Printed voile Victoriana ruffled blouse with rick rack, worn with a striped bias cut skirt My last post got a fantastic response – over 25 comments, and many of you have signed up to the Sewalong. A sewalong, for those who haven’t had a go before, is an opportunity for a group of people to work on a similar project and to share their ideas, learning and results. By working together (virtually) we can help each other and compare notes, and at the end I will bring together photographs of us dressed like Frida!. There will also be an Instagram hashtag #dresslikefridasal. OK! I have already gather ..read more

Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel is one of my style icons. She always knew how to dress, but never more so than in the period before the Second World War. If you copy an outfit she put together or designed in this period you can’t really get it wrong. Any of the above looks would be fine today – or anyday. This is one reason why I sought to copy a 1937 Chanel jacket. And I have worn this item almost daily since I finished it! The jacket got complements. On Instagram it got 288 “likes”! I wore it for a recent interview with Inside Housing. One stylish lady at a conference said: “I love your jacket ..read more