Laundry Day

So lucky am I to have a rare free weekend align with the nicest day of 2011 (so far). I'm taking advantage of it by taking advantage of my mom's absence. Her empty house means free laundry, cable, and lovely lush backyard.

Laundry Day Outfit

Tank: Bought new off a clearance rack, $1.00

Tunic: Made entirely by myself out of an upcycled tank and vintage fabric from a church sale, originally meant for the Recycle In Style show but deemed too unflattering, $.25-ish

Leggings: New off clearance rack, $2.00

Shoes: Gift from momma

Sunglasses: Bought from my favorite discount store (check out that signage!!!) for costuming--these were marketed as SUNGLASSES. Worn here solely for comedy and to demonstrate ineffectiveness. $1.00

Approximate Total: $4.25

Videos!

 

Here are a couple of video highlights from Recycle in Style 2011. Visit Goodwill of the Heartland's youtube channel to see so many more!

Also note that I am credited as "Broke (prn. 'Brooke')." What a giggle.

We did it!

Recycle In Style show. What a success!

Here's a small sampling of what I made and modeled for the big show on Saturday. More (professional) photos of the other looks will surface soon. And excuse the messy apartment! The past three weeks have allowed me only the time to sleep, eat, and work work work. It has since been cleaned up for my own sanity.

Left to Right: 1: Two homemade tops made of made of thrifted fabrics, paired with leggings and a necklace rescued from a family member's pile to donate. 2: Polka-dotted wrap blouse fastened with a handmade broach and a floral skirt shorted by myself. 3: Black lace bra under a white lace top. Paired with a square-dancing skirt, vintage petti-coat, and polka dotted belt. 4: Vintage blouse printed with horses and an ascot, worn with a skirt I shortened and re-hemmed in a silly way. All items were thrifted or made with thrifted materials with the only exception being the black leggings in the first look.

I am so thankful to have been a part of the process and being able to showcase the potential within sustainable clothing. Many people approached me after the show, asking for tips on creating similar looks on their own or, "was that leather skirt really less than $2.00!?" Yes, yes it was. Behold! the glory of a thrift trip.

Behind the scenes with Mona and Carissa. Their collections were amazing! Psst!--Our dressing room was inside of a docked semi truck.

Sonya, of Ladyfits, took a leap of faith in me. She allowed me to participate in her precious child, Recyle in Style, without any real proof that I was capable of "bringing it." In the end, I am proud of what I accomplished and believe that I met the organizers' expectations.

Ya'll, this was my first time doing anything like it.

Thank you to all who came! I'm enjoying some quiet time now, after the big projects and before the big move.

Recyle In Style Outtake

An outfit cut from my show. Those are tiny shorts. Too tiny for the show. Too tiny for here. Too tiny for anything. WHOOPS.

Come to the Goodwill of the Heartland Center  of Cedar Rapids--at 7pm on Saturday-- to see the good, less tiny stuff.

Recycle In Style Preview: A Peek Into My Process

Works in Progress

Woo doggies, I've been busy! I am currently taking a break from packing and preparing for my trip to Ames this weekend to see this, help out with this, and making video magic.

The craft corner in my living room has expanded to include most of my tiny apartment in anticipation for the Recycle in Style fashion show on the 30th of April. I'll have a couple of different sets of looks, focusing mostly on patterns, along with a smaller subset of re-purposed, shredded t-shirts.

 Now, if only I could get my sewing machine up and running. It has a mysterious timing/bobbin case disorder that my "regular guy" cannot sleuth out. Do you know of anyone that could look at my Janome for a reasonable price? Until then, I'll march on with my momma's clunky Singer...

RECYCLE IN STYLE: THRIFT BY DESIGN

On April 30th, the catwalk goes green.

The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency, in association with Goodwill of the

Heartland, presents the 3rd Annual Recycle In Style Fashion Show. This yearʼs theme: Thrift

by Design. All of the models will be showcasing materials that came from a thrift store,

resourced into something wearable.

Local thrift artist Sonya Darrow will showcase LADYFITS, alongside garments from Goodwill

and local designers Ramona Muse, Carissa Starleaf and Brooke Dearborn. Each designer

will bring a different storyline to thrifting by educating the audience on ways to view a

material as sustainable fashion. The featured clothing requires no additional consumption of

resources and promotes the use of recycled textiles to create new designs.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, April 30th, with the show beginning at 7:00 p.m. The free

event will be held at Goodwill of the Heartlandʼs Cedar Rapids Center, 1441 Blairs Ferry

Road NE, Cedar Rapids.

Space is limited: RSVP through the Solid Waste Agency, jevans@solidwasteagency.org or

recycleinstyle@gmail.com

The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency launched and has sponsored the

Recycle in Style fashion show the past three years. The Agencyʼs recycling and landfill

services are available to all Linn County residents and businesses.

WHAT: Recycle in Style: Thrift By Design

WHERE: 1441 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids

WHEN: Saturday, April 30, 7:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

Eco Arts Festival Wrap Up

Hey buddies, guess who survived participating in their first fashion show?

A: Sonya, myself, Carissa, and Mona enjoying fleeting sunshine and a dung beetle made of trash. B: Miniature craft pile. C: Workspace during our open studio. D: Getting ready.

