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Vivat Veritas

Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

/ Archives for Chie

Chie

DIY:: Cutout & Cropped Sweatshirt

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before and after DIY sweatshirtHi everyone! I wanted to show my first DIY of 2014. I’ve mentioned the fashion blog, Karla’s Closet in this blog a numerous time. I am obsessed with her style. She is just so….cool, someone that I would love to be fashio friends with. On top of that she has an amazing figure! She is my style icon. I saw she added a peep hole in her sweatshirt in this post, and since then, I have not been able to stop thinking about wearing sweatshirts. I had not owned a single  sweatshirt  previously (not sure why, I wear hoodies as roomwear), but I searched online for a cheap sweatshirt so I could recycle. I found this white sweatshirt from Rakuten for 500 yen. It’s actually a child size, but I figured that they make sweatshirts oversized anyway, so it should be fine.

As you can see above, my “before” picture is rather sad, and unflattering. Here is what I did to make it better:marking the line

I wore the shirt in front of the mirror and figured out how much I wanted to shorten it. I ended up marking the line 16cm above the rib. chopped

Chopped off the rib, and kept it since I wanted to attach it to the new hem line. Then I cut the shirt in the line I marked above. stitching the folded over band sweatshirttopstitched sweatshirt hemI re-attached the rib to the new hemline (make sure to pin the rib before sewing, and stretch out the rib as you sew, since the rib is shorter than the actual hemline). Then I overlocked the seam allowance and topstitched it from the front.handmade outfits by vivat veritas3

After that, I made the cutout detail in the neckline. It seems like Karla’s version is just chopped off without finishing the seam allowances, but I was afraid that they will fray. mark the new neckline with french curve

Marked new line with french curve…facing neckline

Attached the neckline facing and topstitched it. voila necklineVoila! The only thing I DON’T like about this is that the neckline got stretched out as I finished the edges, and makes a weird curve. You can see it below. new necklinehandmade outfits by vivat veritas

Overall, I’m pretty happy with this little DIY! I like to wear it with the sleeves rolled up and a high waisted skirt. By the way, I made this skirt recently too! Just a simple I-line skirt, made with a stretched knit. I lined it with the same fabric to seal all the edges so that the edges won’t be stretched out.

Outfit details: Hat:Bop Basics, Sweatshirt: DIYed, Skirt: Made by me (similar here), Bag: Alexander Wang, Booties: Rag & Bone

ChieSignature

{find me elsewhere: shop, facebook, etsy, twitter, pinterest, instagram}

 

 

Year 2014

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happy new year from vvHappy New Year everyone! Hope everyone enjoyed the Holiday festivities. We went back to my parents’ place from the 31st through the 2nd. We just relaxed, due to the cold that all three of us had. Plus, Andy and I were fighting because of things I don’t even remember, so for the entire time we were in the midst of a cold war. Not the best way to start the new year!

On bright note, a nice lady at my parents’ church let us borrow her daughter’s kimono for Kiko to wear. She kept her daughter’s for the past 24 years and the Kimono was still in a great condition, as you can see from the pictures. Kiko really enjoyed playing dress-up. Unfortunately, I did not have my SLR with me, so all the pictures here were taken by point-and-shoot and iPhone 5 cameras, and later edited in Photoshop using some Photoshop actions. In Japan, we have a tradition of dressing up girls in Kimonos when when they are around ages three and seven, and a boywhen he is five. We call it Shichi-go-san, meaning literally seven-five-three. People usually go to a shrine to celebrate the growth of their child. I love the bright red color of the kimono and the little bun Kiko had!

kiko 753 by vivat veritaskiko 753 by vivat veritas2kiko 753 by vivat veritas3

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Japanese New Year Holiday

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Hi, this is Rina! How was everyone’s new year holiday? I’m wondering how people outside of Japan enjoy this holiday. In Japan, people eat Osechi-ryori (seasonal japanese traditional dishes), visit relatives and exchange seasonal greeting, and visit to a shrine on new year’s day.

photo1 photo2

{Osechi-ryori; each food has a  meaning of new year wish}

I think Osechi-ryori is slightly different from each region and family. Every year I  try to learn how to make these dishes and learn my mother’s taste. It isn’t easy, but it is so much interesting to learn them and experience traditional Japanese culture.

photo3{Otoso (spiced sake drunk wish to lead a long life)}photo4{Ozouni (japanese soup with mochi, rice cake)}

There was a big surprise on the end of 2013. My two-years-older sister gave birth to a little girl! It was about three week ahead of the expected birth date. None of my family member didn’t expected to see the baby within 2013. It was the greatest gift in 2013 for me and my family.photo5

It seems every newborn wears this little knit hat. I’m wondering why…. it looks pretty though!

photo6

so small, so cute! I guess baby clothes are going to list on my to-make list in this year.

明けましておめでとうございます！日本以外の国ではどういう風にお正月をお祝いするんでしょうか？気になります。

私はおせち料理を作って、食べて、初詣に行って、おじいちゃんおばあちゃんに会って…平和なお正月休みを過ごしました。

ただ、年末には家族の中でびっくりなことがありました。２つ年上のお姉ちゃんが、予定日より３週間程早く、小さな女の子を産みました！家族の誰一人として、まさか年内に産まれるとは思っていなかったので、どたばた騒ぎできたが、本当にほんとうに素敵な「びっくり」になりました。

今年は、赤ちゃんの服がto-makeリストに載ること間違いなしです！

川崎大師で引いたおみくじによると、今年の私の運勢は波乱に満ちたものになるとのことでしたが、そんなおみくじにもめげず！今年も頑張りたいと思います。

今年もよろしくおねがいします　：）rina signature

More Rina’s posts….

– DIY: Bead Necklace
– Fashion’s Night Out in Tokyo
– Silk Painting Groom’s Vest