Molly Bloom knows style

Over at his site my well-dressed husband, Ted Rheingold, opines on scratchy pants and other wardrobe disposables.

I’ve been consuming teen things lately — Gossip Girl on the CW, the Twilight book series about love among high school students and vampires. This didn’t make me seem old until I read that Leighton Meister, who plays Blair Waldorf (my favorite Gossip Girl girl), was born in 1986. Yeah.

Blair is a bitch and she’s fantastic. Much has been made of the clothes worn by the cast, and for good reason — these are upper-crust Upper East Side kids. Blair pops bottles in limos and she’s just a senior. She wears this name plate necklace in several episodes and I love it. It’s ridiculously expensive but whatever, I want with engraved MGL on one side and TED on the other. Sweet, right?

Dear Michael Kors,

Hire me.

Legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland famously advised women to turn wornout overcoats into robes in the 1930s. When people ask if I incorporate used or vintage items into my projects, I tell them it’s not too often. My creative eye doesn’t see the the robe in the overcoat. Over at BurdaStyle there’s a handy blog post about using some of the free and downloadable patterns to make recycled creations.

I have some striped Tod Oldham for Target sheets that would do nicely for the Charlie bag pattern. Using a broken umbrella for lining fabric is an interesting trick and the ruffly sweatshirt-oven mitts are adorable.

More recycle crafting: a how-to video featuring Amy Sedaris & Todd Oldham decoupaging tiny tables with old giftwrap. My friend Polly uses vintage porn to cover stuff (tables, chairs, clocks) but you can decoupage anything. Use ModPodge!

I finished my couture gown and wore it to a party Saturday night. What fun! The gown was a project from Susan Khalje’s couture school last year, which is basically a boot camp for gown-making.

At the end of the week my gown wasn’t finished. While I finished my regular school work it hung in my closet. I’d sigh when I saw its copper shimmer drape down to a puddle at the floor, telling myself someday, someday. What I needed was impetus to get it done.

Then an invitation to a black-tie event arrived and work on the gown resumed. Picking it up again, I could see how my sewing techniques were more ingrained. I’m still thrilled with the color choice and am glad I went with the Grecian (one-shoulder) neckline.

Here’s another view of the dress, worn with my grandmother’s gold wrap.

photos by Ted