flannel and velvet vibes---ambiance de velour et de flanelle

My coworkers and I were talking about the fact that it never got cold this winter in Houston. As in, we never got to bust out anything thicker than a cardigan. We are talking, sweating and pitting out in jeans and t-shirts at recess in February. Feeling not just warm, but HOT in winter is an oddity for me.

Mes collègues et moi étiont en train de discuter à propos du temps et comme quoi il n'y a pas vraiment eu de rafraichissment des températures cette année. Genre, on a pas eu l'occasion de porter plus qu'un petit pull. Style, on transpire comme des cochons à la récré tous les jours en t-shirts et en jeans. C'est vraiment affreux d'avoir chaud en plein hiver. 

This outfit was worn on one of our "colder" days of the season (I think we had a high in the 50s) and it showcases two of my favorite fabrics that are coming back into style. Flannel and velvet! I think they are great fabrics for cooler weather as well as transitioning from or into cooler seasons (fall and spring).

Cette tenue je l'ai porté lors d'un de nos jours ultra rare où il a fait "frais"  (dans les 10-15 degrés) et je l'aime parce que les matières sont de bons tissus pour quand il fait frais ou froid; le velour et la flanelle.

La jupe est d'occasions et vient des années '90s. C'est une jupe en velour d'un joli marron qui ne se présente pas super bien en photos. Vous pouvez trouvez ceci plus facilement en ligne avec etsy ou ebay. 

The skirt is vintage velvet and is actually a dark chocolatey brown but its gloriousness doesn't photograph quite that well. It was a miraculous Deseret Industries find from several years ago back in Utah, it must have cost me about $3. I love that velvet is coming back, but again, when do you find occasions to wear such a sumptuously warm fabric in Hel...hot places. You can find similar skirts on etsy and ebay, with stuff like this you will have better luck searching places where you can find vintage items. 

I've featured these booties before (I adore them but they are sold out now), here are some similar ones. 

J'ai déja porté ces bottines auparavant, ModCloth ne les vent plus, mais on peut en trouver des semblables ici. 

I picked up this vintage ruffled-collar, plaid top at Deseret Industries for $1 back in Utah, but you can find similar ones here and here. I love the pattern, the warm texture, and the collar detail but don't get to wear it as often as I'd like because of how warm it is.

Il y a des années de ça quand je vivais en Utah j'ai trouvée cette chemise merveilleuse chez Deseret Industries pour un dollar américain. J'adore les couleurs, la matière, et l'encollure. Je n'ai pas l'occasion de la porter aussi souvent que je voudrais car il fait trop chaud. Voici deux exemples ici et ici de chemises qui lui ressemble.

My wool hat is a vintage find from Vinted but you can find a similar one here.

Mon chapeau en laine vient de Vinted mais j'en ai trouver un presque identique ici. 

What are some of your favorite cool weather combinations? Let me know in the comments and make sure to follow me on instagram at chez_heidi!

Quelles sont vos matières préférées pour le temps froids? Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez dans les commentaires et n'oubliez pas de me suivre sur instagram @chez_heidi!

DIY: dyeing an old dress to make it new---BRICOLAGE: teindre une vieille robe pour la rendre neuve

This outfit has me feeling all sorts of holiday vibes...but it wouldn't have used to the way that I originally bought this dress.

I was making a random stop at a neighborhood Goodwill (can't remember the initial purpose of the visit). Then I spotted this very homely looking fabric poking out of the dresses "clearance" rack (the ones that have the colored tag for that day's promotion). I pulled on the potato colored material and out came this cutely shaped handmade vintage dress (I am guessing it is early to mid 1950s). The dress had clearly seen better days, there were parts that had a sort of oil based staining on it, and the seam where the zipper was sewn in needed some reinforcing. I took it to the dressing room and tried it on to make sure it would fit it. I basically fell in love (I mean for a few dollars what wasn't there to love) but immediately started brainstorming ways by which I could make it more wearable.

A packet of raspberry red dye, hot water, and a bathtub later I got a lovely new wardrobe staple!

A great way, in my opinion, to "save" or reuse something older that you might be tempted to overlook or toss out is to dye it. I have some tips on how to go about that below...

