Ribbons and knots.

I stopped by the best (and most expensive) ribbon shop in town - Mokuba - to pick up some trim for a Betsy Johnson dress that I found for $6 at Goodwill (!). The dress is just a wee bit short and I wanted to make it wearable, and now that I can use a sewing machine I really have no excuse.

(Photo by Kathryn Gaitens)

It was painfully difficult to choose when there are like over 700 ribbons, but the price helped out a bit; I just can't justify paying over $20/m for ribbon at this time in my life. Anyway, I'll post a picture of the finished dress this week - I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I was looking for a striped ribbon that would add a bit of a schoolgirl feel to the floral dress and I think I've captured that feeling. Now I've just got to find a vintage Ralph Lauren blazer to finish the look.

Anyway, the adorable woman who helped me out was wearing a fantastic ring, and she told me that it's made by Brooklyn artist Kiel Mead. His website is fantastic, and he makes jewelry that's both delightful and grotesque (I can't imagine any circumstance where I'd wear a retainer necklace - see below).

I wasn't able to post some of my favourite items from his site - the camera necklace and the amazing belt buckles, so check them out at his site (linked above).

Anyway, this is the ring she had on. Isn't it amazing? It also comes in colour (the little red forget-me-knot ribbon is so wonderful). I think they're so feminine and romantic.

Forget-me-knot ring, from $50 to over $700.

This is less romantic. All I can think about when I see this is how many times my parents dumpster-dived to find my retainer, innocently tossed into some fast food garbage, wrapped in a napkin. I'm so sorry, parents.




In other news, I finished my very first skirt ever today. And I love it. I'll post it soon - I can't wait!