Sewing Knits for Winter Gyaru Style + OOTD

 

Hello cuties!
Wow it's been busy lately and a lot has happened but that's December for you 🎄 It's truly winter now and that means knits! And with Clairey and I wanting to sew more clothes for ourselves (and a massive stash of fabrics shaming us 😅) it was time to sew our on knit tops. Clairey and I have been buying lots of fabrics and had some gorgeous knit fabrics that we only got for £1 per metre which we just had to use!

So I dived head first to look for inspiration!

I looked at D.I.A (of course) and they have so many examples using knit fabrics but I really fell in love with this turtle neck sleeveless sweater the most 💖 I then looked at my patterns to see what I could use and settled on this McCall's M8219.

Not an exact match but with arm warmers and a snood it would give the same look and be more flexible with my wardrobe 👚

I bought this pattern as the crossover top is such a staple in gyaru fashion! So many brands use this design it's just all about the fabrics. This is a D.I.A example but it reminds me of Golds Infinity as well 💕

First I made up a sample, this is my second sample, the first one was way too short 🙈 Which is why you make up samples!

 When making this sample, I completely had to change the instructions as it doesn't expect you to have an overlocker/serger. Also they didn't have some steps that would make sense such as top stitching the facing so it sits better. I would recommend this pattern to people who already sew and would know to do some things better then what the pattern suggests but it isn't a perfect pattern. I would use it just for the pattern pieces, but even then I would alter them to make them fit perfectly.

I borrowed Clairey's Glavil arm warmers to take a pattern from to make my own ruched armwarmers, as the D.I.A ones look slouchy as well. I never took proper photos of this top but the gold is super sparkly and glittery in real life ⭐ 

After lengthening the patterns it was on to the our final pieces, Clairey also joined me to make her own crop top version which you can make with this pattern as well 👩👩

This is what I created 👚The fabric I chose has sheer stripes across it which I love playing with. I created this snood based of what I think was a novelty gift or lucky pack zip snood from D.I.A and chose this bright blue zip for it. I pulled the fabric as I was sewing it to create a ripple effect which I love how it came out. I'm so happy with the end result and feel like I created something similar to my inspiration but all my own 💗 I didn't even use all the fabric so I'd say for all of this I probably only spent £2.00 with the zip.

I matched my eyeshadow to the colour of my top and went for a neutral lip to balance out the teal. Also you can see my twin tattoo fully healed now yay, currently got a new thigh tattoo healing which I hope to complete in January 🥀  

And here's Clairey! 💖 Claire was more inspired by the fabric rather than a specific inspiration pic or garment. Not sure if you can properly see but the fabric is this gorgeous sheer distressed knit fabric which really gave her a rokku/ane gyaru feel. Clairey has been really into Ghost of Harlem lately as it has that grunge feel that she tried to channel into this project! We had to change up her instructions for the pattern but she's really happy with the end result! Was a nice easy sew and gives off that sexy distressed feel she was after! 

The only thing she will do next time is do more of a cross over and not do what the pattern suggests. As we said before, the pattern instructions weren't that great 😅

Clairey decided to style the top more tsuyome with this look which shows how versatile the top can be ^^ She could layer up this look for more of a grungy Ghost of Harlem feel.  I think in total it cost around £1.30 to make! 

Clairey and I have already chosen the next pattern we are going to make together! Something obviously super gal inspired and may be a bit more winter appropriate 😂

We hope you gals are having a not so hectic December! And if we do not blog before we hope you have a happy Christmas, Hanukkah and Festive holidays! 

Amy xx

 

Baby Love, Gyaru Baby Doll sewing and Leopard Look

 Hey cuties! 

After the success of our shorts and dipping our toes back into sewing ✀ I thought I would jump right back in. Instead of buying a commercial pattern and going for a simple project, I decided to use my uni lingerie design knowledge. With creating your own pattern and making your own clothes, you get to make the perfect fit for yourself. So it makes sense to make a staple and something that can be made again and again. I chose a staple gyaru piece of a babydoll/negligee. The babydoll design is used by multiple brands and multiple substyles which also makes it a good pick for Clairey and I. I obviously looked at DIA for my inspiration for the pattern 🌟

 I picked up a bralette that was on sale and deconstructed it and used the garment as the base of a pattern which I would develop into my own. I drafted using our own measurements to alter bra cups pattern and create a back pattern as well. It was nice using my skills from university again.

