DIY: How to make pompoms!

For some unknown reason, I recently had a massive urge to make pompoms. This is an activity I used to do with my mum when I was little, and is surprisingly easy (the proof: a 6 year old me could manage it!). I picked up the wool at the largest charity shop I have ever seen, Emmaüs, in the 19th arrondissement here in Paris. But more on this incredible shop another time. The balls of wool were 50 cents each as they were partially used, not that that even matters... making for a very cheap and fun little DIY!

You will need:

Wool

Sheet of cardboard (an old cereal packet will do)

Jar lid & coin (to draw around)
Scissors
Pen

Method:
1) On your sheet of cardboard, draw around the jam jar lid twice.

2) Place the coin in the centre and draw around that too

 3) Cut the shapes out

4) Place the circles one on top of the other, and cut out a little wedge shape. This is a sneaky trick to make the process a bit quicker, but if you want a more even pompom just leave the two circles intact. Basically, this wedge method means that you don't have to awkwardly pass the wool through the small centre hole every time you wind.

5) Start to wind your wool around the two layers of cardboard.

6) Continue until the whole thing is covered and is several layers thick!

7) Take the scissors, and poke the end in between the two pieces of cardboard.

8) With the scissors between the two pieces of card, and with a firm grip on the centre of the pompom, cut all the way around the edge.

9) Thread a length of wool around the pompom, between the two pieces of card. Tie it in a tight knot as close to the core of the pompom as possible. You can repeat this a few times for extra pompom security.

 10) Remove the pieces of card! Et voilà!

And here's one I made earlier...

'But why would I want a pompom?', I hear you ask! Well, there are a million uses for a pompom and they are definitely 100% necessary as general household decoration, fashion accessories and finishing touches for all manner of customisation projects. If anyone has any fantastic suggestions, please feel free to mention them in a comment!

Also, aim for second hand wool if possible: it's just as good, 5x cheaper and doesn't use extra resources. Keep your pompoms ethical, guys! haha.

Sadie xxx

A bit of a 'relooking'

'Relooking' is my favourite new French word... their bizarre version of 'make over'. You can pay extra money at the hairdressers for a 'relooking'. That is, if you're particularly brave. I personally don't fancy a makeover conducted in a foreign language.

Haircuts aside, I decided that it was high time my blog had a little change of design, as the old one feels just as stagnant as the frequency at which I post. In theory, this will motivate me to post more, but we shall see. I really want to get back into blogging properly, although whether or not this will actually happen is another story of course! This makes it sound like I don't enjoy blogging anymore, which is definitely not true (if it was, I'd just stop!). Thankyou to anyone patient enough to stick around despite the giant tumbleweeds rolling across my section of the internet.

I'm fairly pleased with the new design, but if anyone has any constructive criticism please feel free to let me know! I literally just discovered the benefits of .png files, making everything look a bit sleeker than before (I hope). However, after battling with Photoshop for more time than is acceptable, I took to my old friend MS Paint to do most of the graphics. Such a professional. Shh.

Anyway, I've also got a snazzy new matching Twitter account, which has somehow gained a load of followers all of a sudden. You can find me here: @sadieswardrobe

I'll hopefully be back soon with some actual posts.

Watch this space!

Sadie xxx

Is non-ethical window shopping allowed?

Image Credit: old-photos.blogspot.com

I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves going clothes shopping on a Saturday. The day is just made for shopping; it's the end of the week, and you fancy a treat as some sort of recompense for all the hours you've just spent in an office replying to emails (about products). I'll stop there, as it's beginning to sound like a complete parody of modern life...

Anyway, since deciding to start shopping ethically, I've been in a bit of a dilemma. My flatmate has an interview coming up, and wanted to go shopping for something special to wear to it. As we are neither rich, nor do we have good access to ethical SHOPS here (they're mostly online), this meant visiting some of the finest fast fashion shops on the Parisian highstreet/boulevard. The sort that change their entire stock 12+ times a year, produce tens of thousands of each piece, and appear to be gradually phasing out important quality-indicators like lining.

Whilst the magic of shopping at places like this has worn off slightly, I still love a good old window shop/trying-on session/coo at pretty things. Whilst I do worry that this is all still supporting something I don't agree with, even if just by being tracked by a customer footfall counter on the door, I fundamentally DO still enjoy looking at clothes when I put my other concerns aside.

With this 'you can look, but you can't buy' attitude, I've also started to notice things that I wouldn't normally buy, so in a sense, it's making me more fashion aware. I can't really decide if this is good or bad though!

What does everyone else think about this? I worry that if I start boycotting certain shops I'll start to feel left out of girly shopping trips, but on the other hand I don't like the idea that I'm still supporting the shops themselves.

