Intentional

I'm often asked about gorgeous lingerie for small breasts - beautiful pieces that don't "artificially enhance" a woman's breast size. It appears that Intenzioni (sadly, the site is still simply a placeholder...) may well fit the bill.

Photo courtesy of Frou-Frou Fashionista - for more photos, check out the gorgeous post...

I'm going to keep my eye on this brand. Anyone heard of it?

Gorgeous Lingerie I Own

So, here's another Freya set. The bra is a balconette. This was the first "crazy pattern" bra I ever bought. It must be about 6 years old and I wear it weekly. There are 3 matching undies - 2 shorties and 1 thong. It gives an excellent shape and is muted enough to wear under a variety of light tops.

I remember being on top of the world when I found it. It seemed outrageously sexy but whimsical at the same time. And, of course, it's pink.

It Was Bound to Happen

So I just got my Figleaves order and, egad, nothing fit!

Let me start by warning you away from Cleo by Panache. If you've got boobs larger than a B cup, you need actual support. Simply making larger cups (unsupportively), isn't going to cut it. Alas, as with all things in life, you get what you pay for. Stick with the core line, IMO. Note: The set is just lovely to look at, undies included. But I don't want my tits bouncing up and down when I walk. You know?

Utterly shocking: The other purchase, my Freya standard - the one I've replaced so that I can cut up the original for science - didn't fit either?! It's a size too big. I mean, what is going on here?? My breasts are certainly not shrinking.

So, tomorrow, everything goes back. But let me focus on the positives:

• There's a post office in my new work location!
  
• Just called the lovely, professional peeps at Figleaves and learned that I don't need to send things back in the original box (which will save me $$).
• And, best of all, the Figleaves international policy (which I didn't know till today) is that replacements are shipped free of charge. That means I can reorder the bra till I get the perfect size (which I sincerely hope is the next time!), and I will only have to pay to send it back, not to reship it. Pretty good deal, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not a huge online shopper - and I never return - so I don't know if this is a standard policy. Note: Canadian shipping is amongst the most wretched in the world, so US-to-US or UK-to-UK returns may work differently, in general.

Update: It cost $20.00 to ship 3 items back to UK (because tracking is required which raises the price). That's steep, admittedly (and really cuts into the purchase savings). However, I just learned that I can replace something that I return for something else entirely - as part of my free reorder. So I purchased another set (something I've never tried, but by Panache - regular line). We'll see if that works.

I can tell that returning isn't optimal but I'm still ahead of the game ($-wise), as long as the next round of stuff fits.

What I Wore Teaser: Drape Drape Dress

So this photo shows the dress skirt before I altered it to better suit my shape. I'm loathe to show it because the skirt piece actually looks a lot better as a result of the adjustments (no photos yet). This shot is not particularly flattering (what up with the static look? - there was no static, my legs were bare!) but it does show you my newest bag purchase. That bag is new (vintage). I got it at I Miss You. It's Italian embossed leather, so chic! Works perfectly with the dress. I do promise to show the altered version as soon as I can.

Community of Practice

I don't often speak about yoga on this blog, or about my own practice and experience of it. Nonetheless, yoga has had an immense influence on me since I was 18 years old. Amazingly, that means I've been practicing - with various levels of commitment - for more than half my life. You may know that I'm an Iyengar-certified instructor, who taught for a number of years. While I've studied a variety of styles (ashtanga, hybrid methods), the Iyengar system is the one I carry around with me. I do everything with its philosophy in mind. The methodology is about alignment and focus, above all. You can see why that might appeal to me. I've written about this before, btw...

Yoga, in my twenties, occupied the passion that sewing appears to, in my forties. Don't misunderstand: It continues to be the backbone (sorry for the pun) of my mental health and mind-body awareness. It's the first art form that taught me about the human body, about symmetry, about turning the two-dimensional into the three-dimensional.

Physical and mental alchemy - the outcome of one's yoga - are amongst the most profound experiences I've encountered. Yoga taught me that everything is the same thing, which - of course - can be a charm or a chain.