Once I was happy with the pattern I made my first toile (practice piece) it was quite successful but just needed a little more altering, I was quite happy that it only took 1 toile to perfect and move onto making my first real baby doll 💖

Inspired by DIA's denim details, I upcycled a denim jacket that was too big and used it for the cups. I used a scarf which I thrifted as well 💖 I really try to be eco friendly and not wasteful, as I know how much waste there is with fashion in general. I find the challenge fun making something old new.  Even when I buy new fabric I buy deadstock fabric, which is leftover fabric from the fashion industry that would just go to the landfill. I get cute cheap fabric and save waste win win 😁

And here are my two first babydolls! One upcycled one deadstock fabric. I made a matching gathered skirt as well for the paisley babydoll. I made these both in the summer and the paisley was perfect for the heatwave 🌞 

Extra details, I love the gold beads on the scarf. 💓 I made detachable chain straps so I could use one strap across many baby dolls it will also let me use different straps as well on them in the future.

I'm really happy with this pattern, I made it have elastic in the back for ease of wear and make it always fit nice. Moving into autumn I wanted to make a dress inspired by the denim/leopard DIA pieces to make a dream design for myself. 

I had this beautiful gold embellished denim fabric which has a 3d paint effect to it, once I sewn the cups I realised it has actual constellations in the fabric! ⭐ 

The leopard print fabric is covered in ruffles which give great texture and look so cute 🐆

WIP of the legwarmers I made to go with the dress, I then added some gold buttons to finish off these legwarmers.

And this is the result! 😭 I'm so happy with how it turned out and its now one of my favourite pieces. I really perfected the pattern and had the perfect two fabrics that went together so well. I feel like a cowboy sheriff with the stars and leopard print. 

No surprise I went with gold bronze eye make 😂 I curled my new hair extensions as well and made some new silver streaks to go with them. Also I was so excited to wear my new dress I forgot to put on my DIA belt and cardigan, so just imagine a belt on 😁

I've caught the sewing bug now and I have two more projects cooking, including a dress for Halloween🦇 Blog soon cuties.

 

JSG and D.I.A Gyaru Inspired Short DIY's plus Looks~

 

Hi cuties!

How are you all? We hope you are all good ^^ Now to blog about something that was in the past but we needed more photos so it's just happening now... Why don't we make things easier on ourselves!!! 😅

We got the idea to do a fun gyaru inspired DIY after Clairey saw some JSG skirts she fell in love with 😍. They were perfect... But also tiny and Clairey preferred shorts! So the seed was planted, Clairey was going to drag Amy into doing some gyaru inspired shorts 💖

The skirt in question! JSG did the skirt in different colourways and it's just so cute. With the bow on the back it looked just like a present! We haven't been able to find any worn pics or model pics with this skirt, so please let us know if you have some.

What Clairey came up with! So initially these shorts were quite long, so we went about shortening it but leaving room to do some cute turn ups! We already had this leopard fabric from our usamimi's we created which was handy, it's so plush and soft. Instead of making a double layered bow she went for a single layered one to kind of match the feel of the shorts? Anyway Clairey is super happy with them. You can see both of our looks we did with our pieces further down in the post ^^ But now onto Amy's inspo and finished piece!

Amy chose D.I.A as inspiration for some tsuyome shorts. She wanted to use leopard print to match Clairey but also build her (small at the time) tsuyome wardrobe off of it and have leopard print be her animal print of choice! Amy really was inspired by the leopard print edging on so many D.I.A pieces and created this. 