Sadie xxx

Paris thrift: Guerrisol

Woooops, it has been a long time since my last post. I've had this one lined up for a while (can you tell that the photos were taken at a warmer time?) but between working and doing Parisian things, actually posting sort of slipped my mind. For example, I went to the café where parts of Amélie were filmed the other day, and had my first ever crême brulée. Then I went back for another one. So you can see that I've been doing very important things with my time ;).

Two new items in this outfit were sourced from my new favourite Parisian shopping destination, Guerrisol, THE place to go to satisfy all of your thrifting desires. Inside each Guerrisol shop await mountains of second hand clothing to sort through (you can tell who is a seasoned Guerrisol shopper; they always work so systematically). I bought this skirt (€5) and scarf (€3) back in August when I met up with Lyzi and Ella for a day of thrifting, visiting the various Guerrisol shops scattered around northern Paris. Lyzi picked up this pretty pink skirt!

Whilst it's not quite a charity shop, I love the fact that Guerrisol helps recycle clothes and sells them on at an affordable price. The shops are stark and unpretentious, a nice break from the usual in Paris. But that doesn't mean that some of the chic Parisian bloggers haven't sung its praises!

So if you're out and about in Paris, don't forget to add Guerrisol to your list of shopping destinations - it should be right up there with the vintage shops of the Marais.

Sadie xxx

P.S. Who could resist posing against what appears to be the only red brick wall in Paris? Not me!

My retro laptop bag

I think I was probably a little bit too much in 'Brighton mode' when I bought this mini retro suitcase on my summer holiday this year, with the intention of using it to carry my laptop into work in Paris. Let's just say I stick out like a really really sore thumb, with the brightest colour in the average commuter's outfit being dark navy. I secretly sort of like the fact that I can feel all eyes (judgemental or admiring) flicking to it, or even outright staring at it for an entire journey.

It's absolutely ideal for my beast of a laptop (forget the sleek iMac blogger look), and once it is lined with a sheet of foam it provides just enough protection.

I bought it at To Be Worn Again, one of my favourite shops in Brighton, and THE place to go if you want to buy vintage shoes (they have an entire room upstairs with walls and walls of shoes arranged in colour order). I actually spotted it in the window on my way out, on our very last day in Brighton, and I had just enough holiday money left over to buy it. Practical, pretty, cheap(ish) and vintage... how could I resist??

I must stop referring to it as a 'vintage laptop bag' though, as I somehow don't think that was its original purpose!

What do you think of it?

Sadie xxx

P.S. I love all of the stationery shops here. I bought this little notebook on the starionery floor at Le Bon Marché (one of the few things I could actually afford, in and amongst the €1000 pens and other ridiculously priced writing paraphernalia...).

Motivation: Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline

I always bring up Lucy Siegle's book To Die For when asked why I only want to shop ethically. To be honest, that book is the sole reason I actually realised that 'ethical' is the way forward. It was a very good 20th birthday present indeed... thankyou, boyfriend! The best thing about Lucy Siegle's book is that she is writing as a fashion lover who previously shared all the same shopping habits as the rest of the western consumer world, so you most certainly don't feel like you're being told off by someone who thinks they are 'holier than thou'. It's also very easy to read. In short... read it! Haha.

Anyway, one year on (for my 21st), I received Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline, which is effectively the American version of To Die For. It has come at just the right time, when I'm in need of an extra boost of motivation for shopping ethically. Also, after reading and talking French all day at my internship, it's great to finally have some English language bedtime reading.

I want to go through it with a highlighter and highlight the most interesting bits, but it's so pristine I just can't face it!

Has anyone else got any good ethical fashion related reads, or blogs?

Sadie xxx

P.S. Thankyou for all of your supportive comments on my last post!

A change of direction for Sadie's Wardrobe

I've been thinking a lot about my blog lately, and even considered deleting it a few times. It's just not quite 'me' anymore, and I think I'm struggling to balance the idea of having a fashion blog (read: frivolous) and trying to well... not be frivolous. I think that's the right word, anyway.

It came to my attention a few months ago that in fact, clothes don't just appear on rails as if by magic. It sounds silly, but it is so easy to think this when, as a customer, all you see are beautifully dressed mannequins and enticing big red 'Sale' signs. I began to recognise that there is actually a whole supply chain behind them, and the issue is that this supply chain is just completely riddled with environmental/ethical problems (especially for the high street brands that the average joe can 'afford'). Take for example cotton... it has to grow, be picked, be shipped, be bleached, be dyed, be washed, be sewn, be packaged, be flown across the world, and all this uses real resources and real people.

My problem is, I love clothes. This is pretty evident when I'm trying to pack for uni and I fill 2 suitcases with clothes before I've even looked in my actual wardrobe. I also love blogging, I love the blogging community, and as someone who is going to be graduating in a year's time, I also love how many doors it can open for a countryside girl with very little else to rely on.

