What I bought - suit 2

The second suit I bought from Cour Carre (at 70 - 80% off) was a Gay Giano suit:

This one reminds me of Burda WOF for all its unusual lines.

In this close up you can see the unusual seaming. The curved seam goes across the back as well, which you may be able to see in the back shot above. Not easy as the matching of plaid is perfect.

The skirt has unusual seaming too and a button fly front opening.

I found the Gay Giano website and it says its customers are "trendy customers, celebrities and artists." !! The Cour Carre customer is the modern professional and business executive.

Birgitte asked on my last post "I'm also SO intrigued by the three piece sleeve, and think the stars have aligned: I"m just starting on a Chanel-inspired jacket. Do you think this is the 'famous' sleeve and vent referred to in the Threads article? If so, could you be super duper kind and show the underside of the sleeve, pretty pretty please!!! " And yes I think it is! I just had a look at a Claire Shaefer pattern with the three piece sleeve and it looks the same. The seam up the middle matches the shoulder and there are two seams under the arm. Here is a picture of the sleeve up:

What I bought - suit 1

I thought I would share with you the suits I purchased while in Hong Kong as I have not been sewing. Somehow with new clothes to wear I don't have the urge to sew anything.


I bought two suits from Cour Carre. They were marked down by 70 - 80% which made them very attractive. The green wool/silk/nylon/elastine I will show first I bought as a two piece - jacket and skirt. The skirt was the last one left and is a couple of sizes too big. I have started to unpick the sides but that is as far as I have got. But I have worn the jacket several times already to work with the 2 June capsule skirts.

I really love the details in the jacket. The side fronts and the back have a series of darts that are released as pleats - four on each - a total of 16. The sleeves have 3 parts. There is a seam down the centre, lining up with the shoulder seam. The vents at the bottom actually are real and you can undo the buttons.

In the all green outfit I am wearing one of the two new pairs of shoes I bought. Nice brand name - huh!?

This weekend I WILL take that skirt in and report back next week!

BTW, is anyone having trouble with their feeds via Internet Explorer? For some reason most of my feeds are not working. Some are coming in but the majority are not.........

I'm Back

Actually I have been back a week but can't seem to get back into the groove. Cheryl and I had a fantastic time in Honkers (is that just an Australian nickname or is it global?) but we sure wore ourselves out. It was hot, wet, steamy, crowded and with all the walking I lost 1 1/2 kilos!

One of the best parts was meeting up with Allison. We managed to have lunch, get in a bit of shopping and later in the week some drinks out.

It is amazing how you can meet up with an internet friend and talk away like you have know each other for ages! We could talk about you all as though we both had the same circle of friends :) And how funny that HK now has Spotlight - Allison blogged about that here. Cheryl and I didn't venture out to see it (but I was tempted to see if it looked the same).

Shopping was a bit hit and miss. Fabric wise I only bought a few pieces.
Two green pieces from the Western Market - one is a nice cotton shirting and the other an unknown blend (the vendor did say viscose something or other but I have my doubts). The grey is a linen blend purchased from the Yen Chow Street Market in Sham Shui Po.

Yes, that is the market under the trees!

While out in Sham Shui Po, I stocked up on zips!

I also bought some trims, buttons etc.

We also dropped into Angus International for some silks. That was an adventure in itself. Finding the place, going up the ancient lift and into a private residence. They were renovating their store and the stock wasn't there but the remnants were! So here we were rummaging through neatly packed silks in someones kitchen, without aircon. It was hot!!! They did not have a lot, just basics. This is what I got:
As to other shopping, I bought three RTW suits, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 handbags, 2 pairs of jeans, a Chanel trench (nice find in an outlet shop), makeup, perfume and some things for the girls.

I have uploaded all my photos here. Enjoy!

Vogue 2984 - 3

Photos after a day at work. Well I think the skirt looks a bit frumpy and it did not pass the wearability factor - my shirt kept coming out all day. I think I will take in the side seams to bring it up higher on my waist. The best thing was it felt very luxurious knowing how nicely I had finished the inside. Also the fabric has a really smart crisp feel to it and went really well with the HK jacket.

So I was really the Hong Kong Shopper with this outfit! Suit jacket - made for me in HK, shirt also made to measure in HK, skirt fabric from HK and accessories also from HK! Here is a close up of the shoes. They are actually Italian but purchased in HK - very international! The shoes are leather with the trim and bow in suede - nice~


Finally, thank you for your feedback on the seams and how you go about sewing and neatening (previous post). They all sound good and I will give each a try depending on what I am doing.

Chanel Suit

I am starting a winter long project - a Chanel suit. Marji has inspired me to have a go at this . Her jackets are just beautiful and I do have the perfect fabric!

I bought the wool tweed (Black, pink and burgandy) at a market in Hong Kong. Believe it or not, this is a picture of the market!

Just the lower tent like area is the market- all under tarps. It looks a bit scary, and it was but my sister & I ventured on and actually went in! I can't remember what I paid for it - probably about $40 HK for a metre - so about $6 Aussie dollars or about $7 US (on our fab exchange rate at the moment :). This was the only fabric I purchased from there.

The silk lining was purchased from a stall at the Western Market. The picture at the left is the building that this more upmarket market is situated. The trim was purchased at a shop in the garment district of HK - in the same area as the first market. I am not sure if I will have enough trim as I only have 2 metres. It should be enough for the edges, pockets and vents.

And I don't know what pattern I will use yet. A couple of years ago I did make this jacket in the style - but without the quilting and the "Chanelisms". I used a Burda WOF pattern. It does not have princess seams, or a three piece sleeve, so I think I will go in search of another pattern. I was also wondering - do you use shoulder pads in Chanel jackets? This pattern uses shoulder pads.

By the way, this jacket was made from a silk tweed from the Western Market and lined with a poly fabric (big mistake - too hot). I fused whisperweft to all the fabric before cutting. I also made the trim. In fact I think I will wear it today when off to parent/teacher interviews at DDs' school - with brown jeans, brown boots and a coral tshirt.