Here are some things to keep in mind when dyeing fabrics:

AGE: The age of any fabric will affect how well it takes to dye and how much it is at risk for deterioration. This dress is about 60 years old and the fabric is still in good shape, so I wasn't too concerned about its fragility. I have another dress from the 1920s which I have thought about dying but am still hesitating to do so because I worry about the age of the fabric. If you are looking into dyeing a garment any older than 50-60 years I would take some serious precautions and look into cold water dyes or non-acidic dyes which react a little differently and tend to be gentler on older fabrics. Tulip and RIT which are the two main brands found in the U.S are acidic dyes which should be used with caution on garments which are 70+ years old. You will probably have to go search online or to a specialty fabrics/dyeing store in order to get the appropriate dyes.

MATERIAL: Natural fabrics tend to take to dyes very well, so cottons, linens, hemp, bamboo and silks will usually turn out evenly dyed. Wool and cashmere are tricky because most dyes are heat activated and you will end up shrinking your fabric if you expose it to the temperatures required for most generic dyes. Synthetics are VERY unpredictable. While most synthetics CAN be dyed, you must do your research and make sure you don't set your expectations too high. Now the other thing is you need to be familiar with the look and feel of different materials because chances are, vintage and second-hand items will not have care and composition tags. This dress, as far as I can tell, is a cotton-linen blend. I knew it would be a fairly safe bet in terms of dyeing it to give it new life but I think a lot of it was luck and the fact that I was willing to take a risk because it was so inexpensive to begin with. 

EXISTING COLOR: Naturally, you can't buy a black dress, get a box of light blue RIT and dye it expecting a lovely sky blue result. If you have a dark item you want to take to a lighter shade, you will have to run an additional risk of bleaching the garment first, and then re-dyeing it. Additionally, unless your item is PURE white, do not expect the dye job to come out looking like the box or packet's description.  The theory of color and mixing does apply to dyeing clothing; a light green dress being dyed blue will yield a turquoise shade of sorts. Just be realistic in what your expectations are. The longer you dye the item, and the more dye you use, the higher concentration of pigment in your end result. 

EXISTING PATTERNS: Something a lot of people overlook is whether or not there are designs, pattern, or even stitching in a different color or material. I dyed another dress once and the stitching was a synthetic in pure white, and while it didn't end up being a big deal, the dress ended up being navy and the stitching stayed white. You need to take into account what features your item already has and decide what you are willing to live with in terms of changes to those details. 

EXISTING ISSUES: My dress had oily looking stains on it, this was something that I was hoping would be masked by a darker dye job and it was a risk I took, knowing full well the dye might cling to it and make it look even worse than before. Make sure you launder whatever item it is you plan to dye ahead of time to try and address any existing issues. If there are worn, frayed, areas or missing buttons decide whether or not you want to make the repairs with the existing colors or the ones of the new dye job. While dyeing can salvage a myriad of issues, sun fading and bleached spots are ones that can be unpredictable and difficult to fix. Make sure you understand the provenance of the damage and how they will react to dye. 

EXPERIENCE AND WILLINGNESS TO TAKE A RISK: No matter what, dyeing is a risky business. Keeping in mind I had already dyed quite a few things before attempting to dye this dress, I have repeatedly seen success using dyes in different projects and felt fairly confident I could get a favorable result. I was also very willing to take a risk what with the dress being so inexpensive. I figured if I did end up ruining it during the dyeing process that it would be sad but I could reuse the fabric as rags or something. You should probably pick a low-risk project as your first one to ensure you feel successful. 

Dyeing old clothes to give them new life can be rewarding and so fun! It can even give YOU life ;)

proven outfit formula, sticking to the rules-- une formule de tenue qui fait ses preuves, se tenir à carreau

Hi everyone! Life has been CRAZY lately but I am here to bring you an outfit post and a short tutorial on one of my basic outfit formulas.  Do you have any foolproof outfit formulas? 

I've really been loving grid print lately, it's nice and simple and I like the black and white, clean look it gives. Which is kind of unlike me, I tend to go for more wild and free looks and patterns. I still found a way to infuse my personal style into this typically preppy look with the cranberry colored tulle skirt and off-beat necklace and sandals. 

