Le temps de nuit des sorcières, les gens!

(Halloween time, people!)

I don't know what the French call Halloween. I guess that's what the ole internet machine is for.

So, Halloween is a big deal in my house. Correction: Halloween is a big deal to me. Everyone in the house just plays along. Of course the kids always get excited about the candy.

A couple of months ago, I started grilling my kids as to what they wanted to be for Halloween. Every time, I either got "I don't know" or a different idea each time.

My conversation with the boy:

Me - "Oh! Do you want to be Tin Tin?"

Boy - "Ummmmm. no." He's always afraid of disappointing me.

Me - "The Doctor again?" Re-use. Yes! Re-use.

Boy - "Ummmm." This wasn't going well.

Me - "What's that boy's name on Gravity Falls?"

Boy - "Dipper!!! Yes! I want to be Dipper!"

Me - "Okay!"

 Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls.

It turns out, Gravity Falls is this hilarious, mystery cartoon on Disney XD. Okay, Dipper wears this signature hat with a pine tree on it. I got mine from Zazzle.com. I had a $6 credit from selling items I had created on the website. They also offered a 30-day trial of Zazzle Black that included free standard shipping, and I used a 15% off coupon code. Spent $6 and change on the trucker hat. Working with Zazzle can be a real pain for us fangirls, because if they even get a whiff of something that may ever so slightly hint at copyright infringement, they put the kibosh on it. I made buttons that said "Bowties are cool." I sold quite a few before they removed my items from my store. Jerks. I say this because when I went to the site just now to nab a pic of the blue pine tree hat, they had removed all of them. I think they just monitor my account. This is what I got.

Pretend it's royal blue. Curse you, Zazzle!!!

Next, I needed a Navy blue puffer vest. I found one on ebay for $.99 with one bid, so I bid on it. $1.24. Sweet! $3.75 shipping. I would get through this Halloween on the cheap! Just before the auction ended, someone sniped me and got the vest for $3.25. Grrrr! I did another search and found one on something called Blain's farm and field or something. $18 later...

At least he'll be able to wear it all winter.

Boy has brown shorts, white socks, black sneakers. I just need to hop over to Hobby Lobby and grab one of these for $5.

Costume completion @ $29. Not as cheap as I would like. The girl is next.

Dream outfit update: I got the notice in the mail to pick up my red plaid jacket!

Overall Overhaul

I cautiously excitedly proceeded with my plans to remove the front and back bibs and apply them to my Levi's.

See how the washes on the jeans and the overalls are nearly identical.

I ripped the seams on the back bib.

 Back bib removed!

I ripped the seams on front bib.

Both pieces had unnecessary belt loops - which I removed.

I pinned the back bib onto the waistband of my Levi's. Since this piece will be permanent, I can sew it right on.

On the front bib, I used heavy duty wire cutters to remove the lower button.

 Gone!

 I attached an extra piece of thick denim to the bottom of the front bib, so I would have fabric to attach the front bib to the front of the Levi's.

 Sewing the back to the jeans.

 Oops! In order to attach the front piece, I had to cut the seams back a bit. Then I buttoned the front to the back.

 I sewed the front on the side that ends up under the button, and left the other half loose. It will be tucked in, buttoned up and snapped into place.

The straps came with loose hardware. I wasn't exactly sure how the adjustable hardware was supposed to go on. No directions came with the overalls. I pinned the straps where they needed to be.

 Using the navy thread, I stitched down the sides.

 Undetectable!!!

 To further secure the loops, I put a short anchor stitch on both sides.

Almost invisible!!

 Cheap workmanship = wonky hems. I will fix that!

 You are now in order!

 Welcome, my blurry, nearly complete overalls. I will be putting a couple tiny snaps inside the right side so everything lies flat and secure.

Backside. It's so nice to know that these will fit when I slip them on!

No, you can't see them on me yet.

Spoilers!

Sad Update, but I haven't lost hope.

I received a package in the mail today. Yea!

I immediately ripped open my package wondering if it would be my jacket or my overalls. Overalls. I was greeted with the overwhelming odor of chlorine. Phew! It was just wretched. Really bad smell. Ok, point gotten across.

Problem. If you need to review, scroll down to look at the lovely Asian woman in an urban setting, wearing a pair of relaxed overalls.

#1 Notice her slight frame.
#2 Notice her flat bum.
#3 Take my word for it that neither of these descriptions applies to me.

I waited as long as I could, but soon found myself in my closet straining to squeeze my voluptuousness into the legs of the overalls. Crack, rip. Yep, popped an unseen seam.

Apparently the Asian population are not bootylicious. I tried again. This time with spanx. I had them on. Button the sides up? Well, these came straight from the factory and the button holes weren't cut open yet. And that's when I had my epiphany.

The wash on the overalls was nearly identical to the wash on a pair of bootcut Levis that I hardly wear because 1 or 2 washes in, they became just a little short.

