le mani d'oro

I have recently talked about the work of Brian Ypperciel et Florence O. Durand. The creative shooting with the cape had to be postponed. Until I have nice shots to prensent, I thought that I would share with you a lovely making-off video that features Brian and Florence...  and the lovely model Elissa Bibaud






I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did...  you will certainly understand why I am trilled to work with them.

The canvas for the painter's creation is done. I cut and started sewing it yesterday before cooking a delicious dinner.

Well I am not bribing here.

My friend Manon said that the osso-buco I cooked yesterday was the best one she tasted in her life. Well THAT is compliment. It is certainly a great motivation for cooking other dinners for her and her fiancé. A lovely couple DH and I appreciate greatly.

But this is another story...  As I specified in my previous post, the cape is cut in a medium weight cotton and lycra fabric. I was very easy to work with. I finished the front edges with a narrow hem of about 0.8 cm turned twice and the hem is finished with the same method but I doubled the width. for the ties I cut one very long piece of fabric on selvage of 4cm wide. It is folded in two, pressed and then you bring both edges on the centre fold and you sandwich the edges inside by folding the ties in two again. Clear as mud ?

If my explanations are terrible because of English is not my mother tongue, here are pictures that must be worth a hundred words of not a thousand.

Step one: press flat the piece of fabric

Step two: press it in two

Step three: press one half towards centre

Step four: the the second half towards centre

Step five: sandwich both edges inside by folding it in two again.

Step six: use your edge foot the sew very close to the edge of the tie

Step seven: press again and tada !  Yes you all knew that, but just in case.

I added a collar to the original pattern (go to my previous post to see the Nina Ricci Pattern). The collar was drafted with the intention of giving a dramatic effect instead of a cutey look. This is done by having the upper corner going outward with a 30 degree angle (more or less). Ho! with this close up I see that I have threads to cut again ;-)


The shaping on the shoulder is done with a dart. The original dart was giving a strange shape to the cape. There were two distinct peaks sticking out of Daisy's (my dress form) shoulders. Needless to say, that the effect was not the one I looked for.

I elongated the darts of 2.5 cm and curved the end inward. Now it looks nice in my opinion.


This cape has 2.7 meters of hem. I was long to fold and sew and there is no way I would have done it by hand....  though I love hand stitching.

In my last post, I presented a knit dress made from a Jalie pattern. The dress was sewn for and worn by Florence, a sweet young woman I am friends with. The pictures were taken by here boy friend Brian Ypperciel.

In their professional life, Brian and Florence work in the fashion industry ; her as stylist for Canadian magazines and him as fashion photographer for magazines and commercial brands.

You can see their work on Facebook : Brian Ypperciel
Florence O. Durand

Or on their web site:  http://www.brianypperciel.com/  or http://www.florenceodurand.com/

Outside of all the contracts they do solo or together, they often organize creative shoots in collaboration with friends of theirs, like body painters, hair or makeup artists etc.

For the next creative shoot, they asked me to sew a cape, a black cape. For the moment, I cannot show you the inspiration for the shoot. But, let say that this picture could be related to the project. No real feathers...  you will see.

The cape will be made in medium weight silky cotton-Lycra mix though the stretch part is not important for this project. I am using one of my vintage Nina Ricci pattern as a base. The cape will be painted afterwards by a local artist.

This Nina Ricci cape is semi-circular and unlined. All edges (neck, front and hem) are finished with a facing. The inside edge of the facing is cleanly turned in and sewn in place through all layers.



I am not certain that I will need sew on the facing since the cape will be used only for one shooting. I think I might just sew a narrow hem all around the edges. I will see how it goes. One thing is certain, I will add a collar as they asked for one and ties for the closure.

Here are two examples of creative shooting Brian and Florence have done together. Florence created the head piece featured in the picture on the left.


The model on the right picture is Sophie Touchet a Gatineau, Canada born model who has started an international career two years ago. She modelled for big designers and magazines. In 2014 she did 43 fashion shows...  Difficult life style in my point of view.

For more of their work, you can click here: Vogue Portefolio

 I am very much exited about this project. I will post a picture after the March 24 shooting. I should be able to post in early April. I might do a making of, if they allow me to.

Sur ma page Facebook, j'ai l'habitude de présenter en photo mon coup de coeur mode de la journée. Les commentaires qui s'en suivent, sont souvent partagés entre j'aime ou je n'aime pas du tout. Ça me fait toujours sourire. J'ai pensé partager ces coups de coeur avec vous.

On my Facebook page, I often show fashion pictures representing my favourite outfit for the day or fashion catch of the day as I like to call it. I thought I could start posting them here as well.

Here is the fashion catch of the day - Voici mon coup de coeur de la journée. J'aime la simplicité de la ligne et les manches de cuir souple.

