The "New" Vest, Bunnies Not Included

Hello all!


Today Carol came in to pick up her new vests that she commissioned us to breathe a new life into. These items Carol had hanging in her closet, getting no use but she couldn't part with them either. The idea to change them into something more functional came about, so we set about this new task.

The idea was to create a new vest that would flatter her figure and would be able to be worn in multiple setting including a more formal atmosphere. The two vests created looked best falling at mid hip level. The creation of this item, along with Carol's extremely pleased reaction has spurred the idea to create more vests falling at the same length in different patterns and styles.

What was great about this project was that the pieces we worked with were brought in by the person who was having the items created. This is a great opportunity to bring in an item that holds sentimental value but just doesn't quite fit anymore, like your father's old blazer.

This project was also challenging because this was the first time creating a vest that would fall longer than waist level. The end product turned out wonderful and everyone walked away happy with the new vests.

In the case of the bunny vest, it has previously been a track jacket with a zipper up the very center of the jacket. This zipper was reworked into a decorative item along both sides of the vest that worked well with the silk along the neck line. A button allows the vest to still be closed.

Love & Fashion,

Kelley for Vagadu

Mixing florals with plaid....a great New Year's Eve combo!

I wanted to share one of my favorite new additions to my wardrobe. It has come as an afterthought so I don't have any "before" pictures of the dress before her makeover, but nonetheless I thought it would be a fun item to explore due to its boldness and flare.

As many of you know I am a queen of the discard, and I find it especially easy to take old styles and rework them into something new and glorious. This past New Year's Eve I knew I wanted a fab. dress but didn't have anything I wanted to wear...imagine ;-)!!!!

So I looked through my stockpile of items and found this broken down 1980s dress my dear friend Sarah gave me because--as she puts it-- it was so crazy, of course Joui would love it!

And she was right.

Although, I had forgotten about it because it needed its zipper replaced and was a little big, so I had put it aside until further notice.

Then came December 30th 2008 and it was the perfect solution for the problem at hand.

After fixing the imperative details, I sat around thinking of how to retrofit this garment to have the extra "Joui " touch. It is so bold, that I could and would wear it without any other changes. Somehow on that day I was inspired to go further. In homage to Vivian Westwood and her genius with plaids and formal wear I decided to pair this bright green wool plaid fabric to the dress.

But how to add the green? I considered many thoughts; applique designs, a sash belt and bow, basic trim, etc. But the one that was most appealing finally was the ruffle. I wanted a bold, stiff ruffle that could stand on its own so when I decided on the width of the ruffle, I added some fusible interfacing so that it really was sturdy. I also cut the fabric on the straight grain instead of bias to add even more strength.

I then started playing with how to place the green ruffle. I thought perhaps I would have it follow the two bust lines of the bodice, but that didn't seem right. I found that following the seam from the left of the bodice all the way down to the waist worked really well.

But then what? It still needed something else. Located on the right hip, was a very large bow sewn onto it. And although bows are totally in style, I thought it should be removed and be turned into a matching hat....hey and this was before Aretha Franklin showed off what a bow on the head can do at the inauguration!

Back to the green ruffle. By chance, I had made the ruffle long enough that by the time it reached the waist, there was about a half a foot of fabric left. I also noticed how it naturally wanted to curl around to make a spiral. So, taking it as a sign from God, I decided that a ruffle spiral at the waist was the perfect solution! However, the spiral needed something to pop out from the middle of it. I played with various other clashing fabrics, practiced making fake flowers and so on, but nothing felt right. Then I remembered these sequined flowers I had bought a year ago waiting for the right opportunity to use them....and the moment had come! The flower looked perfect as the final touch of the focal point. I was pleased!

I wore the dress out for New Years Eve and felt amazing! Not surprisingly, I got many people saying it was the best outfit they had seen all night!