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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

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/ Archives for blogs / every day life

every day life

2017 Favorite Links

December 21, 2017 By Chie

Over this past year, I started sending out a monthly newsletter. It includes highlight of my blog posts, favorite links and short messages. I thought compiling all my “favorite links” of the year might be fun, so here they are! Most of them are sewing-related, and some are small business tips and blogging tips. Enjoy!

January

♥ Beginning of the year calls for a new calendar! This super cool washi tape that turns any notebook into a calendar. 
♥ I love reading Brooks Anne’s journey of making a custom made dress.
♥ Great article on While She Naps about slow growth and the internet gold rush. I believe most good things in life are built slowly overtime. 
♥ Love every thing this girl does. This wrap dress (actually separates that looks like a dress) would be a perfect addition for the Spring wardrobe!
♥ Great tips by Maddie on how to travel with your sewing machine. 

February 

♥  This is great for lingerie sewers – 4 Sets of 12 mm Rose Gold Rings & Sliders for £3.50. Want! 
♥  Simple guide to creating an online course.
♥  Just added this Nimbus extension for my Google Chrome to take a screenshot of a whole webpage, not just the visible part. Very useful! 
♥  With Canva, it is easy to design facebook page cover photo or event invitation. I like the fact that you can pay as you go ($1 per design)
♥  I watched BuzzFeed women attempted to make their own dresses. It reminded me of the first time I made myself a top (Almost 10 years ago).
♥  How to be More Consistent at Blogging. Always my goal. 
♥  Sewing tip: Use graph paper to copy a commercial pattern. The grid is helpful in keeping the grain line straight.

March

♥  Free bra fit checklist PDF download at Merckwaerdigh!
♥  Five minute photo-filled history of Callot Soeurs (one of the most important couture houses of the Belle Epoque).
♥  Amazing behind the scene videos of Chanel and Georges Hobeika. 
♥  I learned in this article that ruffles are historically unisex, as opposed to our notion of ruffles as a girly statement. 
♥  DIY duct tape dress form! 
♥  Round up of fall 2017 trend. My favorite is little house on a prairie inspired dresses.
♥  Free swimwear sloper for download at Burda Style. It’s a good starting pattern for making a bodysuit.
♥  Helpful article in how to define your personal style. 
♥  I see embroidery everywhere this Spring. This free template from Burdastyle helps you jazz up a neckline of a Spring top!

April

♥  My friend from Philly sent me a brochure from the exhibition of 1960s Paris Fashion at FIT. I searched online, and found a recap of the exhibit. It’s great!
♥  EASIEST way to sew a ruffle. This is amazing. Just watch it! 
♥  Bridal gown new trend – “barely there” dress! 
♥  I was curious as to how actors fake accents as I watched Damian Lewis acts an American billionaire in Billions. Here is the answer.

May

♥  7 Questions to ask for a minimalist business owner via Amy Lynn Andrews.
♥  Love this free pattern – Unicorn Key Tag. Great as a gift.
♥  How to on making a mitered cornered welt pocket flap via Thread.

June

♥  Love this DIY linen jumpsuit!
♥  Have you had trouble turning a spaghetti strap inside out? Try this trick on how to sew spaghetti straps using cord. 
♥  Lessons from 7 Years of Blogging by A Pair and a Spare. Looking back, I started blogging around the same time and followed her blog since 7 years ago. Her site is somewhere I still visit on regular bases. I think she has stayed true to her style and did not sell out to sponsors or was less obnoxious about the sponsored posts. Read her tips! 
♥  Fun youtube video by with Wendy on How to Buy Fabric.
♥ What to do when you are feeling blah about everything.

September

♥  This girl’s patch pocket coat is so cute! Thinking of making this for Kiko this winter.
♥  Four rulers that I covet. 
♥  Sashiko embroidery tutorial with free patterns! 
♥  Honest opinion essay by the owner of Design*Sponge about the state of blog. Interesting.
♥  Pinterest hashtag tips.
♥  Quick tips for round hem. Would look great for a wool skirt.

October

♥  I love this top. I would love to make it in neutral colors like black, gray and white. This would be something I would actually wear every day. 
♥  This gave me a chuckle…How I Grew My Instagram Following from 430 to 433 in One Month!
♥  How to Sew Velvet like a Pro – via Threads
♥  How a Cashmerette sewing pattern is developed from start to finish. Inspiring! 
 

November

♥  My six-year-old daughter is really into crafting now. This “make your own button” project seems like a fun project to do with kids.
♥  I don’t quilt but this is an interesting article on how to buy quilting fabric wholesale.
♥  How to plan your blog content via a Pair and a Spare. Better blog content planning is in my to-do list for 2018! 
♥  This button hole attachment for industrial sewing machine is on my wish list! I use Juki D9000. I love the machine but one disadvantage is that it only sews straight lines, so I have to pull out my old home sewing machine to do my button holes. The attachment will solve the problem! 
♥  Wedding dress designer, Brooks Ann uses use fusible interfacing to make the sheer flower print pop, making it more opeque. 