So I'm going to shake things up a bit, and take my blog in a more ethical direction. This is like opening a giant can of worms, and is frankly, rather daunting. 'Ethical' seems to have an infinite set of definitions, as well as a pretty bad reputation in terms of fashion. I've already written a few posts about items I consider to be ethical, which have occasionally attracted some heated debate. But debate is good! Please feel free to debate as much as you like everyone, I find it really interesting!

Anyway, about this new direction... I don't want to be preachy, and I most certainly won't be perfect. I'm just going to try and make a difference, and I'm glad to have this platform to do it. I've been testing the water since January, to see if I can resist the sales, the peter pan collars, the beautiful 60s inspired collections, and on, and on, and on... but so far it's working! I've also been (painfully) turning down freebies from PR companies that don't fit with my new shopping habits. Anyone who is a blogger will know how hard this is...

Finally, I'm still Sadie, and this is still my blog. Almost exactly the same as before, just a bit more green (literally and metaphorically).

Sadie xxx

Maje

As I mentioned in my last post, which was, incidentally, AGES AGO (woops), the Parisian way of dressing is gradually creeping into my sub conscious and I'm finding myself suddenly attracted to all things grey, navy and black. This is adding a bit of balance to my wardrobe, which is otherwise bright orange, bright green, bright red, bright yellow and so on...

In keeping with my thrifty spirit (nowadays also for environmental reasons!), I'm only letting myself make wardrobe additions if they are second hand. And as it was my birthday the other day, I got to choose what to do... go thrifting, of course! My flat mate and I took the metro a few stops to the local carboot, which was filled with some of the most expensive carboot things I have ever seen. But also some of the best quality carboot things I have ever seen. I picked up this pure silk top from French label Maje for €12, and it is currently my favourite thing ever. My favourite things always get put on my vintage wooden coat hangers, and that is where this top is currently hanging...

This photo was a complete accident but I love how it came out. It's not even the right way up, but I like it.

I first heard about Maje when my new work colleague took me on a whistle-stop tour of all of the best quintessentially Parisian boutiques. As your stereotypical blogger Alexa Chung fan-girl, my interest was captured even more when I found out she's part of their recent ad campaign. Celebrity endorsement works, guys!

My favourite part of the top is this super-chic translucent mesh insert on the back.

Also, I really really miss spending half an hour messing around with self timer, a tripod, and pretty window light. I wish I could practise with my camera with someone else in front of the lens, but so far no one is willing, waaa! So in the meantime, I'll just have to put up with taking over 30 photos just to get the camera to frame the shot correctly and a further 3000 trying to get the lighting right...

Sadie xxx

Lost in Paris

I'm sorry for my very long absence... I've been settling into life in Paris, and cramming in all the touristy things before I start work in September! I've also been a bit nervous about taking photos out in the street. Being a typical Parisian apartment, the place where I live doesn't have a private garden that I can set my tripod up in, and I'm not too keen on plonking it down in the street. So posts from Paris may be a bit limited, except times when the boyfriend is visiting and where a quiet side street is available.

On to the fashion: I didn't really believe that Parisians would be as chic as everyone makes out. Well, turns out they are. It's the little touches like the hair clasps, dainty sandals and ankle length trousers that do it, that and the fact that their colour palette rarely varies from black, navy or tan. I have slightly adapted my look so I fit in, as, after a while, you just don't want to be treated like a tourist anymore (I live here, daahling). So here is my monochrome Parisian ensemble.

Couldn't resist adding a pop of colour with a skinny green belt though.

The top is vintage (ebay), skirt from a charity shop (originally Monsoon), belt from my old dressing up box, and bag and shoes were naughty new and not strictly ethical purchases.

Ohhh... and I just braved a French hairdresser and got my chic Parisian bob, hehe.

Sadie xxx

Beyond Retro

I bought this snazzy new (well, vintage) dress at the Beyond Retro warehouse whilst on holiday in Brighton earlier this week. I wanted a nice souvenir to remind me of the holiday, and this will now forever be my 'Brighton Dress'. I wore it out today in my slightly more conservatively-dressed town and got a fair few surprised/bemused looks. But in my books there is definitely nothing wrong with wearing every colour at once... besides, with Britain's current offering of sunshine, people really need an excuse to wear sunglasses!

If anyone else is heading to Brighton, I'd definitely recommend a trip to Beyond Retro. Housed in a giant warehouse, they had so many clothes that I hardly knew where to begin! Luckily everything was arranged by garment type, as specific as 'Dresses with Collars' and 'High Neck Dresses', making the vintage finding mission much easier.

A quick stroll through North Laine will reveal plenty of other vintage clothing shops, including one of my favourites 'To Be Worn Again', 'Dirty Harry's' and the very popular 'Snooper's Paradise' which seems to sell every object imaginable (rubber ducks, old garden tools, retro furniture, plastic crocodiles...). There are plenty of other great shops but I can't quite remember the names!

What do you think of the dress?

Sadie xxx

P.S. Moving to paris TOMORROW aaaah wish me luck! Let me know if you have any recommendations for vintage shopping!