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Of all the items a woman should have as a part of her wardrobe, if you ask me, a trench coat is one of the most important. It is classic and classy; it can be dressed up or down. My favorite trench designs come from Burberry. Here are some of the looks from their 2010 collection:

I’m sure I’ll attempt to construct one for myself before I purchase one because the price is out of my range, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get a similar look. I don’t have to have the name brand; if I can construct something similar I would be well-pleased.

I love this coat. I’ve been seeing it in the magazines lately. I know I can’t afford it, but I really like the way Burberry flipped it this time.

Photo c/o whatshaute.com

I’ve finally stopped using “I don’t have a dress form” as an excuse for not making clothing. I’ve quilted by hand and made items without patterns, but I’ve always been intimidated by patterns and the markings on them. I like to drape and sew.

Well, I’ve decided that since I don’t have a dress form, I should make each and every pattern I have. I have a lot of them. The only thing I’ve ever made using a pattern was a square pillow.

Here is my rendition of New Look pattern 6214:

Me in the dress.

The ruffles were my idea, and I love the fabric. I’ve been waiting a long time to use this fabric.

Ruffle detail I added.

The dress is pinned on in the pictures. I’ve decided to use snaps after showing my aunt Toni, who is my first sewing inspiration. She’s afraid of buttons, so when I said I still have to put buttons on it, she said, “No! Use snaps!” I agreed that snaps would look better than buttons. I hope it gives it a western touch.

It has a pleat in the front and an inside pleat in the back. I’m not crazy about the pleat in the back, but I still like the dress. I decided to keep the sleeves 3/4″ because I didn’t like the sleeves that came with the pattern. Here are more pictures:

Dress

Dress

Back of dress

Back of dress

I’ll update the pictures when I add snaps, and by then I should be posting another dress.

Thank you for visiting.

The children of the Westville Manor housing project in New Haven, Conn. will finally have a place to play – in just six hours.

Westville Manor before playground

Jorge Contreras came from San Francisco, Calif., representing “Kaboom,” a non-profit organization which began in 1996, whose mission is to provide play spaces for children all over America.

Jorge Contreras, project manager from Kaboom

The children of the Westville Manor housing project will have a playground thanks to Kaboom, Solar Youth, Inc., and funded by the Home Depot, with cooperation from the New Haven Housing Authority. More than 100 people from the housing project and Crossroads volunteered their time and services and more than 100 from Home Depot.

Contreras, a project manager for Kaboom said this playground will be the 1974th project for Kaboom.

“Part of our mission statement is that we want to build a safe play environment for every child in North America, within walking distance,” said Contreras. “We’re lucky we have wonderful partners like today, like Solar Youth and (the Housing Authority) of New Haven.”

Joanne Sciulli, founder and executive director of Solar Youth said this project she received a call from Kaboom explaining what the organization does, she thought Westville Manor would be the perfect location.

“It started December 23rd at 6 p.m., and I happened to be still at the office and somebody called, and it was somebody from Kaboom,” said Sciulli.

Sciulli discusses plans with Contreras

She said Kaboom was looking for a New Haven neighborhood to build a playground and she thought Westville Manor would be perfect.

“I said, well, this is the one,” said Sciulli to the representative from Kaboom.

Sciulli runs Solar Youth, which is a citywide program, in three schools, from 53 Wayfarer St., in the housing project.

“We’re a youth development organization,” said Sciulli, “our goal is to create opportunities for kids to grow and become strong people, both inside and outside. To learn that they have the power over their own lives and the power to make positive change in their communities.”

She said the program is modeled to “create a whole menu of programs within a neighborhood so that kids can grow from one program to the other. Solar Youth becomes a regular, consistent, safe place for them to be connected to.”

Joanne Sciulli building a sign post with children from the community

Candace Jones, assistant director for Solar Youth, said the program has been going on for around 10 years and she is happy to see this playground being built. She said representatives from Kaboom contacted Solar Youth sometime in December of 2009.

Candace Jones,

“I don’t know how they found us, but they wanted to find a neighborhood that really needed a playground.” said Jones. “So after months and months of going back and forth, they finally got it started, and today is build day.”

The residents of who live in the housing project were ready, along with the volunteers. They separated into teams and got to work on the playground, which they plan on building in six hours.

The volunteers getting ready

Brenda Sparks said this project is important to her because she’s been living in Westville Manor for 14 years and has a granddaughter who is 8 years old.

Brenda Sparks, working with the gardening crew

“It’s a lot of children [who live] out here and they need somewhere to play,” said Sparks, who is on the team responsible for planting flowers.

Contreras said Home Depot has been a sponsor of Kaboom since it’s start in 1996. Home Depot supplied the supplies needed to get the job done. More than 100 Home Depot employees came out to volunteer.

Greer James, a Home Depot employee, said she’s been working there and living in Connecticut only a couple of months.