 These are my simple rules when I am stuck and need something quick, you can think of it as a basic outfit formula (sometime's it ends up being boss and sometimes it's just barely put together...)

 1 printed item+1 solid item in a contrasting color+ accessories and shoes pulling from one of the colors in the outfit

Outfit details:

skirt: vinted,$6 (looks to have been handmade) similar

grid shirt: vinted, $6 similar

necklace: Deseret Industries, $1 

sandals: vinted, $11 (Crown Vintage Leather) similar

<3 thanks for reading!

Salut tout le monde! La vie est SUPER stréssante ces derniers temps et je suis surmenée en ce moment mais je viens faire un petit coucou et vous donner une formule simple pour créér une tenue. Avez-vous vos propres formules pour préparer vos ensembles?

Récemment je suis fascinée par le motif à carreaux en noir et blanc, comme celui trouvé sur ma chemise. C'est simple, propre, et une ésthetique que je ne favorise pas d'habitude. Normalement je préfère les motifs, les tissus et les couleurs plus "libres" et bohémiens. Ce que j'ai essayé d'incorporer avec ma jupe en tulle d'une belle couleur grenat, mon collier excentrique et mes sandales grèques. 

Ma formule de base quand je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps pour me préparer ci-dessous (ne résultant pas d'une tenue de "boss"à chaque fois, mais tout de même une astuce pour ne pas se retrouver sans rien à porter)

1 article avec un motif+ 1 article sans motif d'une couleur contrastante+ les accessoires et les chaussures tirant d'une des couleures de l'ensemble (dans ce cas-ci le noir des carreaux)

Détails de la tenue: 

 jupe: vinted, $6 (fabriquée à la main?) semblable

chemise: vinted, $6 semblable 

collier: Deseret Industries (d'occasions) $1

sandales: vinted, $11 (Crown Leather Vintage) semblable

<3 bises et merci d'avoir lu!

scented notes---des notes parfumées

This post will feature a few new favorites and some oldies but goodies I've had for awhile.

My current purse. Musashi got it for me as a Christmas gift and it's been used daily ever since. No matter what I always end up going for brown leather purses in this style and shape...it's just one of my style staples that I don't like to mess with too much since it goes with a lot of things and says a lot about my tastes. 

These earrings are a HUGE deal. Musashi got them as a Valentine's gift. They're a big deal because he rarely picks things out himself for me. You see, he has a deep fear of getting it wrong in terms of gifts and me hating his gift, but out of kindness saying I love it, then being stuck with something I don't like. Poor guy, he means so well, and this pair of semi-precious stone earrings from World Market were a big hit for me, not only are they cute, they show a tremendous amount of effort and love on his part <3

Top: thrifted from many years ago (hence the awful pilling you will see in the close-up)

Skirt: vintage, got it in a clothing swap when I lived in Utah, I love the colorful perfume bottles on it!

Shoes: Vinted

 Ce blogue est composé de differents articles que j'adore en ce moment, certains sont neufs, d'autres très très anciens.

Mon sac en cuire est un cadeau de Noël de la part de Musashi. J'ai quelques sacs à mains différents mais ceux sont toujours les modèles de taille moyenne en cuir marron comme celui-ci que j'utilise le plus souvent. J'aime garder mon sac simple et j'essaye de faire en sorte qu'il aille avec un maximum de choses dans ma garde-robe. Ceci est simplement une préférence personnelle. 

Les boucles d'oreilles sont assez spéciales. Musashi m'en a fait cadeau pour la St. Valentin, mais ce n'est pas pour cela qu'elles sont spéciales. Mon pauvre mari à tellement peur de me prendre un cadeau que je n'aime pas qu'il me laisse pratiquement toujours choisir mes cadeaux pour chaque occasion. Le fait qu'il ait eu le courage de choisir les boucles d'oreilles tout seul montre qu'il a mis beaucoup de prévoyance et d'amour en prenant sa décision. Elles sont très jolies en plus <3

Haut: ancien et d'occasions, je l'ai beaucoup porté ce qui se voit clairement avec les petites moumoutes...quelle honte hahaha

Jupe: je l'ai eu dans un échange de vêtements quand je vivais en Utah, le motif est assez chouette, des petites bouteilles de parfums colorées!

Chaussures: Vinted