According to Publishers Weekly, “British milliner Baxter’s first book is a delightful grab bag of unique projects that will add vintage dash to any crafter’s wardrobe...Throughout she offers designs that are different from what’s floating around the Internet, as inexpensive as promised, and lovely to boot. The book also includes basic instructions on how to sew by hand and machine, and is beautifully illustrated in a magpie, tea party style that will particularly thrill Anglophiles.”
After 12 years, Mary Jane Baxter left her job as BBC foreign reporter to bolster her creative talents and train as a couture hat maker. Her expert crafting skills landed her with milliner Stephen Jones in London, Marc Jacobs in Paris, and with her very own collection at the Harvey Nichols flagship store in Knightsbridge.
The same passion that inspired Mary Jane to leave her reporting job to work in fashion full-time shines through the pages of her new book. With more than 40 unique and stylish ideas—including quick and easy no-sew projects-- Mary Jane inspires readers to create their own covetable clothes and accessories.
CHIC ON A SHOESTRING teaches readers how to recycle almost anything in the closet-- old clothes, shoes, scraps of fabric, broken necklaces, buttons—and convert them into stylish, vintage accessories. She also details where and how fashionistas should look (flea markets, craft stores, etc.) to build their vintage-style collection. Readers will learn how to transform a colorful ribbon into a trendy belt, shoelaces into a stunning choker, a silk scarf into a seductive summer top, and much more.
My Take on the Book
This book had a ton of great tips for anyone that knows how to minimally sew. All of the items that they talk about are low cost ways to change the way that you look and help you to see yourself in more of a Chic way. The book itself was well laid out, and I liked the fact that there were things that you could do with a sewing machine, but also by hand. For me, there were a number of things that I would not be able to do within my own home due to the fact that I do not have a sewing machine at this point and neither my wife nor I really know a lot about how to using one either. I do see this though as a great book for someone who is into sewing and knows their way around a sewing machine.
That being said though there are quite a number of things (I would say about half, that can be done by hand, which makes the book well balanced in my perspective. It would have been interesting to also see if she could have come up with some ideas for guys as well, but I know that was not the intent of this book.
All-in-all this was a great book for a fashionista that enjoys using her own creativity to develop a whole new look for herself.
All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.
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