Lateral thinking versus linear thinking and the creative process

Lateral thinking versus linear thinking.
If Linear Thinking is nose-down, get it done, then Lateral Thinking is taking a step back to look at the Big Picture.  To paraphrase a famous Chinese poem, Linear Thinking sees trees and Lateral Thinking sees the forest.Ever wonder what inspires people.  I like to create, the process, the planning the execution and trying to make the elements of the project do what I want them to. Solving problems in the creation process is fun too. 
If I end up with what I tried to create, well that is icing on the cake.
I tend to have multiple projects going on at once. They often can influence each other. For instance I have some beautiful small pieces of wood that have been finished into geometric shapes. Originally I just strung them on a chain to have a necklace. Now I'm thinking of linking them with leather to make a hat band.


Hats hats hats currently I'm working on some Fedora style hats in panama straw. I was hung up on how I wanted to finish the brims, what size brims to make etc. Well I decided to keep the brims larger and to simply bind the edges with Petersham and make the head bands classic Petersham bow or tie. Sometimes doing less on a hat is more. The texture of the straw and the colors are enough I don't need any fancy hat band or trim.
So you can see that my thinking style isnt necessarily linear or lateral but perhaps horizontal. I jump back an forth from projects. When I get stuck on one project I change direction and work on another only to come back to the original project usually with a new solution. How do you create what is your thinking process?  And while I ponder all of this you can see me on Not Dead Yet Style 





 

Day six for the 30-30 challenge

 Oops my slip is showing. Do people still wear slips? I do it makes the knit fabrics skim my body better. Today I wore a animal print blouse underneath my brown knit dress. I like the pattern with the jacket. I added purple shoes because the blouse has touches of purple in the animal print. Even though you can't see them in these pictures my earrings are purple stones on gold as well. This is a basic outfit nothing special just another way to wear a dress with a jacket.

Day Five, 30-30 challenge Brown with orange

 I have a cold boo hoo hoo!! I hate having colds. I don't get them that often but when I do I look like ... NOT GOOD. 
But I have to keep my challenge going so here is my jacket with an orange sweater underneath and my golden khaki jeans tucked into my boots because of all the slush outside. I had to go to the store to get some soup and cold medication. The blouse which is under the sweater has a quasi-animal print which obviously the hat has as well.

I am not smiling in this picture because I just don't feel like it. I didn't want anyone out there in blog land to think I am some sort of superhuman that smiles no matter how they feel.

It's snowing Day 4 of the 30-30 challenge

It's snowing of course we have reserved tickets to see Les Miserable. Well I will be Plus Miserable if we cant get there...

I'm wearing my snow boots which I never got to wear last year. My husband laughed when he saw me put them on. We only have an inch or so of snow.


I layered my vest over the brown jacket. I have a tunic top over my brown leggings If nothing else I'll be warm without the bulk at the theater. Navy Beret and gloves complete the outfit.

red with red with brown day 3, 30-30

Merry Christmas! 
Today I wore my red skirt, red sweater and brown metallic jacket. I added a red scarf because it tis the season. I added metallic flat shoes today because I was doing the cooking.
The skirt and sweater look like a different red in this picture than the scarf but in person they look very similar.
I think the proportions are okay again in this outfit. The shoulder to hip length of the jacket is shorter than the hip to hem length of the skirt so I am not cut in half.
I hope you all ate well today and made merry with friends and family. 

30-30 day two: Metallic denim with paisley

Who says you can't wear a jacket with a dress?? 
Color:I believe that this jacket works with this dress because the colors in the print of the dress are of the same muted brown tone of the jacket.
Proportion:The length of the jacket is ever so slightly longer than the length of the dress showing below the bottom of the jacket so it doesn't cut me in half. 
Shoes: They are a peep toe pump with a 2 1/2 inch heel. They bookend my hair color so it functions to bring the eye back up to my face.
Accessories: Brown pearls combined with turquoise stones. Earrings match but I dont mind being matchy-matchy when everything else is different.  

30/30 ChallengeThe Jacket: Vogue 1036

The Jacket is finished! What a long project this ended up being top stitching and top stitching galore lots of aggravation. This was a project that I wanted to put in my best effort. I made several muslin versions just to get the fit I wanted. I still think that the sleeved shoulder area was too roomy. The pattern called for both a header and shoulder pads. I would have preferred a simpler treatment. I did like the sleeve detail even though it took a lot of time to sew it and top stitch it. I used buttons instead of snaps and I am happy with that choice. I never have much success with snaps they always seem to come loose from the fabric.

