Cocktails with Claire is an event held by fashionbombdaily.com CEO, Claire Sulmers. If you aren’t familiar with fashionbombdaily.com I suggest you stop reading and go visit now! lol The event took place Saturday, Nov 14, at Mal Maison in Georgetown D.C. I have been following Fashionbombdaily for years now. When “Cocktails with Claire” came 2 years ago I did not go, I admire Claire, her hustle, and her whole brand so this event was something I was NOT going to miss this year! According to Claire “the event was created so that Claire could step out from behind her computer and begin to foster a network of trendsetters, tastemakers, and influencers in the real world.” This year she decided to add shopping to the event making it more of a “sip, shop, see, network” kind of thing.  There were about 6 vendors there with their clothing and jewelry, which really I think added to the event. All the attendees are obsessed with style and fashion so why not add stuff for us to buy!

Overall the event was amazing! I loved every second of being in the presence of so many nice, fashion forward girls, all there to make connections and compliment each other on their hair and outfits. The venue Mal Maison was super chic and modern, as was the black and white decor. Tables were covered with black sequin fabric and white throw pillows had the FashionBombDaily logo printed on them. Super cute! The finger foods consisted of pulled duck sliders, tomato shrimp soup, and mini lamb shanks just to name a few. All amazing! I bought a ticket where I was able to drink free all night, so I felt pretty good by the end of the night. lol The drink selections featured white and red wine and cute mixed drinks like the “Splash of Fashion’ and the “Claire-tini.” They also had a beauty bar which gave makeup consulting and hair styling tips. The music which was provided by DJ Kitty Kash had me jamming all night to a mix of hip hop, reggae, & r&b.

During the event Claire was extremely personable. She walked around, shook hands, took pictures, introduced herself, and thanked people for coming throughout the night. The highlight of  this event for me was meeting and taking a picture with Claire. I’m not the kind of person who freaks out over celebrities, or runs up and begs for a picture. lol So even when Claire was arms distance away from me, I just played it cool, until the right time came. After giving a short speech, Claire was chatting and taking pictures with guests. So I waited around behind a few other people who were in line to get their one-on-one with Claire until my turn came! When it did, it was kind of like finally talking to your crush after admiring him from afar for years. lol She’s just soo pretty and tall and well dressed! So I introduced myself to her, we snapped a pic, we chatted for 2 seconds, I told her how much I admire her and her work, and she thanked me for coming. It was perfect.

Sometimes you follow or look up to a person for years, and you never think you’ll get a chance to meet them. So you admire from your computer screen, you follow their lives from your phone, and you support them even though they don’t know you. Some people never get the chance to meet the person they are aspiring to be. Some people do, only to find out they aren’t who you thought they were. In my case meeting Claire was overly inspiring and heart warming. If I had met Claire at her event and she was standoffish or mean I probably would have never looked at her the same. Her spirit is genuine and she really is a cool ass person. This night couldn’t have been more fun! I’m looking forward to next year already!

Can you believe Fall is here and Winter is just around the corner? Bring on the layers, dark colors, jackets, coats and boots! I love fall weather and fall sewing! As I’ve stated many times, I created this blog as an online sewing diary but mainly to INSPIRE people around the world to cultivate their inner-creativity and embrace a D.I.Y way of life.

I started sewing at a very young age with no formal training.  So I am a self-taught sewer who still has ALOT to learn when it comes to sewing.  If you have a passion to begin sewing the most important thing to remember is NOT to be intimidated by the process. When I bought my first sewing machine about 8 years ago Youtube wasn’t even popular.  Therefore, I didn’t have hundreds of videos at my fingertips showing me every little thing about sewing. I had to research and read a lot. It wasn’t until I got to college that I started more advanced heavy sewing. With all the parties and college events, I didn’t have money to buy new outfits all the time.  Therefore, I started revamping existing pieces and sewing new ones. As I stated, I still have ALOT to learn when it comes to sewing so don’t let some of these projects fool you. Most of the time when I don’t know what I’m doing, I refer to Youtube. Professor Pincushion has helped me through quite a few projects. Sewing is amazingly therapeutic to me and I never get bored because the boundaries to what I can create are endless.

Below are 3 EASY jackets I’ve constructed.  All of these jackets are great for a beginner/mid-level seamstress. As you can see, I made a Very Easy Vogue wrap coat, a Zara inspired simple trench coat, and a Burberry inspired shearling jacket.  All fall approved!

Again, remember if you want to sew DON’T be intimidated. All sewing requires is a great amount of patience, as with all great things in life. YOU CAN DO IT!