The Eco Arts Festival, this past Saturday, was a smashing success! Sonya, Ramona, Carissa, and I had a surprisingly good turn out for our open studio during the day, and I was able to get more done than I would have at home. Creating in public while chatting seemed to get me further than it does at home (with cats and food and other distractions). Expect to see me sewing out on First Ave one of these days...

 A: Reconstructed shirt made from two tees, re-hemmed vintage skirt, and high-top white leather Keds. $7.00

B: Embroidered vintage blouse, red mini skirt, tiger's eye bolo, brown booties. $7.50

C: Once a one-piece business suit with attached jacket, reshaped with added lacy back, worn with patent leather pumps. $3.50

D: Two vintage slips (top is lace, bottom is sheer pink) worn with a tie belt from another dress and pumps. $5.00

The fashion show itself had an even better crowd. The number of people in attendance that weren't friends was encouraging, and the large crowd of friends was touching. What a supportive crew and community we have! 

A: Banana Republic military-inspired shirt dress over a leopard dress, worn with a white vintage belt and brown booties the day of the show. $6.00

B: Denim blouse embellished with stones and studs, southwestern vintage belt, and lace mini skirt. $10.50

C: Excuse this terrible photo! Vintage men's work shirt belted with cut off shorts for a casual summer look. $3.00

D: Pegasus shirt gifted to me by Jake on a bad day, vintage "B" sweater vest altered and gifted by Ramona, and a vintage snap skirt given to me by Carissa. FREE

Special thanks to Sonya (for allowing me this opportunity!), Ramona, Carissa, the New Bohemia District, Tom and the Gatherings crew, Ben (for making me fliers so people know that "Brooke isn't bad"), Cliff Jette and the Hoopla gang, and all my beloved family and friends for support.

*All items featured in the fashion show ensembles were purchased or received second-hand, including shoes, jewelry, and belts.

Eco Arts Festival Sustainable Fashion Show

Source: Hooplanow.com (visit before the 21st to see the relevant article!). Photo credit: Cliff Jette.

Well, look-a there! They put me on the cover of the local entertainment newspaper insert. I visited the Bottleworks building (host of Gatherings and the Eco Arts Festival Sustainable Fashion Show and open studio) on Tuesday with a few pieces I plan to bring Saturday. The photo choice was a surprise after spending the shoot struggling to make a "sassy, pouty face" under the instruction of my art director (Ramona). But look how excited I am about sustainable fashions!

See how excited my weekend co-horts are, too!

Sonya is an amazing thrift artist that will blow yer mind with her HANDSEWN creations.

Ramona will have the Cedar Rapids Roller Girls model her outfits!

Carissa is creating seven entirely different looks anchored by the same black dress. Neat!

Work started especially early today, so I added a couple extra sleeps this morning by selecting an outfit ahead of time. VOILA! no men's shirts or sloppy pants. Enjoy the change of photo scenery in the most shameful room in my mom's house (yellow walls and blue carpet!?!?!).

Top: Butter colored bib tank, a gift from Carissa, FREE

Cardigan: Old old old and embellished on a bored day years ago, $3-ish?

Skirt: Thrifted floral denim, shortened from maxi-length, $2.50

Belt: Thrifted, $.25

Necklace: Large tiger's eye pendant from Thrift Mart (spring '11), $2.50

Shoes: Holiday gift, FREESIES

Approximate Total: $8.25

Like Chefs That Eat Frozen Pizzas at Home

The preparation for all of these exciting upcoming fashion shows have in turn made me a pretty sloppy dresser. When it comes to the day to day stuff, I am all jeans-men'sbuttonups-and-ponytails. I guess it doesn't help that most of my favorite things are hanging in the queue, staying clean while waiting to be turned into attractive, sustainable ensembles. 

The set above (shown also below) is not yet sorted, and is only about half of the items I've set aside for this weekend's upcoming Eco Arts Festival Open Studio + Fashion Show. The official line I'll be showing on Saturday hasn't been finalized, but there are some things I can promise: Relevance, charm, wearability, and sustainability. I promise to make 7 full looks that have been entirely thrifted. Thrifted belts! Thrifted shoes! Thrifted jewelry! Thrifted scarves! Thrifted various other accessories! The only bought-new things you'll see me wear are what's underneath...which, I guess, you probably won't be seeing anyhow.

Because my mission with this show is to prove that you can survive in the fashion world as a thrifter, I don't plan on showcasing anything I've done much work to. Clothing may be shortened, hemmed, mended, or sewn-in a bit, but otherwise they've gone straight from the racks to my body. 

Dressing successfully in second-hand items does not require the use of a sewing machine. 

I promise. 

Let me prove it to you on Saturday.*

Frumpy, Frumpy Day

Top: Men's collared shirt from Thrift Mart (fall '09), $1.00

Cardigan: Hand-me-down from my mom after she shrank it, FREEBIE

Jeans: Target end-of-season clearance, $5.00

Necklace: Larger tiger's eye pendant from Thrift Mart (spring '11), $2.50

Shoes: Not shown, black flats passed down from a friend, FREEDUDE

Approximate Total: $8.50

*Psssst! Come visit Gatherings from 1-4 for a free Open Studio. We can chat about thrifting and sewing and how nice you look today.