December

♥  Free snuggly slipper boots patterns via Tilly and the Buttons. Great as a handmade Christmas gift! 
♥  Another Christmas gift idea you can make in a big batch for coffee lovers. 
♥  20 reflection questions you can ask yourself to say goodbye to the year 2017.
♥  Fun video showing how Christian Dior is training its next generation of craftsman.
♥  This article includes good tips on sewing french seams for chiffon…sew with the tissue paper!

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Filed Under: every day life, inspiration, my favorite Tagged With: business advice, sewing, small business tips

2016 in Review & What’s Ahead

January 1, 2017 By Chie

2016-in-review-and-whats-ahead-vivat-veritas2016 is ending soon. Thank you for all the support you’ve given this year. I hope to be able to keep creating beautiful things and sharing things I learn on my blog. To sum up the year, I wanted to recap some highlights from 2016.

Wedding dresses and client worksbridal photo in hamarikyuBridal photoshoot with Tulirefashioned wedding dress vivat veritas bridal3Refashioned wedding dresstulle-lace-wedding-dress-back-viewTulle knee length wedding dress
close up and back of purple dress
Lavender wedding dressivory-lace-mini-dress-by-vivat-veritasIvory lace mini wedding dress
white fur cape and sparkly romper
Sparkly costume for J-pop singersorange kimono dressKimono dressback view of emerald green kimono wrap dressMore kimono dress

35 Blog posts

I wrote 35 blog posts in the year 2016. That is much less than what I wrote last year, which was 69. There are many unblogged objects which I want to show here in the future. With limited time, writing blog posts was not my top priority and updating Instagram took over the place to showcase what I made. Of the small number of the blog posts, these three posts generated the most page views:

– Bluff-stitched patch pocket tutorial
– How to alter the back of a dress that is too small to zip up
– Realistic look on hours I spent on my handmade business

It’s interesting that these posts are informational posts as opposed to “what I made” posts that were popular last year.

Newsletters

I started a newsletter in 2015. For 2016, I wrote once a month. It is usually a recap of my blog posts of the month, some behind the scenes stuff and links of things I enjoyed reading/watching. If you are interested, sign up here.

What I sewed for myself
I had some opportunities to sew myself new clothes. Here is the roundup:
back style - beige wrap dressTransitional Piecestripes body suit and levis 501 jeans2Stripes body suitme made may outfit vivat veritas blogNeutial stripe skirtkhaki color wrap dress with big pocketsKhaki wrap dressmerckwaerdigh bhs10 size aMerckwaerdigh BHS10simple-outfit-white-button-up-and-blue-jeansArcher button-up with fly front modification

For Kiko
I sewed some stuff for my daughter. She recently turned five. We started going to Nippori together to choose fabrics. She likes that her opinions are incorporated in her clothes.
Princess aurora dressModern Princess Aurora Dresssimple knit dress in panda fabricPanda dresspeacoat-dusty-green-handmadePea coat

Most frequently used patterns
Last but not least, my most used patterns were Carolyn pj from Closet Case Files. It is a great pattern to make it as a gift! 
Carolyn Pajama Closet Case Files3
Carolyn pajama in silk satinaztec-pattern-carolyn-pajamas-by-closet-case-files-3Aztec Carolyncarolyn-pajama-pink-and-ivory-pipingCarolyn pajama in Pink

P.S. Here is 2014, 2015 in review.

2016年の総まとめをしてみました。こうやって見てみると色々作ったなとしみじみ。
作ってお客様に羽ばたいていったものたちや、自分のクローゼットに参加した洋服たち。
来年も素敵!と思っていただけるものを作っていきたいと思います。
今年1年、ありがとうございました!

chie sig2Find me elsewhere:

Filed Under: blog, blogs, every day life, 日本語 Tagged With: handmade clothes

Realistic Look on Hours I spent on My Handmade Business

December 24, 2016 By Chie

realistic-look-on-hours-i-spent-on-my-handmade-businessAs the end of the year is quickly approaching, I was thinking back of the list of things I wanted to do in year 2016. I wrote in this post back in 2015 that I wanted to track the number of hours I spend working on my business. The main part of the business is designing and making wedding dresses. A less time consuming, but equally important aspect of the business, is the culmination of other less time consuming projects. These are things like selling on handmade market places like etsy and creema, participating in various photoshoots and working on other sewing projects like custom kimono dresses and costumes. This past year, at the end of every work night, I would keep a log of the hours I spent in excel. vv-work-hour-log-screenshot

It is pretty simple; I only have three columns – date, hour and the specifics of my activity. Between January 1st to December 23rd (total of 358 days), I spent the total of 737 hours. On average, I spent two hours every day working toward my business. It is about 14.41 hours per week. In reality, I don’t work on Sundays and there are some days that I did not get to put my hours toward because of travel or family. So it might be more accurate to say that I spend 2.8 hours, or approximately three hours every weekday after/before my 9-5 job on my personal business.

