret Rose once again for this

and the results, as expected, were beyond expectation. (yes I did a funny little loop there)

Seeing it on its intended wearer, picking out the perfect textured buttons, struggling with turning the belt inside out, cutting out and pinning the lining, fitting the shoulders on tightly, closing up and pressing the peplum ... I go in reverse memory mode and slowly realise that every step of the way was an enjoyable one.. from meeting up with the intended wearer and finding the lovely material at a very decent price in the 'bargain' basement, to sitting down with Sarah to discuss and 'sketch' the dense and perhaps slightly crazy (though still relatively conventional) design. Then we waited for photos of the to-scale sketches, then I drafted out the pattern and experimented a bit with box pleats, then we waited some more for the embroidery (you must understand that hand-embroidery takes ages), then we took it with us for our infamous (ok not really, perhaps I should have said 'super fun yet split-second') cameo in the V18 promotional clip.. some more fittings, a hell of a lot of stitching and voila!

the sketch.. a photo of it taken hastily before miss.embroider.me.pretty jet set for Dubai

 a joint label taking its time to dry!

here's the as-yet-one-sleeved jacket's appearance on the V18 set! ~ video here ~

Here's to more collaborations!  *cin cin

if you know us, or know about us

and would like something 'nice'

just get in touch x

The hum of the city, This is London

What a pleasant surprise. Not as brusque as I had suspected, at times even disarmingly charming. I wonder, what made me suspect that London was plain rotten in the first place? Perhaps the literature, yep, it must have been the literature. To be fair, we did visit (unknowingly.. until quite late) on the Jubilee long weekend, a certain spirit was in the air, locals walked around in their Friday work suits and with beer mugs in hand. There was what one could only describe as an inevitable casualness in the air, and I, for one, am only glad for it.Who would want their worst suspicions justified anyway!? 

Here's a jolly chap in Trafalgar square.

Yes, the weather was particularly and unprecedent-ally bad. 2 soaks a day on average, but everything feels more resonantly historic in this weather. 

Harrods food courts - another pleasant surprise. PS: the best Turkish delight ever. I'm still kicking myself for passing on the pink Himalayan salt slabs and the Charbonnel and Walker chocolates just because I didn't feel like them at the time.

My travelling companion. We both read every caption at the museums and we both walk very long distances before needing a sit down. Only difference, she's effortless in front of a camera.. I'm better off hiding behind it (enthusiastically though amateurishly). Back home.. and I keep feeling as if something is missing.. a weight has been lifted from around my neck. My camera is now in storage.

A gem. The Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood. I fell in love and I only managed to fit in one storey. I will be back.

Our host on the pancake stand swing at Field Day. Colour co-ordinated and all! 

(I dare say) a contender for the top 3 best places in the world for someone of my disposition. 

Babettopolis <3 V&A

porcelain and kimonos - a combination I am fond of

 a roomful of jewellery - in other words, the Elysian Fields.

coral dress of dreams in the permanent fashion collection

the Ballgowns exhibit :..) pity about the depressing gift shop and all the ballgowns I'm sure would have qualified for this exhibit but were instead left in storage.

at gun point I'd have to settle for just this set

the flower market on Columbia Road - a joyful experience

the permanent exhibit at the Wellcome Museum. Vanitas - a bleak reminder.. but at least beautifully made

Portobello Road and some Notting Hill - a wonderfully kept place. 

Kensington Gardens and the Orangery where high tea is served daily except of course when I visit. When I visit boring conferences are scheduled and the place closes down. I will be back amongst the menagerie of squirrels and magpies and turtle doves, all harmony and light.

Leighton House is possibly the best house I've ever been in. The dining room of Casa Rocca Piccola in Valletta is a close contender but this house is perfect in its entirety. Its history, it's Arab-inspired hall, its lofty studio space, its humble sleeping quarters, its perfectly sized garden, the stuffed peacock, the glass-roofed winter studio. What's more, for £5 you get to go back as many times as you like for a whole year. I <3 you Fredrick!

Another hidden gem.. the oldest music hall in Europe. The Kreutzer Quartet were the best ending to six days of very biased sightseeing. It was a visual education. I came back in a mood to create better, or at least, to try.

PS: having visited the whole Brick lane, Petticoat lane areas I cannot but express a degree of disappointment. The made-in-china trinket frenzy has hit even the best of markets it seems. Perhaps it's my problem for expecting too much, perhaps I expected I'd find something better, more 'handmade' away from these shores. Lesson learnt. Do not look too far away for what you want to see, sometimes you just have to put in enough energy to be that change yourself.

And on that perhaps cheesily-inspirational note I leave to finish off my haberdashery shopping list for tomorrow.