I live on Instagram. It's a great source of inspiration. I consider it the "quick and dirty" side of blogging. If it weren't for the fact that I sew and I have more than a few lines to say about a project, and I like to include links, I'd consider using my IG account full-time. And because I'm very visual, I rarely read blog posts unless I'm truly interested in what the person made or is wearing and I need to know the details. Or perhaps there's some sort of interesting story going. And I know plenty of others do the same. I can tell based on the questions that are asked in comments.
Today's inspiration is taken from New York Times Fashion. They're a great source for highlights of runway shows and fabulous street style, hence the above photo. By the way, that's blogger Talisa Sutton, who was heading to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia in Sydney.
What instantly grabbed my attention about her look was her top. I made my similar top back in September and paired it with a black guipure lace skirt. I had always intended to wear it in a casual way. I'd been waiting for Spring weather, because with the full, flared sleeves, I didn't want to fight with coat sleeves. I'd almost forgotten about it until I saw that fabulous reminder in my feed a couple of days ago. Her top is by Australian designer Ellery.
And for the flared jeans, I pulled out my Jalie 2908 jeans. I made these jeans six years ago and they've held up remarkably well with washing and wearing. I'm even impressed. They've since undergone alterations. I'm a couple of sizes smaller than I was at the time. But since I put in so much work into the construction, and I was quite proud to say that I made a pair of jeans, I couldn't bare parting with them.
Do you use Instagram? Do you find inspiration for fashion and sewing there?
You know I'm addicted to Instagram too and have quite a few fashion links there...but there is something about sewists and their blogs that still attracts me. Maybe it's because there is info about how they made their garment or what inspired them to make it that just can't be or isn't shared on Instagram...I don't know? But I am still following both hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteYour outfit is great and I'm glad you were able to save the jeans! You put a lot of work into them and it would have been horrible to have to give that away.
I haven't given up on blogs. I still love them. But I'm so visual that I'll always be drawn in by pictures first!
DeleteLove your top and jeans. Interesting how versatile that top is-uptown and casual. I need to go to Instagram more often as I do miss some fashion ideas. I still like reading blogs as I hope to get more info about a specific garment someone has made. Glad I read yours today as I am now following NY Times Fashion!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda!
DeleteI read your posts :-) Thanks for writing them up. I do love other forms of social media but there's nothing like hearing the voice of the writer (if they are someone you enjoy). I also meant to comment on Mikaela's prom photos. I was showing them to friends and talking about how creative they were and what beautiful young women they are. You must be super proud.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cidell! I read your too! We've all been doing this a longtime. And you've always been one of my favs!
DeleteI also love to read your posts for the details and thought that went into the project. However, I too LOVE instagram. It is so much easier to share what I'm working on that way rather than going through the whole blogging rigamarole.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this is a great top and it looks fabulous with the jeans. It's awesome that you were able to alter the jeans to fit. I recently altered a dress I made last year to take in the waist and I'm so glad I did! When something is too large it looks frumpy and sad. Clothes that fit get worn!
I agree. Clothes either too small or too large, just don't work! Thanks Grace!
DeleteYou look like YOU are headed to MB Fashion Week! I love your outfit. You are always so well put together. I'm thinking I like the flared jean look...balances us out more than skinny jeans. I love Instagram! I use it for all of my hobbies...cycling, crochet (which I'm learning b/c I was inspired to make a 70's granny square blanket for our camper), quilting, apparel sewing, gardening and of course dogs. I started a blog but since my crochet & quilting projects are longer term, I haven't posted much. But I'm on Instagram every day looking around. :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'm about to have a new love affair with flares! Thanks SmileDog Stitches!
DeleteI do instagram... but not so much for fashion. Usually for other aspects of my lifestyle
ReplyDeleteInstagram is very addictive for me! Thanks Penelope.
DeleteI really enjoy your posts, which is why I follow, but have no interest in Instagram at all.
ReplyDeleteThanks patsijean!
DeleteI only recently got into Instagram and love it! That said, I still read blogs primarily as I enjoy the story behind construction or other interesting topics that come about from blogs. I don't have a blog so I thank those of you that take out time to share.
ReplyDeleteI do a mixture of both! Thanks Levone.
DeleteI've never used Instagram-- if I want pictures of something fashion-related, I'll generally just scroll through the search results in Google Image Search.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've taken up blogging, I've put a lot of thought into the balance between text and images in my blog posts. When I read other peoples' posts, I want to see a lot of photos, since it's so much easier to figure out construction details from photos versus text. So I wanted to put a lot of photos in my own blog posts.
But here's the thing-- It takes me 2-3 hours to do the photos for my blog posts. At least! I have to set up the shot, make sure the lighting is right, make sure the photos are in focus in all the areas where they need to be in focus, pick the handful of keepers out of (sometimes) hundreds of photos, and then edit the RAW files in Lightroom. At the end of that, I only have the energy to write enough text to string the photos together.
Still, I do need text. For a while, I thought about posting my sewing projects entirely on Flickr, but then I realized that I wouldn't be able to add as much exposition as I wanted.
So now, my philosophy is that I tell the story through photos, and that the text just serves to explain the context of the photos.
The thing about Instagram is you never know what you're going to see! You run across things you didn't even know was out there. Take my inspirational picture for example. I just happened upon that.
DeleteI agree with you about photos for the blog. You sound like me. We shoot in RAW and I have to edit. Sometimes will take almost a hundred photos just so I can get 4-5 for the blog. But the time investment has worked out to my benefit over the years.
Thanks Sewing Faille!
You shoot RAW too? You're a woman after mine own heart ;-)
DeleteI do! It was recommended to me years ago when I bought a DSLR.
DeleteI love IG - it is amazing! So much inspiration, and so easy to go through (unlike pinterest)! I saw the dress you made for your daughter's ball through the mccall patterns feed - it was beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nat! And yes, I'm a BIG fan of Pinterest as well!
DeleteGreat top. I'm always so mesmerized by people who actually sew their own jeans! You look marvelous Baby Doll! Well I am glad that you take the time to write posts/blog because I certainly enjoy hearing what you have to say
ReplyDeleteJeans are fun. They take some time because of all of the details. But they're so worth it! Thanks Natisha!
DeleteI have to be honest also, I do not read all blogs myself but I do read your. You Iook amazing, I love the top and the jeans. I am yet to make my first pair of jeans. Thanks for the inspiration and I do get inspiration from instagram as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's no way to read them all. And a subscribe to A LOT! It's just a lot of scrolling through Feedly until I come across something that truly engages me! Thanks Etta!
DeleteYou nailed this Erica B and it looks great on you! I'm always inspired by your work and great sense of style. While I do tend to write a lot on my blog (more so for me)LOLL I agree who has time to read them all! There's so many great blogs out there that its difficult to read them all. I do enjoy instagram but have to admit I rarely check outside of those I follow for styles there. Maybe I will have to rethink that! LOL Anyhoo I think you're awesome and I truly enjoy checking out your blog!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Shari MD Threadz
Thanks a lot Shari!
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