love this Kate Towers capelet

Just had to gush about this:

I love the details on this dress.
I like to stalk Kate Towers Etsy shop and daydream about all her lovely creations. Speaking of stalking, what are your favorite fashion/design/art blogs? Please post a comment if you have a good one in mind. I have a collection of favorites that I love to frequent everyday for inspiration, but I don't have a ton of time to "discover" new ones on my own surfing the web... I'd love to hear about good ones from YOU (post a comment)! Thank you!

Unique dresses :: Check out Kate Towers Etsy shop NOW

I just noticed today that there are a handful of lovely pieces in Kate Towers Etsy shop. If you need something lovely, unique and girly, run over to her shop by clicking HERE. This white dress would be perfect for a bride:

I love the ruffles...

This one is my favorite.

This one is just charming.
Photo credits: Kate Towers

Week of Inspiration :: Day 1 :: Personal Style

Photo source: Kate Towers
As previously mentioned, this week I'll be posting about a different aspect of the twigs & honey biz and the various creative folks that inspired me along the way. I just spent all day Sunday finishing taxes. I'm mentally done with numbers for this week, so onto pretty things!

In terms of the style of twigs & honey pieces, I have been influenced by so many people, materials, and eras throughout the years. During the beginning though of "twigs & honey" (earlier 2007), I was particularly drawn to local designers Holly Stalder and Kate Towers. Up until the more recent past, they co-owned a lovely shop in Portland: Seaplane. I found out about them after discovering that one of our wedding photographers, Holly Andres (of Paul Rich Studio), had her dress custom made by Kate (which was this utterly gorgeous blue confectionary treat! I hope photos of her dress surface someday!!). Everything about the varying textures they used and their deconstructed styles appealed to me. Though both designers definitely have a different style, I think I love them equally! If I can create adornments that include all the complexity and uniqueness of one of their gowns, I'm happy. Have I ever mentioned that they are both the biggest sweethearts?? Thank you Holly and Kate for being such great inspiration to so many admirers!!

If you read the blog or visit my Etsy shop, I'm sure you recognize this dress that I ALWAYS wear. It's my favorite, favorite Kate Towers dress. Aw~ but a very old photo that recently came out of the woodwork.

Beautiful wedding dress by Kate Towers.
Photo credits: Portland Bride & Groom

One of my all time favorite Holly Stalder ensembles... so much so, that I had to have that shrug!
Photo from here.

Lovely Holly Stalder dress.
Photo from here.

Personal project :: What to wear?

My big sister is getting married in a couple weeks! AND I still have nothing to wear!

It is definitely less stress to come up with an outfit compared with when I was a bride, but it doesn't help that I've been procrastinating. Last weekend at the fashion show, I saw a gorgeous Kate Towers dress that I thought might work and may still if I can find the time to try it on - currently at the English Dept. in Portland. Kate is the sweetest by the way and you must check out her lovely new site. I digress... so I might make my own dress! Last night, I made a pattern and sewed a mock up. It was made from a more affordable cotton with a sweet and girly checkered pattern (I'll post a picture when I finish the lining). Matt says I look like a "traditional" housewife in it. He is saying this in a good way. :) Actually, he said, "I can't believe you made that!" So it is an encouraging start! Anyhow, after mostly finishing it, I've tweaked the pattern a little and am ready to go fabric shopping for a more lovely and formal material. Wish me luck!

Here was my inspiration:

I love this dress at Anthropologie. Find it here. Alas, this dress is way over my budget and my size is sold out. =T
My mock up dress is this same shape, but I wanted to add a lovelier neckline and straps.

I would love to wear these shoes. My sister's wedding colors are white, black, silver and blue so I think these would be perfect! I discovered them here and you can find them here.

Photo credit: parker j. I have been obsessed with this shrug. The gorgeous Christine of cevd wore this lovely shrug for her wedding and I can't stop thinking about it. Something about the dramatic shape and volume gives me goosebumps. Love, LOVE it. SO, if I can get my act together, I wanted to make a shrug inspired by this one but in silver/blue/gray and a little toned down just so I don't take any attention away from the bride! This shrug reminded me of this old photo of Keisha Castle-Hughes:

Photo from here. Hopefully, this is faux fur... but I like the shape! I'll try to post an update in a week or two, IF I am able to finish in time. If not, I'm "watching" a couple dresses on eBay. *sigh* Why are the prettiest things in the world so darn expensive???