I included the following to my log:
– Sewing time
– Time I spent on buying materials
– Blogging
– Writing newsletter
– Taking and editing photos
– Consultation time with clients
– Networking events or parties
– Time I spent on making my own clothes. Although it was not many hours, I counted this into log as my study time and material for blogging.
– Updating etsy and creema shops
– Accounting and taxes

I did not include the following:
– Transportation time from home to meetings or to fabric shops
– Knitting I do for pleasure
– Time spent at post office to ship orders
– Updating SNS

For the upcoming year, I am hoping to spend a similar amount of hours. About 2 hours a day would be a good goal for me to keep up my work/life balance. I am lucky to have a full time job that I can work from home so that I don’t loose time in transit. My kids go to bed at 7pm and don’t get up until 7am, which allows me to have the night and early morning dedicated for what I like to do. Looking back, the majority of time was spent on sewing, which is fun for me but I need to spend more time on marketing/networking. This will bring more business but would necessitate a decrease in time on the sewing machine. But there is the rub, if I cannot have more business but less time to sew. So, I need a sewing assistant who can come over to my house and help. So…. finding that person is my next goal.

I will continue to log my work hours in 2017. It would be interesting to compare again this time next year.
chie sig2

Filed Under: blog, blogs, every day life, FAQ

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My name is Chie. I design and make custom wedding dresses in Tokyo, Japan. Read More…

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「GOOD DAY PARK!」🌱
横浜赤レンガで開催された環境保護をテーマにしたイベントで、@riemorrisvibes に衣装提供しました👗
彼女の明るさにぴったりのライムグリーン&松の木柄の着物リメイクセットアップを制作しました✨ 

Provided an outfit for @riemorrisvibes at the eco-themed event held at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse! 
Created a vibrant lime green kimono remake set-up with pine tree patterns to match her bright energy. ✨ 

#KimonoRemake #Sustainable
#GoodDayPark #GreenroomFestival #みなとみらい #着物リメイク #サステナブル
黒留袖のリメイクは私が大好きなもののひとつです🥹👌
黒地を背景にした鮮やかな柄はクリムトのアートを思い出させます🎨
こちらは華やかな花柄が映えるジャンプスーツにしました✨ 

✔ 一重仕立てで通気性抜群、夏も快適 
✔共布ベルト&丸バックルで愛らしいアクセント
✔アクセサリーが映える エレガントなVネック
✔ カシュクール風トップス

Upcycling a black tomesode kimono is one of my favorite things! 🥹👌 
The vibrant patterns against the black backdrop remind me of Klimt’s art. 🎨 

✔ Lightweight single-layer fabric, breezy for summer 
✔ Charming fabric belt & round buckle accent 
✔ Elegant V-neck, perfect for showcasing accessories 
✔ Kashkool-style top for a refined look 

Big thanks to @pepamoricet (model) and @carolinemarchante (photographer) 💕

#KimonoRemake #SustainableFashion #BlackTomesode
#着物リメイク #サステナブルファッション #黒留袖
Behind the lens, beyond the glam ✨📸 Sneak pee Behind the lens, beyond the glam ✨📸
Sneak peek at the magic in motion🌸

撮影の舞台裏📸✨

Model @jasineoftherose
Flower @hanasakie
Make up and hair @hmua_mami
Jewelry @catwalk_bijoux
Photographer @casa_mari_portrait

#撮影裏側 #BTS #FashionShoot #CreativeProcess #StyleInTheMaking
壺柄×無地オレンジのリバーシブル帯 壺柄×無地オレンジのリバーシブル帯ビスチェ🎴
表情がガラッと変わるツーウェイデザイン。
カジュアルにもドレッシーにも映える一着✨
後ろは編み上げリボンでサイズ調整も◎

Reversible bustier made from an obi with a unique tsubo (jar) motif on one side and solid orange on the other🎨
Elegant curve neckline + lace-up back = perfect fit.
From parties to street style — one piece, endless looks✨

