[Enid] The Denim Jacket Diary

Dear Diary,
I've been stuck-at-home since March 20th. I've "broken free" a couple of times with Severo for grocery shopping forays, and I've walked around the block for #freshair, but mostly I'm confined to the Digital Dungeon, "on the clock" for work-at-home.
Shelbee and Nancy are collecting images for their Good Buy/Goodbye series and I thought it'd be fun to find all the denim jacket looks hidden away here within the SpyGirl archives.

The Elvis (purchased circa 1983 in Pasadena at Die Laughing)
Good buy!

2014

The Todd (purchased from Canal Street Jeans, NYC circa 1999)
Good buy!

2019

The Tony (purchased in 1984 from Tony Young at Otis. It was part of his Junior year project for Guess)
Good buy.

2012

The 80's (purchased at Goodwill in Austin TX, late 90s)
It's quilted inside! Good buy.

2013

The Costco (purchased in 00s?)
Never wore it when it fit and now too small -- GOODBYE! You can get it on Poshmark!

2015

Linking with
Shelbee's On the Edge

Make It Yourself March, Week 2: Sustainable Making

This week's MIY March subjects are Sharing and Caring:
• Sustainable sewing tips
• Material sourcing
• Our most treasured textiles

I'm going to reminisce on some of my own workshop experiences that fall in the "sustainable" category. These also might give you some ideas for sourcing fabrics, fibers, and even art materials.
The boldface type will link to individual posts.

Slow Clothing and Mending at #CAFAM July 24, 2017
I mentioned Ruth Katzenstein Souza in the previous post. She is the goddess of sustainable practice and mending.
Read her "Original Call to Mending" from 2014!

Seeing these amulets, formed from saved bits of thread ends, fabric scraps, etc sparked my imagination.

[image source]

DIY Yarn from Old Tees with Frau Fiber April 21, 2018

That time I learned how to make "yarn" from teeshirts.

Which led to turning my old jeans into an art piece (still a WIP)

And my return to weaving.

Fiber Workshop with Carrie Burckle at Otis (no posts!) June, 2018

Experimented with various upcycling techniques, including

• Paper bags into yarn (difficult):

• Weaving warp ends that Carrie collected from Diedrek Bracken's projects that he worked on at Cal State Long Beach upcycled into my own off-loom weaving:

Original cotton, Diedrick dyed it pink.

Mock ikat with poured bits of red dye

Still sewing the squares together.

Note to self: I really need to write up a post or two about that workshop! Even if I have to predate it to get in onto the blog chronologically. 

Upcycling = lots of fun possibilities!

52 Pick-me-up: Blueberry / Workaholic / Talent

••• 

What, you ask, is Blueberry Blue? 
The answer is in the berries:

Dusty Blue! 
I opted for my denim tunic dress: 

Taking my monochromatic self over to Patti's Visible Monday linkup.

How about you?

Blueberry / Workaholic / Talent -- link and tell!

Crazy Quilt -- Levi's Cotton Denim

It took me a while to get some Levi's 501s, maybe because "everyone" wore them.
[Once I put them on,] They immediately became my favorite jeans for years.

I wore this combo of a boy's size 14 white crew neck tee with the 501s for my College of Creative Studies (UC Santa Barbara) exhibition announcement. The show was held in my last semester of school -- I quit after Junior Fall quarter to move to NYC with DEF to become a Famous Painter (DEF was going to write the next Great American Novel).

I had a great time posing in different locations around the campus with a CCS folding chair (they had a very specific brown metal folding model with a padded seat). Here follows a little tour of some spots on the UCSB campus with me and my folding chair:

outside CCS art studio

on the side of a building with 5 doors (not CCS bldg)

the outside patio of the cafeteria

by the lagoon

in the Pacific -- love the water skier!

the final show announcement

Highly Visible @Guess x @MarieClaire Event, part 2

Guess and Marie Claire hosted an event at South Coast Plaza that included

a live DJ, free manis, mini makeovers by NYX, and sweets and libations.

I showed you my sketches, here are the photos.

First, my outfit:

haha -- you weren't expecting Elvis, were you!

We won't say anything about the drive from West LA to the South Coast Plaza
except that it was the height of rush hour and took 1.75 hours to go 46 miles.

upon entering Guess, I was offered some water -- much needed!

we were also given a key, with the chance of unlocking a $200 gift card!

consolation prize

handsome gent with libations

handsome gent with cake pops

DJ

the mani station

the NYX makeover station

the products that Gabriel used on me

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty..."
with Gabriel

NOW WHAT? All dolled up with no place to go!

Bloomingdale's Missoni window was a good photo opp
(I like those dotted purses!)

I gassed up at Costco -- and coordinated too!

Finally, I took loads of selfies at home on the back porch under the florescent light.
This is my favorite of the bunch.

Once again, I'm an inept reporter and completely missed the Marie Claire promotion.

I think Guess was also launching a new perfume and I overlooked that too. Oh well.
I loved my NYX makeover! Thanks Guess, Marie Claire, NYX and Gabriel!

Linking up with Patti's Visible Monday
Go see what the gals are up to over there!
[4/3/20] also with Shelbee's On the Edge linkup

Crazy Quilt -- Wrangler Cotton Denim

Oh, what a disaster! The sketchbook was sent to Brooklyn three weeks ago and NOW I discover that I forgot to scan this page. I will have to mock it up -- not sure if I can remember my verbiage. Sigh.
Nevermind. I'm going to be like my lazy-ass teenage self pictured here and go read a book.

This is the outfit that I sketched.

What was I reading in August 1972?
Looks like a New Directions paperback... or Anais Nin...
I was and am a voracious reader. Reading is my escape.

I'll at least give you the quilt image from the sketchbook and a larger shot of the shorts as they are now.

Whenever I get my hands on the sketchbook again, I'll shoot a photo of the missing page and add it here. (Most likely when the sketchbook tour reaches LA in August).

The shorts started out as full-length jeans, probably purchased for horseback riding.
Yes, I was a "horse girl" before high school.

My first time on a horse at age 4 -- could my smile be any bigger?
This was at someone's birthday party (probably Cathy's).

The top was a design I developed as a more "demure" version of the previous page's banned cami, inspired by Mexican tops very popular at the time. I got this fabric from Kim's mom, who insisted "that's not enough fabric to make anything," a challenge I met with stubborn gusto!

Preppy Badass - 70s Flashback

[2.5.19] Anyone remember Polyvore? It's broken.
I've looked, but I don't think this image existed anywhere else.
Sigh.

Preppy Badass by anne-m-bray featuring 501® Original Fit Made in the USA Jeans

Another tribute to Erskine and the merry band of pranksters.
With a little help from my friends. You know who you are.