Lightbulb!

What if I were to cut off the bib and back sections of the overalls and attach them into my well-fitting Levi's? The plan was to wear the legs rolled up thereby diminishing the one fault - too short.

What if the bootcut leg was too wide? I laid the Levi's leg on top of the overall leg - slightly narrower! Perfect, I hoped.

So I popped the odoriferous overalls into the wash.

To be continued...

A Blog is Born

It's been a while since I have added a new blog, and since I've blogged period. But here I am, and I'm thrilled. En vogue bon marché literally translates as: "in fashion inexpensive", and that is exactly what I'm all about. I love looking through fashion mags, and recreating the outfits, or ensemblés (ohn-sahm-bleys) on a budget. Unfortunately as a part-time working mother of 2, I don't have thousands of dollars lying around begging to be spent on fashion.

I've been on a quest recently: to put together an ensemblé that I had torn from the pages of an issue of my beloved Lucky magazine. Years ago I started what I called a style book. Basically, I tore out pictures of outfits I loved and/or felt would look good on me, and assembled them together in a large hardback sketchbook. Slowly, I began creating a piece here or there - skirts mostly. Every year, it seemed I would sew a new fall/winter skirt. Living in Florida, this is quite feasible. Back to my quest...

I bought a book of croquis at Jo-Ann Fabrics and started sketching renditions of some of my favorite outfits. Having my style book for several years now, I've found my taste has changed.

Croquis are pre-sketched forms that make it simpler to sketch or design clothing. You don't have to worry about proportion, or do you? But I'll get to that later.

Here is my first sketch. I put a wonderful skirt found on Pinterest.com with a blouse/sweater combo found in a Cotton ad worn by Zooey Deschanel. I thought it looked nice together. Just realized that her face and legs still lack color. Must rectify that tonight.

I recently became fascinated with owning a pair of wingtips, so they tend to make regular appearances. I love menswear-inspired women's shoes. Love.

The next sketch I did was verbatim from a Lucky photoshoot. This fanastic, slightly hipster, layered number consisting of overalls, silk polka dot blouse, flannel jacket, striped kneesocks and the wingtips. They were in the picture - I swear!

As you can see, I'm still not done with it. Finished! However, I still flip to it and stare at it longingly. For fun, I added up the cost of buying it piece by piece. Not fun. It tallied up to over $1300. The shoes alone were $595. Denim overalls, silk blouse, wool flannel jacket, etc. That was heartbreak #1. Heartbreak #2 came when I started trying to find stylish overalls. The fashion house listed on the glossy page no longer sold the pair shown - or any at all. I would not give up.

My joy came one day when I stumbled onto a website that had a lovely pair of Aldo wingtips.

They weren't the exact color I wanted, but they were close and the price was unbeatable at $33 (originally $105). I would have this dream ensemblé. And truly, I did dream about it. I pictured myself wearing it while strolling the streets of Bath in England. I began scouring websites. Googling things like "fashion overalls". Visiting, um, ethnic clothing stores. I recalled the "Casual Friday" episode of The Office. Kelly (Mindy Kaling) had worn a cute pair of overalls and compared herself to J. Lo. Alas, it was still not to be.

Why are overalls always associated with farming? I was NOT looking for a pair of Jethro overalls. I put it off for a week or two and thought of other things. Meanwhile, I purchased a nice grey flat sheet for $5 from which to make my lovely grey skirt.

Finally, one day on ebay, I struck gold. Or so I thought.

I found these super cute, relaxed fit* overalls for only $24. 

*Even though pre-sketched croquis are convenient and make you look like a pro, they are not true to my proportions. I am, well, average. I'm 5'5" and weigh slightly more than I would like to. Let's just say I'm pear-shaped. But I am working on it. So, I ordered a pair, size large. Those lucky Asian women, with their petite frames! You can always take in, but you can't always let out.

Next I found not one, but two great plaid jackets. A red flannel plaid trench! Genius!

And the smaller, more fitted coat was adorable! Had to get both at $18 each.

Last was that silk blouse. I searched "polka dot blouse", "navy blouse", "navy polka dot blouse" and even just "blouse". I finally found several different styles to choose from, and then just two that were navy and the right size of polka dot.

I picked this one up for $17! For those of you playing at home, that means that I was able to assemble the entire outfit for $92. That's a savings of $1200 from the original.

I have yet to receive all of my pieces from Korea, Taiwan, etc. But I just received the blouse yesterday. Super cute! By the way, the shoes are of excellent value and really comfortable. I've also received the trench. So far, everything fits.

In the midst of my quest I realized how much I loved the hunt. Finding that perfect piece for the perfect price. I want to extend my services to others who have seen that outfit they must have, but cannot afford. I want to help others put the pieces together and be thrilled with the results. So that's what I'm here for...

Can't wait to start on my next adventure in shopping!