So now that I have finished it I decided I need to wear it. So I'm going to try to come up with as many outfits as I can incorporating this jacket. Why not 30/30 challenge. In the next 30 days I will wear the jacket incorporated into the outfit. I think this will be fun to see what I can come up with.

Faux animal with a pop of color/downsized tree

 This is a fake animal print jacket. It maybe is better described as an abstract black/white print. It has always reminded me of an animal print. I always wore this with black or another neutral. It just occurred to me the other day when I was sitting on my bed looking into my closet that these pieces would work well together. The top has sequins all over the front.
And that is my new 4 ft Christmas Tree. I bought it at Target. I wanted to downsize from our old 6.5 ft. tree that wasn't going together well anymore. It is just the perfect size.
Well I feel visible in this outfit today so you can see me over at Not Dead Yet Style

Can you wear more than one shade of green together?

 Can you wear more than one shade of green together? I say yes! I have a deep olive green coat, a moss green scarf, and a khaki green striped T-shirt, with a green cargo skirt. My leggins and shoes are black. I have a black quilted  vest on under the jacket that is visible in the above snap shot.

I like my greens do you ?

Another attempt at the Lagenlook style:homage to a ragpicker

My husband calls this style 'Chic Rag-Picker'! I don't know why but whatever. I like the concept of wearing over-sized clothes that are made out of linen and cotton and rayon blend knits. All so comfortable. I have my summer dress over a long sleeve T with a brown Chico's draped cardigan.  I'm wearing my textured tights and my brown motor cycle boots.
My necklace is very old from 1991. Here is the picture that was my inspiration.

This dress is much looser and has more volume in the hem area than mine but the boots reminded me of mine. I added the jacket layer for warmth.

An altered state:Lagenlook, day one

I thought it would be fun to see what 'Lagenlook' outfits I could create out of my present closet. I am intrigued by the layering effects. In theory I need some volume to balance out my top heavy inverted triangle body shape. I am wondering if the Lagenlook style might do this for me. I like the vertical lines all of the draping creates. So I layered a sleeveless draped vest over a skirt over leggings. I needed a jacket and added a motocross-jacket but didn't like the look. The colors are all muted but not sure the style worked. It was too cold to go without a jacket today. I wore flat shoes in brown textured patent leather. I added a long necklace and some bangles. 
I'm challenging myself to see how many 'looks' I can come up with before I make or buy anything new. I think a cross between classic and Lagenlook-style might work. Feel free to give me feedback good, bad or indifferent is all welcome.

Lagenlook do you like this look?

LAGENLOOK -German for the layered look but it is so much more. I have been inspired by Marcy and Catherine Tiltons wearable art looks. I never knew that this type of look had a name. I always called it the baggie-gypsy-hippie-linen and twisted sweater look. I have been looking with some interest at website Pinterest with examples of these clothes. One person even tells you how to do this look. 
1. start with leggins or pants or a long loose skirt. 
2. add a long sleeve long top usually with an asymmetrical hem. skirt look
3.layer a shorter top over all of the above plus add scarfs 
Its about playing with proportions and volume. Now some volume will make you look more voluminous. 3 piece pant look  Other additions of volume will hide what is underneath. I guess you have to play with this. I have seen plus sized women carry-off this look very well. The tall skinny women can do this to. I am not sure about myself but I think it will be interesting to play with this look and see what I can come up with.

dress look, jumper look What do you think? Would you wear these types of looks? I think I like some of these looks but not sure how they will work on me.

Vogue 1036 update

When I chose this pattern I didn't realize how time consuming top-stitching can be. I also chose to top stitch each line 3 times. It takes a lot of patience to top stitch. It also takes good thread and a good needle. Despite my caution to do everything 'right' the stitching still can go cockeyed in a flash. The thread can also fray and break mid stitch UGH. (I am such a good stitch-ripper. I have had so much practice on this project.)

