T-shirt revamp

 

I was going through my closet and found two t-shirts I no longer like to wear. The other one is plain black and the other has red and white stripes. I like stripy t-shirts in the summer, but this one looks boring. So I decided to see if I can make something cool and wearable out of them! In case you want to make one too, here are the details:

Pin the new neckline in desired shape. fold & cut excess fabric off.

Bias cut the other t-shirt into two strips (the t-shirt I used was too tiny for one long ribbon).

 Sew two pieces together to form a long ribbon. Pin in reverse, sew along the edge. Turn t-shirt's right side up, fold the ribbon and pin in place. Use elastic stitch to sew in place along the edge of folded ribbon. Leave an opening if you want to add elastic cord in the neckline for better fit.

For the bow: Cut approx. 18 cm x 18 cm (7 inch) square, fold in two, sew around (leave a hole in middle for turning). After turning hand stitch the hole. cut another piece approx 6 x 8 cm for attaching the bow, fold, sew and turn right side up. Hand stich the bow in place.

Voilà!

  

Notes: I only used one side of the black t-shirt for this project, so I could easily make another one like this with the left over fabric, just need to find another t-shirt that needs revamping! 

Vintage shopping in Munich

I've been traveling! Two times in Germany (first Munich/February, then Bremen/March)  this year and just returned from California... Two out of these three trips have been more or less accidental, but I don't mind. ;)

Trip to Munich was mainly for swing dancing and I actually planned that trip. There's the annual Rock That Swing Festival and this was my third time there. It's funny, really. Third time there was the first time that I actually got to see something besides classrooms and evening dance venues. The festival is lots of fun, but there are so many classes, the evening parties start early and if you want to eat something between the dance classes and the party, there really is no time to wander around. This time I decided to skip some lessons...

I had an agenda. I wanted to know if there were any cool vintage shopping opportuneties in Munich. I checked the internet and chose some places before the trip. There are plenty of second hand shops and costume shops in Munich, but I was more interested in the actual vintage.

First choice would have been Alexa's (Utzschneiderstrasse 10). The shop has good reputation and I would have loved to go there. Unfortunately when I decided to go shopping it was too late in the afternoon and the shop would have been closed by the time I would have walked there, so next time with better luck (and timing)! Alexa's has been around since 1985 and people say it has good selection of vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. The price level is said to be medium. Some other bloggers have featured this shop too and if you'd like to read more, go to Styleclicker's. Next time in Munich Alexa's will be on my list.

So, I looked at my other my options and went to Vertigo Vintage (Corneliusstrasse 19). It was still going to be open for a while... The place has some groovy stuff, but more late 60's to 70's kind of vintage than the 30's to early 60's kind I'm after. Still worth a visit.

I knew there was also another shop nearby: Tricia Leonard's, but at the time I only knew the name of the street, not the number, so I didn't know if I was going to the right direction. I was about to give up searching when I saw it. I couln't believe my luck when i saw that the shop was still open!

This was really my kind of place with beautiful hats, shoes, bags and jewelry. Not so much clothing, but really worth the walk. I ended up buing a beautiful 40's purse and some vintage millinery cherries. The prices were very decent and Tricia was soooo very helpful and nice (and I just found out she's also a jazz singer!). So if going to Munich be sure to visit her store (Baaderstrasse 53), it's a real gem! Meet my beautiful new handbag and those cherries:

The walk back to our hotel was a real treat. I discovered that the next street, Fraunhoferstrasse, was crowded with antique shops from Baaderstrasse all the way to Müllerstrasse! Yes, by that time they were all closed, but the shop windows made me drool.

So, I'll be sure to go there too next time I'm in Munich. ;)

Since I had really little time in Munich I didn't get to see everything I wanted, but there's always next time...

Some other interesting vintage/second hand shops in Munich I'd like to see:
Gerdismann (Fraunhoferstrasse 9) - Classics for men
Kleidsam (Blutenburgstrasse 65) - Second hand fashions for women
Patina (Türkenstrasse 63) - Fashions from past and present times, but also furniture!
Xdress (Augustenstrasse 104) - Stuff from 20's to 70's, for sale or rent
Zsa Zsa (Schellingstrasse 66) - Original rarities from 20's to 60's and repros

Then there's also Kostüm Kontor. They've closed their store, but there's a website... only in German so I don't understand what it says. Too bad for me. ;)

Washi tape nails

Washi tape madness part II: I wanted to see how washi tape works for manicure, and it was a success! I used stripy tape and simply cut in the shape of each nail. It's a good idea to cut the tape a bit smaller than the nail so the top coat will cover the edges well and the tape won't start peeling off. I used regular clear top coat in my nails. Next time I'll try to cut stripy tape in different angles so the stripes won't all be horizontal.

Finnish: Washi-teippi sopii hyvin myös kynsien koristeluun.

Enjoying Istanbul

I recently had a chance to visit beautiful Istanbul for a long weekend. I stayed over at my friend's place and  ended up spending most of my time in the area between Taksim square and Galata Tower. The area is good for shopping, bar hopping and sitting in small cafés. It's far enough from the touristic attractions so you can enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the ancient city in peace. Istanbul has a lot of options for night life especially if you're into dancing. I had a change to attend a swing dance and a milonga (argentine tango), both were great, such enthusiastic and welcoming people!

I love Turkish food: I's healthy, colorful and tastes amazing. Grilled eggplant, yogurt, herbs.... Oddly enough the best meal I had was a brunch in Cafe Privato . Their breakfast was a perfect combination of sweet home made fruit jams, pancakes, turkish pastry, cheese, olives, salad ... My pictures won't do the justice to the food, so here's a picture of turkish tea glass.

There are some other good restaurants and cafes nearby. For a magnificient view, try Leb-i Derya (their chocolate souffle is to die for) and Konak, which has a big rooftop café. Watch out for the seagulls! Konak has a patisserie downstairs with some delicious cakes and pastries. Here's a tip; buy a piece of cake to go and have a picnic outside!

Enough about the food, let's move on to shopping. The shopping street Iskiklal will have enough shops for one day or even two (Sephora and MAC for makeup, ByRetro on Suriye Pasaji for vintage clothes and Penti for stockings and pantyhose). If you're looking for something other than everyday clothing brands I suggest you step on those little streets that go left and right from Istiklal.

For funky t-shirts I recommend popping in Crash, "New design and second hand collection" (near Galata tower) and Harikalar Dükkani, that has all kinds of fun gifts and little stuff to bring home. Harikalar Dükkani is on really small street near Galata, you'll know you're getting close when you see white rabbits on the walls.

ByRetro

Almost all the little shops on narrow streets sell jewellery, some were nice, some a bit too "touristy kitch" to my taste.  I found three pairs of cool earrings from one of those places.

Washi tape madness

need I say more? As soon as I got hold of 4 rolls of washi tape I got grazy. Apart from gift wrapping and paper crafts, washi tape is good for decorating shoe boxes, shelves, glass jars, hangers, picture frames, doors etc. Once you get bored of the look, it's easy to tear it away - no marks left.

Tip for upcoming summer parties -  Use washi tape to decorate wine glasses for quests.