To bring leopard detailing to the front Amy did a heart applique and applied some diamante alongside it 💎.  Using the second shorts as inspiration she did the fur cuffs on the back pockets and used large metal buttons. Amy originally planned to make a matching top with leopard cuffs but unfortunately as you can already see in these photos Amy had lost some weight and the shorts ended up being too big. Never mind though as doing up these shorts inspired us to start sewing again after a year of burn out! So we definitely will be making more in the future💖 

Even though both of these projects are simple and quick they created really cute shorts and sparked us off sewing again. It was really fun to play and create our own pieces 😊 These shorts came in perfect for an outfit challenge which was about our favourite boom - leopard print! 🐆

Outfit Rundown

Usamimi: Magical Harts (we have closed our shop but might do small drops of usamimis in the future! 👀)
Necklace: Glavil by Tutuha

Top: Animal Kingdom Disneyworld

Hoodie: Ghost of Harlem

Bag: Boguta
Shorts: DIY

Legwarmers: Made by Amy 💖

Clairey here 💀Ahhh I think this is one of my fave coords I've ever done! 💓 Dark but livened up by all the leopard and the shorts. I think these kind of looks are going to be one of my Autumn staples. The hoodie really helps give it some shape and makes it more rokku. Thanks Amy for buying it me! Also how cute is the leopard bow bag! We got them from a brand called Boguta which is a lolita Taoboa brand. Amy also has a pink version and we got the bags with multiple straps so it can be worn in different ways. Look out for a review from us soon.

I do kinda miss my pink and blonde hair. It was so gyaru and just made everything extra cute. Amy also helped me do this flicky style Kanako from Egg did 💓. Thanks Amy! It gives the look more of an edge. I really like my make here too, rusty browns and oranges are my fave eyeshadows, my old reliable. Like I said before I think this is going to be my vibe going into Autumn and I can't wait to wear my shorts again. Amy bought us (sensing a pattern? Don't worry, I get her stuff too 👀) some matching Backs leopard cardigans so we can twin, so you will def see these shorts again 😂 

Outfit Rundown
Usamimi : Magical Harts (we have closed our shop but might do small drops of usamimis in the future! 👀)

Necklace : Primark
Top : Animal Kingdom Disney 🏰

Jacket: Missguided thrifted
    Belts: ASOS

Shorts: Me!

Amy here! ⭐ I really love doing all white outfits in tsuyome, they really stand out and go so well with gold jewellery and belts. When I saw this top at Disney I knew I had to get it, the bow is sequins and it's so fun. Unfortunately the top now is the only thing that fits 😭 I only wore the jacket once or twice too sad times. I was inspired to get a fringe jacket after seeing lots of fringe detailing by D.I.A, they're definitely one of my main inspirations at the moment.  

I feel like gold bronze eye make now is my uniform 😂 I love it, it always works and goes with tsuyome so it will stay! I love how the blonde and pink wig went with the white outfit as well I feel super gyaru with it 💖

This is how we started to get back into sewing and we cant wait to share some more of our projects with you. Amy has been doing laps around Clairey so you have definitely got more in store to come.

Blog Soon

Clairey and Amy xoxo

Red & Gold Our favourite Colours Eyemake Look

 Hello Cuties

We totally forgot to post these photos from a month or two back, but they kind of work for Autumn so why not post them now! 🍂

Claireys Outfit
Cross and Jacket: Glavil Tutuha
Skirt: Topshop
Belt: Custom 8th Sin
Tights: Better Tights
Boots: Asos

Amy Outfit
Necklace: Primark
Top: Made By Me 💖
Cardigan and Belt: D.I.A
Shorts: Thrifted
Boots: Asos

Our only inspo was to use our favourite eyeshadow colour, which gave us total free reign on the outfits. So this is how we came up with two very different looks. We both ended up picking our favourite staple styles of rokku and tsuyome. We had a lovely make up call with Katbat we always have the best conversations, we haven't been able to do any recently as we've been both so busy and I miss it 💕

Amy here ⭐ Of course I picked gold as my favourite eye make colour. I always use gold shadow and glitter in my make up, it's so glamorous and goes with everything I wear. This is my favourite cardigan, I bought the beige to begin with and hunted down a black version as well it fits so well on me. Say hello to the last split hair colour I tried before dying back to natural but it still lingers and wont leave my hair alone 😂 Please help 😭

Clairey here! 💓 So my favourite colour makeup wise is red, even though sometimes I can be a little nervous about wearing it! It is more about making sure I apply it well and the pigment doesn't disappear! I used Sugarpill Love+ and a Colourpop shade and they worked super well together! I'm super happy to finally be wearing my Glavil hoodie again. It's one of my fave pieces and I think it matches perfectly with the tights 🕷 I've since dyed my split more darker on the brown and a lighter blonde and I think it stands out more nicely. I think this is the vibe for Autumn/Winter Clairey. I'm excited! 🍁

I forgot to share here, but look at the amazing art our bestie did of us! He is so talented in art, animation music and pretty much anything creative. He's so inspiring to have around but don't let him know we said that! If you like Dragon Ball Z check out his fan animation on his Youtube. I've seen a lot of his work behind the scenes and I can't wait for his next part to come out. 