“I have two daughters, and they play at playgrounds all the time,” said James, “I know that once I show them the pictures when this is done they’ll be really proud of me. So, I’m doing it for them [the children] more then anything.”

There was food, water, music and children’s activities. The children painted and did woodworking projects while the adults build their playground.

Children's activities

Joe Dellamonica, a Milford resident, said he’s been an employee at Home Depot for 17 years and is glad for the opportunity to volunteer for something positive. Dellamonica is the vice president for

“You see those little kids?” said Dellamonica, “Well, now they’ll have someplace to play. The work we’re doing is necessary and it should be done.”

Here is some progress, and there will be more pictures as the playground comes together.

Playground progress

Playground progress

Playground progress

Playground progress

Here is the finished playground:

Kerin, on the corner of York and Elm streets across from Broadway in New Haven is a hip store that carries everything from t-shirts to boots. The address is 268 York St. The window catches my attention every time I ride by. There’s always something in the window that makes me love fashion; it gives me inspiration to create garments.

Kerin, 268 York St., New Haven, Conn.

Jackie Kerin, owner of the store, which has an upstairs and downstairs, said she is careful to make sure her merchandise isn’t coming from places where the working conditions are inhumane.

“Everything in the store is eco-friendly and socially responsible. We make sure that factory conditions are very good, they get paid for where they are and that their working conditions are very nice.”

Kerin said the store’s prices range from $15 to $200. I would rather pay $15 for a t-shirt that I know hasn’t been trekked through a slum-village sweatshop than pay $1 for a t-shirt made by an exploited worker.

She said some of her merchandise comes from China and India, but the conditions of the factories she gets her items are good for the people who work there.

“It’s good for us, but it’s good for them too because they don’t have to live in those kinds of conditions (slave labor camps).

A t-shirt display at Kerin

The store is clean and colorful. I know I’ll be shopping there whenever I can. The prices I saw were all reasonable.

“We want to appeal to everyone,” Kerin said.

Some of the accessories at Kerin...some made of all-organic cotton

Kerin said she supports local designers as well.

“We have different designers, some of the stuff is made right here in Greenwich, handmade by people here. But some of our stuff is made overseas, like India, China. But we make sure that those factory conditions live up to what the factory conditions would be here in the U.S.”

Jackie Kerin upstairs in Kerin. The bag is made from all recyclable materials by a designer in Greenwich, Conn.

Here are more pictures of the store:

A taste of the shoe wall at Kerin

They even have chocolate made in Connecticut!

Their telephone number is 203-772-2008 or go to www.kerin.com.

I love cotton and I love a bargain. I can’t stress how much I love a bargain. But after watching the documentary “Blood, Sweat & T-Shirts,” a documentary in which a fashion conscious bunch from Britain gets the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry, I feel so bad about where some of our merchandise comes from.

It was my first time seeing the show. I watched an episode that showed from the cotton-making process, to where the clothing was made. I saw the way a sweatshop were set up in Mumbai, it made me not want to buy anything else from another store unless I knew where it came from.

The point was to show, I think, is to explain how we are able to get such good bargains in our retail stores.

I don’t want to buy anything else unless I know where it comes from. I know that will be hard, and I won’t throw away what I have because I can’t afford to. But I don’t want to buy anything unless I know it was made by people being paid fair wages and not living in the nastiest conditions I’ve ever seen. There are some brands that don’t engage in illegal labor practices. When I make up a list, I’ll post it.

I would love to make all of my own clothing, but I would still have to be careful of where I purchase my fabrics. It’s almost impossible not to contribute to this slave labor. But I don’t want to unknowingly support what I saw in that episode of this show. If you’re into fashion, check it out, and check out these videos.

You don’t have to smell them, but stop and see how beautiful some of the things are that pop up throughout your day. I don’t live in the best neighborhood, but these beautiful flowers and the view from my window help me enjoy living here every day.

It depends on how you look at it, but Newhallville is beautiful too!

I love the summertime! It’s beautiful in New Haven as usual. Here are a few pictures from around New Haven on the first day of my second favorite season (spring is my favorite.)

Of course I needed an ice cream cone from what used to be Bill’s Carousel. The name is the same, but it’s definitely not Bill anymore from what it looks like.

I enjoyed a beautiful lunch today with a longtime friend. We went to Jimmy’s in West Haven, Conn. The food was better than it was the last time I was there, but the view was as beautiful as ever – even though today wasn’t a sunny day.

Here are a few pictures of the view:

Today I graduated from Southern Connecticut State University. It was a beautiful ceremony – lots of fun. Here are some of the pictures:

Vania Petit-frere is a “flygirl.” She always speaks when I see her. I like her style because she’s neat and covered, but she still looks fly and comfortable. That’s what it’s all about – being comfortable.

Vania - Fly young lady...

Petit-frere said her favorite store to shop at is Joyce Leslie and that her style is afrocentric. I think she looks beautiful!