I remember when my former teacher, a woman who was in her 50s when I was in my early 20s, would speak about how one's practice develops over the decades. How refinement - not perfection - is the watchword of one's daily routine. She, of course, was a perfectionist, as many Iyengar devotees happen to be.

(I've never been one to shun perfection, or its pursuit. I search it out like the holy grail, and it eludes me, as it must. But that's the subject of another post I've been mulling over...)

I've done yoga as a teenager (with suppleness, but naivete), as a young woman (it kept me sane), as a mother-to-be (now that was interesting), as a new mother (it didn't keep me sane, I was beyond sanity at that point), as a careerist in pursuit of balance (my current role, I suppose). I've watched my body change innumerable times. I've seen my strength ebb and flow. I've worked my ass off, polishing the gem of self-awareness and ability, only to see it cloud up again. But I start over.

Wow, how utterly self-involved this post has become! Really, I just want to let you know about a good Yoga Journal home practice resource in mag stores now. I've been tinkering with its contents (note: the bias of this issue is Iyengar - which is v. intelligent, IMO, given the opportunities for self-injury in any yoga practice, especially those done without the guidance that a class environment provides) and the sequences are enjoyable, well-constructed and malleable for different experience levels.

I don't encourage anyone to begin yoga without a teacher. Whatever you learn, chances are you'll do it better with an informed guide. However, for the continuing student, a home practice is the next step - and the best step. Once you've got your own thing going, you can take it anywhere. The practice ceases to be something you do only in the context of others, of instruction, and becomes your own art, uniquely tailored to you at any moment. Yes, there are numerous snags on the path, but no time like the present, yes?

So, let's talk yoga. Have you seen the issue? Do you have a home practice? Do you practice in a studio setting? Do you loathe yoga - I know you folks are out there! (I frequently loathe yoga while I'm trapped in the moment :-)) Do share.

Love Potion No. 1 Revisited

Remember this? The Clinique All About Eyes Serum has become a non-negotiable. I love it! Six weeks in, I look forward to using it 2x per day - in the morning to massage away the puffies (didn't even know I had them?) and in the evening to soothe and cool.

I love a rollerball, for sure, but I'm surprised by how totally effective it is. I'm inclined to believe that - despite the lovely, cool, caffeinated serum - it's the engineering of the applicator that makes this product so useful. It pushes with the right pressure and breaks up the network of fluid underneath the eye socket skin, to make everything look, well, fresher. But it's gentle so it doesn't tug or damage the skin in any way.

At any rate, I recommend it unreservedly. Money well spent, IMO.

Shout Out to the Experts: Gather Dress No. 3

Dear Fabulous Sewist Blog Friends:

You know this dress? I'm trying to figure out how to customize it to my curvy frame. It occurs that - especially if I choose to make it in a woven (which it's designed for) - I should probably give the chest a little bit more room.

If this were a regular bodice - or one with a regular sort of sleeve - I'd simply remove the sleeve and do an FBA. Of course, since it's got that crazy sleeve (see pattern below) (non-sewists who haven't run screaming from this post: the sleeve is the bulbous protrusion at the top left) I'm a little bit concerned:

Nonetheless, I think I'm still going to cut the sleeve off where that black vertical line is (below).

Then I'll do the FBA (which shouldn't affect the armhole, right?) and then I'll reattach the sleeve back on. Note: I don't intend to lengthen the sleeve because the part that the FBA impacts, as I understand it, is BELOW armhole. As such, it need not change dimension - or go through alterations along with the bodice - as part of the FBA. Experts, can you corroborate or tell me otherwise?

Also, will the extension of length on the bodice - produced by the FBA - have unforeseeable, which is to say "bad", implications for where the bodice attaches to the skirt part (the bottom section of pattern)?

Can I merely keep the curve and make the bodice only slightly longer? What will that mean for the part of the skirt that doesn't attach to the bodice (the part that will gather)? I don't think it will have implications (except to drop the waistline slightly) but maybe I'm wrong.

Any thoughts you can provide, any advice, would be so appreciated.

I'd prefer not to make this up entirely :-)

Love, K