Ralph Lauren Automne 2012

Mais, en la regardant bien, Celine n'a pas travaillé le cuir un peu à cette manière il y a quelques temps? Une coïcidence je présume?

By looking at that dress a little longer, I am thinking about a design Celine presented a few years ago. Coïncidence I guess?


Voici le modèle créé par Celine au printemps 2010. Variation sur le même thème ?? Qu'en pensez-vous ?

Here is the dress created by Celine for their Spring 2010 collection. Variation on the same theme or different inspiration? What do you think?

After finishing Inès de la Fressange's book I have been "walking" on her foot steps discretely. The book contains all web addresses for the shops and cool spots she mentiones, but what I wanted to see more of her not only the "It spots and items" she suggests.

In 1985,I saw Inès de la Fressange in Paris. It was my first trip to Paris. I was 18 years old, she was 28. Quietly shopping at Kenzo, I first noticed her dog, a brown Labrador. Then I was intrigued buy the legs, those infinitely thin and long legs... to tell the truth I felt like those legs were totally lost in her jeans. I had a strange impression when I saw her. I was wondering how she could walk with such a thin and overly delicate body. At the same time, she was breading style and sophistication.

Right : Inès for Chanel in 1985


Down: Inès in 2010 (unknown photographer)


I felt that I was coming from a totally different DNA world. I was built for walking, cycling, hiking, kayaking. She was built to be beautiful. ;-) That is physically at least. Her beauty was not inhibiting mine in my point of view, we were as I said, simply in two different worlds.

During my searches on the net, I found a series of pictures of Inès wearing the staple Parisian cloths she suggests. Those pictures show her side by side with her daughter Nine. Nine is the model in Inès's book as I said in my previous post. All the following pictures are from Benoit Peverlli and taken on Luxe, Glam et Volupté.






What I like about Inès is that she ages well (though at 50 something she is still so young) and she is very natural. Instead of using Botox she suggests to dress smartly (avoid prints that could make you look like a granny) and to make love ;-) or get a good night sleep. I could not agree more. I selected three pictures that show her very naturally with wrinkles like woman her age and my age ( I am 44) have. click to blow


Picture (Flynn picture.com and Abaca for th center one)

You want more of Inès? I also suggest you those three diaporama:

Inès de la Fressange prend la pose dans Paris form L'Express.fr
Inès in 114 pictures on Zimbio (look at the black dress she wore in Cannes)
Inès a selection of her covers with Elle France

With another suggestion, visit the Roger Vivier Web site, the intro will make you want to have shoes like Inès's.

Next post, my Chanel dress finished but still needing your advice for the bias tape and the beginning of MY 100 list... a fusion of Paris and New York style. With that, I would like to have your items as well to have the universal 100 list . See you soon!

I spent sometime today on Ze Sartorialist blog as dinner was being cooked in the oven... I candidly listen to this video and really flipped over two affirmations:

1. Paying 8 000$ for a coat !!!

2. Having over 300 pair of shoes and about the same amount of purses !!!





Hello futile and over consuming world, the other half is starving! Sorry, I am far from being mother Theresa, but it sincerely bugs me when people are over doing it.

Oh my ! ...

Tell me you do not have 300 pair of shoes.

For many years I was a fanatic reader of Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and so forth. I would spend lots of money of fashion magazine, on clothes as well as spending so much time thinking about my look. These days, I have less time for all that. These days, I am unfaithful to those paper magazines. I often prefer to surf on the Net. From time, to time, I feel guilty not to support the local version of Elle or Clin d'oeil (another local fashion magazine). So last week, I bought the December issue of Elle Québec.

On the collaborator's page, there is a short note on Crystal Renn, one of the most famous, and I quote, "Plus Size" model in the world. PLUS SIZE MODEL !! Are they out of their mind ? If Crystal Renne was once a plus model, she no longer is. I would rather say that she is a beautifully shape NORMAL woman. Hello any body home?


This month, she is back in a beautiful Red Dress report... but tell me, what is Plus Size in her curves. Humm I would rather give her an A+ for beauty, natural look and great curves. Don't we want more of that type of model in magazines?
In my point of view, if this is their definition of Plus, the following type a silhouette is then Normal. Well according to me, that type of look is definitely a MINUS.
But then again, this is a question of perception. (Garment by Chloé A-2010) Let's promote healthy images of woman who have an BMI between 19 and 25. This young woman should gain 20 pounds, practice sport, built her lean body mass to be able to age better and not suffer of osteoporosis, go to bed early and laugh more ... Yes this is a judgment I publicly make... that of make as well.

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If you were thinking about coming to Montreal during those dates, do not missed the 9th edition of the Montreal Mode & Design Festival. Free fashion shows (outdoors), special events and contests are part of this exclusive event.

See their Website for more details.

If they are organizing the event at the same time of the year in 2010, it will be during our PR week-end ! That could be very interesting.

See you there ! Anne

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