Did I mention that the pattern sheet is a little vague in  places as well. I almost had to do the sleeve inserts twice. I made a mistake on the muslin and didn't realize it until I went to do the fashion fabric. (Good thing I labeled all of my pattern pieces with painters tape.)
I know that if I ever make this jacket again I will skip all of the top stitching. 
I have the body all sewn together and top stitched. I have the lining sewn together. I am finishing the sleeve assembly and will then set them into the body of the jacket. Then there is putting the lining into the jacket with facings sewn between the lining and the jacket. Never had both facings and lining before. Then there is the bottom band on the jacket and the sleeves. Sandra Betzinger sure put a lot of steps into this design. My new goal is to finish this jacket by Christmas. My old goal was to finish it by Thanksgiving. NOT!
The top stitching is done with gold thread. It is triple sewn and along the seam edges.

jacket front

jacket back

pocket

sleeve insert &upper sleeve

 

Quilted Vest plus dress

Baby it was cold outside yesterday.  I wanted to pose with just the dress and vest and it was way too cold for me. So I popped on a hat and coat.  I am at visible Monday today at Not Dead Yet Style.

The hat is Abhats, the camel hair coat is vintage from a neighbor, the dress is by Wendy Pepper, the vest is by Christopher & Banks and the boots are Vince Camuto.

The third piece,when it is the star

up close detail of coat fabric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take a look at this fabric. It is actually made with a cutaway technique. An old table cloth was sandwiched between black fabric on top and a backing. The patterns were stitched and the black fabric was cut away to let the tablecloth fabric show.

 I think this coat is a star and I like wearing it. It is great for 50 degree weather. I contrasted it with my gold sweater which looks sunny yellow in these pictures. YES I am wearing black but not next to my face. I can wear most of my shoes again. Since I have a new knee my gait changed. I now properly distribute my weight along my whole foot;now the shoes don't fall off when I walk. Funny how the surgery for my knee benefited my foot as well.
I got this coat at a boutique in Berkley Springs, W VA about two years ago. Do you have any 'stars' in your wardrobe?

Denim Fur: Peta won't object

Denim and fur two good combinations. I am wearing the denim and my dogs love their fur coats... I am hooking up with visible Monday today. Not Dead Yet Style Hope you are having a great Veterans day.

Score: I finally found something while thrift shopping

I finally found this denim jacket in a thrift store. It only cost  $13.00. What makes it sweet is that it fits really well and has the details I was looking for. It is a Jones New York sport brand. I have a hard time finding stuff in a second hand clothing store that I would be willing to buy. Ephermera just did a post on this very same topic. I totally agree with her. If the quality of the piece is not good then why bother. The price is the icing but it is the item that should be what you really need and have a good quality. Here are some pictures of my new find. Although this jacket is just a basic I do like all of the details it has.  Do you find it difficult to find great stuff at your local thrift store?

Momma got some new clothes...

My new rule for buying off of the rack is that it must already go with 3 things I own. So here are two looks with the new 'squares' top. I bought something that is longer on me and has the flattering draped neckline If you will notice that it has no set in sleeves. The top is all one piece. I think this works to camouflage my big shoulders/bust combination. I love that the top has so many color blocks that make it work with so many of my other clothes. Here are a few looks so far.

with flared jeans

with equestrian legging/quilted teal vest

neutral rain coat for warmth

secret pattern mixing

Inspiration from other bloggers:How to wear a millitary jacket?

Sometimes I need to see how someone else is styling a piece of clothing to give me an idea. This happened when I was trying to figure out how to wear my military jacket. So I utilized the idea I got from Catherine's web site. not dressed as lamb military jacket and turquoise sweater  The color is a dark grayed green and I couldn't figure out what to pair with it. 

Catherine from Not Dresses as Lamb

My interpretation from her inspiration

 Sometimes other people can really give you an idea of how to put something together. You can see me at visible Monday of another great blogger, Not Dead Yet Style.

Inspiration from magazines:Make a collage

Do you ever cut pictures out of magazines of outfit looks that you like? I do. I usually collect them for a while and then sort through them and paste them onto poster board. What I look for are items in the pictures that are similar to what I have in my wardrobe. I also look for color combinations that I usually would never think to try. What I looked for this time was 
1. quilted vest looks
2. military jacket looks
3. moto cross leather jacket looks
4. serpa jacket looks
5. trench coat looks
6. ways to accessorize

colors and layering

dress and quilted vests and moto-cross jacket looks

separates and color combinations