READY, SET, SEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m kind of late posting these pictures BUT I want to thank everyone that came to my “Sip & Shop.” This event took place in August and I invited all my friends and family to preview my boutiques clothing and accessories before it hit the website!  I am a perfectionist and I like for things to go my way when I’m in charge of an event so executing this was definitely stressful at times!  But my family truly helped me make this event a success.  I love fashion, food, and music so that’s what this event was all about – eating, shopping, and having a good time. Check out my pictures from the event below!

Sometimes when I go to the thrift store I see things I know I can’t fit.  BUT, I have visions of what I can turn the item into and then I get an impulsive rush to buy it! LOL  I never know who will actually wear the items I buy on a impulse, but something inside always makes me buy it just to see if I can turn it into something spectacular! I really think it’s the challenge and the creative process involved that I love. The brainstorming, picking out buttons, taking off zippers, altering, all of that excites me! So this orange dress is one of those “challenge” items. This dress was a size 10 so I knew I wouldn’t be able to fit it or  make it my size when I bought it but I still wanted to turn it into something chic! I wanted this dress to be a mini so the first thing I did was chop the bottom off.  After that I took it in on the sides a little to give it the hourglass shape so it would hug the body. Then I changed the buttons, rolled up the sleeves and ta-daa!  As I stated I couldn’t fit the dress.  After my alterations, it ended up being about a size 8 so I had my friend model it for me. It actually fit her pretty good! We both could definitely see this blazer dress worn on a night out with some cute pumps or even some nice boots.

My birthday is around the corner! It’s in October, so I’m currently trying to figure out what I’m going to make/ wear for it this year. Last year I used Vogue pattern 8766. I made view B and just omitted the straps. I must say that dress was very easy to make and it fit perfectly. I hope I can make something like that again this year. Also, I recently saw this picture online of a celeb (I don’t know who she is) wearing a dress on the red carpet that was very similar to this one. Pencil silhouettes are classic anyway, so I think adding a trumpet or pleated hem just gives it a little flair!

Sometimes a girl just wants to throw on a one piece and call it a day. This pattern is perfect for those days. If you sew, you can probably tell from the package this pattern has been around for a while, so I think its a classic at this point. lol Which is understandable, because I see myself making one of these every summer. I like making view D or E only because I like my arms covered. I made the one below in a rayon material so its very lightweight, machine washable, and just overall easy to wear.  I’ve been wearing this particular jumpsuit for 2 summers now and its finally getting a little to small 🙁 so I’m getting all the wear out of it I can before I have to give it away.

Shopping at the thrift store and revamping clothing is one of my favorite things to do! I’m all about recycling and recreating fashions! So, I saw this robe at the thrift store and thought it was really pretty and had potential. I took the zipper and the lapel off, sewed the front so it stays open, and sewed the sleeves a little smaller so I could roll them up. I’m in love with this robe now! It’s really long and lightweight, pretty much perfect for spring or summer. I think pairing it with all white really makes it pop. Now you know vintage robes make perfect kimonos!

The before picture.

After!

I made, wore, and posted this picture to my Instagram 107 weeks ago to be exact. lol Clearly I didn’t do a blog post on the bralette back then, but I am now because lately all I see are bralettes paired with blazers, shorts, midi skirts and under sheer blouses. I think the bralette is really cute and versatile but also overpriced, so I made a version of my own. I already had an old black bra and I sew so I had most of the items I needed to make the bra on hand already. If you wanted to make your own, it still don’t think it would cost as much as one from the store or online. I wore mines on a night out with friends, however, all the cool girls seem to wear it under a loose tank top or sheer blouse. If you’re feeling kinky you can even make a cupless bralette made out of just elastic to wear in private!  Oh lala! Check out my D.I.Y Fashion board on Pinterest for more d.i.y bralette inspiration and tutorials. The things you will need to make this bra, brief instructions, and also a collage of some bralette inspiration are below! Be sure to follow my blog on Instagram @itsnichelleb for more fashion projects!

Here are the items you will need to make your own bra, it’s really easy, you can be as creative as you want, and you don’t even need a sewing machine!

• Plain black bra
• Elastic in different widths
• 5 inch zipper (optional)
• Scissors
• Thread
• Needles
• plastic rings (also optional and found at the fabric store) If you make a design like mines you will need that little tiny plastic circle/ring that’s creating the y shape in the front of my bra. They are called lingerie rings.

To create the bralette:

1. Once you have your plain black bra removing the underwire on it is optional. One wire was already coming out on my old bra so I just took the other one out. lol

2. Figure out how you want your bralette to be designed and go from there. Start measuring and sewing pieces of elastic, building around the bra until you are satisfied.

3. Since you can pretty much design it however you want it’s hard to say when/if you should remove your clasps and attach a zipper.  I removed my clasps in the back so it wouldn’t look so much like a plain bra but the clasps can also be replaced with elastic or left on it’s totally up to you with this project!

4. Be creative and have fun!