having fun with up-cycling: Fox And Time

Gaetano (of Nera and Lume) and I have been working on a new project, Fox And Time lately, and now we have enough creations to have them in Creators' Co-Op.

Fox And Time is a line full of up-cycled vintage clothing and accessories.  Gaetano and I pick out the vintage pieces we like, then chop them up and stitch them back together.  I have always loved shopping vintage clothing, then I would never wear them - there was always something missing, or something I just couldn't get over.  Sitting down and actually making the bit of alterations to our liking is so much fun.  And, we are proud of the results.

This way, we now have some men's garments and ties.  We cut up the vintage Hawaiian shirts and used them as applique on military jackets and men's ties.  In this cold weather, it is nice to dream of Hawaii.  Gaetano and I are also in love with the whole pin-up girl thing.  As a post-modern feminist, I am satisfied with the whole idea.

Of course, we have women's dresses and skirts we have chopped up and re-vamped as well, and they are all making us both deeply happy.  Up-cycling is definitely more fun and less grinding work for me.  I wonder if Gaetano agrees?  We start out with a piece that's already what it is - clothing, bag, tie - so there is a bit less pressure in that sense.  Although, there is another pressure of making sure whatever we do does the vintage piece justice.  If we're changing something about the vintage piece, it will have to be an improvement, not a compromise. 
The skirt here started out too small to be today's size 8, although it was marked as such.  I think this was from the 70's.  So I took it apart, and cut a few strips from another skirt and applied them here. I love the stripe cutting the bias plaids.

 

these are the ties. Gaetano did them all, and I had to keep reminding him he couldn't keep them all for himself.  Maybe a fun gift for Valentine's Day.

We are cutting and sewing Fox And Time at the store, so people see us through the window and come in, asking to alter their clothes.  We politely point them to the dry cleaner across the way.