Grosgrain first came onto my radar after I read about it on Angela’s blog, but I wasn’t following it super closely until I rediscovered it when I stumbled upon a Frock by Friday sew-along using the Coffee Date Dress, and now I’m hooked. If you haven’t been following Grosgrain, you *should.* It’s beyond fabulous. Part sewing and part design, it’s not your run-of-the-mill online sewing journal. Not “commercial” exactly, but professional and polished – like something put out by a hipper Martha Stewart :) Kathleen is a design genius, and her photos are gorgeous. So many fun ideas- clever DIY accessories like shoe refashioning, tons of giveaways both from her and her sponsors, but the dresses she makes… oh the dresses…
… could you not just cry over how beautiful these are? Dainty and modern yet vintage-y, with lovely details. Well, now Kathleen is hinting that she’s thinking about opening up an Etsy store to sell her patterns, and she wants to know which ones you’d want to buy. So definitely head over to Grosgrain and tell her you want that yellow one with the pintucks on top. Or the blue one on the bottom with the organza frill. Or the blue one with the red bias binding. I don’t know, I can’t decide. Just go and make it happen!
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May 13, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Ann's Fashion Studio
Very interesting and beautiful styles. I will definitely check her blog out!
May 13, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Karen
I have really enjoyed grosgrain also. I’ve just found Sew Serendipity also. More commercial but cool patterns and fabric choices.
May 13, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Kathi
I will have to go check the site. That knit dress is particularly pretty!!
May 13, 2010 at 8:12 pm
chie
wow her dresses are amazing! i stumbled across her site through burdastyle the other day and im hooked too!
May 13, 2010 at 9:05 pm
juebejue
wow! love this find! :) i do love love her designs! another person to copy!!
May 13, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Angela
Thanks for the mention! :) Aren’t her dresses awesome?!
May 14, 2010 at 12:32 am
inkstain
Congratulations on your engagement, Selfish! Dan is a keeper, so cute in his pj’s.
I wish you both a long and loving future.
Meanwhile, Grosgrain prompts my compliments for her professionalism and initiative, but I have to face something I’ve been inching around for some time. What’s with this generation of grown women who want to wear dresses I would have assigned to nobody over eight years old? It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of grown females wearing birthday party frocks. This is a query about the zeitgeist that isn’t directed at anybody personally, but as fashion transited from one look to another, it’s has suddenly landed on a very strange planet for those of us who’ve matured through the power woman of the 80′s, the grunge hippie of the 90′s and the retro of the noughties. I would never have predicted this turn of events. But now there’s no denying it. American fashion has elected Shirley Temple as the icon of the new decade? I thought only Japanese women sought out the “little girl” look.
Needless to say, we’re not seeing this look on the streets in my corner of Europe.
Again, warmest wishes for the exciting time ahead for Dan and you.
May 14, 2010 at 6:58 am
selfishseamstress
I think we definitely see an embracing of sweet details now with lots of American retailers like Anthropologie and ModCloth, but I think they’re done with quite a bit of sophistication and vintage sentiment, as are the Grosgrain dresses- it’s still a pretty far cry from the extreme Japanese Gothic-Lolita fashion trend :) Plus dresses like these are likely to be style with sophisticated shoes, scarves, cardigans, bags, etc. Also, the girliness you perceive may not be a general function of Kathleen’s aesthetic, but of the dresses I happened to pick to show in this post :)
Watch out in Europe though- I just had a quick peruse through Zara’s and Mango’s websites, and there are a surprising number of cute ruffled necklines, puffed sleeves, and full skirts! It’s coming :D
Thank you for your very warm wishes for me and Dan!
May 14, 2010 at 5:39 am
Dava
Congratulations! I love the story behind your ring, which makes it all the more special. I’ve never understood “retirement busting” weddings myself and I’m sure you and Dan will create a magical day. I’m looking forward to reading about it!
May 15, 2010 at 12:36 am
inkstain
You are so right. Yesterday my teen daughter took me for a day out in Lausanne and what did I find at H&M? Ruffles, lollipop clothes…at least there was a lot of the old draped T-shirts and stuff for Mom, but I take your point. The key may be accessories, and a knowing if flirtatious attitude. Also, it’s just time for me to accept that there are going to be some fashions that would be late-mutton wearing spring lamb on me.
btw On weddings, from my experience, the smaller and more personal, the sweeter and longer the marriage. Sharing the planning of the wedding with a future spouse is also a sign that you’re already a team with wiser priorities than mega-expenditure on coordinated bridesmaid shoes, and that this wedding is not just the first episode of diva behaviour that could make or break you later.
Best of luck and much joy!