Model @1.yve.1
Photographer @capturetokyo
Make up artist @mami_hmua

#帯リメイク #ビスチェコーデ  #帯ファッション
#KimonoBustier  #JapaneseStyle #TwoWayOutfit #ModernKimono
かのこ柄の赤いウォッシャブル着物から、ミディ丈のワンピースを仕立てました👘✂️
クラシカルなカシュクールデザインのフロントと、背中がまるく開いたバックシャンなシルエットがポイント。
ジャケットやカーデを羽織れば、普段使いにもぴったりです🧥✨
Vネック、ウエストのタック、すっきりIライン、ふんわりパフスリーブ…
シンプルだけど、細部までこだわった一枚です🌸

Made this midi dress from a washable kanoko-patterned red kimono👘✨
From the front, it looks like a classic cache-coeur dress — but turn around, and there's a chic, round cut-out in the back.
Layer it with a jacket or cardigan for an easy everyday look🧥🌿
Features a V-neckline, subtle tucks at the waist, a clean I-line silhouette, and puff sleeves with an open back for a modern twist🌸

Photographer @shirapyonphoto
Model @myon_y
Make up and hair @kaori0048

#HandmadeDress #CacheCoeurStyle #ModernKimono #UpcycledFashion 
#着物リメイク #カシュクールワンピース #和モダンファッション #ハンドメイド服 #kimonoremake
思い出の帯が毎日活躍するアイテムに🎒 
タンスで眠っていた帯が、A4サイズやPCも入る大容量リュックに生まれ変わりました。
シンプルなコーデのアクセントになる和モダンなステイトメントピース✨ 
内ポケット付きで機能性も◎ 
ストラップのメタルはゴールドorシルバーから選べます。 

📏サイズ:高さ40cm 幅30cm マチ5cm 

A cherished obi transformed into a daily essential 🎒✨ 
This upcycled backpack, made from an obi, fits A4 documents or a laptop with ease. Features an inner pocket for functionality, with strap metal options in gold or silver. 

📏 Size: H 40cm, W 30cm, D 5cm 

#ObiBag #Upcycled #SustainableFashion
#帯バッグ #アップサイクル #和モダン #サステナブル
華やかなレッドに、ゴールドの紅葉柄が映えるビスチェ ✨

帯をリメイクた特別な一点。
柔らかなカーブのネックラインが、女性らしくエレガントな雰囲気を引き立てます。

パーティーや特別なイベントで視線を集めるのはもちろん、
海外旅行で日本の美しさをさりげなくアピールできるのも嬉しいポイント🇯🇵✨

1枚で主役級の存在感。

シャツの上に重ねてベスト風に、カーディガンのインナーに、
冬ならタートルネックニットに重ねても素敵なコーディネートが楽しめます。
合わせ方次第で、全く違う表情に変わるのが魅力です。

✔️ 洗濯不可なので、夏よりも秋冬に大活躍の予感🍂
✔️ 後ろはリボンを通して編み上げるデザインで、後ろ姿まで可愛い🎀

パーティーコーデにも、カジュアルにデニムで外しても◎
オリジナルなスタイリングを楽しんでみてください💫

A stunning bustier featuring a bold red base with delicate gold maple leaf patterns.
This one-of-a-kind piece is crafted from upcycled obi fabric, adding a unique touch of Japanese tradition.

The soft, curved neckline creates a feminine, elegant silhouette.

Perfect for parties and special events, it’s sure to turn heads wherever you go.
It’s also a great way to subtly showcase Japanese culture during your travels abroad 🇯🇵✨

This piece makes a statement on its own, but you can also layer it for different vibes:
— Over a shirt for a vest-style look
— As an inner piece under a cardigan
— Or layered over a turtleneck sweater in winter for a chic seasonal outfit.

✔️ Note: Not washable, so it’s especially suited for autumn and winter 🍂
✔️ The back features a lace-up design with ribbon details—gorgeous from every angle 🎀

Dress it up for a party or dress it down with jeans for an effortlessly stylish look.
Enjoy styling this unique piece your own way 💫

Photographer @shirapyonphoto
Model @myon_y
Make up and hair @kaori0048

#帯リメイク
#和モダンファッション
#ObiRemake
#OneOfAKindStyle
#StatementPiece
Kimono Remake Jumpsuit 👖 A soft cream base ador Kimono Remake Jumpsuit 👖
A soft cream base adorned with delicate floral patterns gives this piece a refined and elegant look.
The waist tie cinches in to flatter your figure—and yes, it has pockets! (I absolutely love pockets 🤗)

着物リメイクジャンプスーツ👖

淡いクリーム地に花模様が散りばめられた一枚は、華やかで上品な存在感。
ウエストのリボンできゅっと絞ってスタイルアップできます。
そしてもちろん、ポケット付き!ポケット大好きなんです🤗

Model @naka_kanar 
Make up and hair @cocojpn5 
Photographer @tashaadelina 

#着物リメイク #一点もの #ジャンプスーツ
#KimonoRemake #UpcycledFashion #oneofakind
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