Blog soon Cuties 💕💕

Last Hurrah For Summer ~ Our Gyaru Sewing Project ♥

 Hi cuties! 

Long time no blog 😅 life has really gotten in the way lately! Lots of things we have wanted to do were all put on hold, but we made it through! 🌈 

One of those projects was to sew our own gyaru romper playsuits! We chose to do a romper mostly because it was summer and also we can't really buy playsuits or rompers as were too tall and they just don't fit the torso or leg. 😖😂 

We both started a deep dive of our favourite gyaru brand rompers. With Clairey feeling more inspired by Cocolu she wanted it to look beachy and casual.

Clairey here! So I really wanted to do a mixture of these two rompers. Have it looking beachy and casual like the first pic but including more patches to make it stand out more and giving it the extra cute touch. 💖

And Amy was inspired by D.I.A really wanting a bold print to make the statement.

 Amy here 🙋 After looking at so many D.I.A pieces I noticed a theme of print and the classic metallic fixtures that are always used such as zips, chain and buttons. I was inspired by this one in particular because of the bold print. I also saw the sailor style romper and would totally love to make something inspired by that some day! ⚓

We chose this pattern (New Look 6291) as a base as it has the basic shape that we both wanted and it could be styled in many ways in the future. It also is a easy pattern which is good for nervous sewers. As we have this tall problem and Clairey is a nervous sewer we went to a local sewing class where we could alter the pattern and have an enjoyable day too 💖 You could totally finish this pattern in a day but we were such chatterboxes it took a little longer 😂

And here are the results! Similar but with fabric and styled differently we feel this represents us a twins so much as well 👯 This is also our last hurrah to summer 🌞 as it's now nearly autumn. We're so happy with how these turned out and we had such a lovely time on the day as well. 

Amy here! Ta da new hair again 💇 I've been really inspired by all the dark haired gyaru I've been seeing on Instagram like Ayaka so I dyed my hair back to my natural colour and bought some silver extensions. I dyed an ombre but still wanted streaks and this is the result, I really love the length and the colours and feel more like myself ⭐ I've also ordered some wefts to make some highlight streaks to mix things up as well.

 I paired a chain belt, bracelet and denim choker to lean it more tsuyome, but tsuyome at the beach! Just imagine it's much more warmer than it is ⛅

I'm so happy with how my romper turned out as well 💕 I made the main details, the chain and charm going across the clip on straps. I hunted around for heart shape dungaree suspender clips and waited forever for them to arrive but they're perfect. I feel like the pendants make it look like a charm bracelet. The fabric is a really light breathable cotton which makes it perfect for hot days and it fits me perfectly. I went to University and college for sewing but really enjoyed our sewing classes and seeing Claire grow more confident!

Clairey here 💥 Aww I'm really happy with my look 😊 felt like I had to do one last cutesy look before my grungey rokku Autumn/Winter 😂. I also changed my eyeshape up again! Filling the droop a little more and adding glitter on the bottom, it makes my eyes look a little softer I think compared to my last make. I brought in bright coloured accessories to match my pop patch on my romper. 

Here's a little close up of the sequin patches on my romper 😊 I think they really help add a super cute cocolu feel 💕 Overall I really do love my garment. I wont lie, I get very nervous and self doubty with sewing! I compare myself to Amy too much which is silly as she has years of training and she was the one that trained me, which I'm super grateful for 💗 But spending that day at the sewing class, chatting and having fun and seeing that I can do it really helped. I want to continue to grow confident with my sewing 🌞

So I guess this is goodbye to summer! Looking back we really had a fun and gyaru filled summer. We have made great gal friends which we really cherish. Explored gyaru selves more, done a lot of sewing (more Amy's part 😂) and worked extra hard too. 

We look foward to whatever Autumn brings xx