Do It Yourself and Save Your Coat

There is this Coat that needed a do it yourself type of anything. It belongs to me. Kind of, I kind of reject it in my mind everytime I see it in the closet. The reason? The buttons. I love the fabric, I even love the dusty pink that was misrepresented as beige on the website. But the cheap golden buttons, I can live without.

I have lots of clothing like this, that needs a little something to be taken out of anonymity and be given a second chance.

Today, for some unknown reason, this coat needed to be revived.

“Can you please do something with me? I know it is warm in Southern California and you don’t have much use for me… Why did you even buy me?”

“Ok, I will figure out. I might need you for the winter holidays when I am going on the East Coast.”

“Right, you might need me. Otherwise you will be wearing all these other clothes from the closet. The Black Coat was taken to sets and stuff. Even on the set of Burlesque, that opens today. You never take me anywhere.”

“Fine. I will take you to the Fashion District today and try to fix you. Happy, Coat?”

“Yes, I guess. Try to carry me in a proper bag, please. I am sensitive.”

“Fine”.

So, I put the coat in the Lanvin Loves HM bag. I wanted her to have a proper home for the duration of this adventure.

We went Downtown LA, Fashion District, on Maple Street between 8^th and 9^th.

There was so much to choose, I can’t believe I haven’t done it earlier. Coat was really happy. She couldn’t decide between some pinkish looking buttons and some silver ones.

Poor coat, her buttons were plastic and golden, no wonder she didn’t even look in the gold section, even they had real metal ones, brass and stuff, and no plastic. I think she is traumatized.

“Happy, Coat? Anything else? You will decide at home what buttons you want.”

“Well… I saw in this magazine that you left in the closet this Balmain jacket…”

“Coat, you are a No Name coat. You can’t dream being a Balmain jacket”.

“Please. Please. Just get some chains for me. PLEASE”

The coat was almost crying, so I felt bad.

“Fine, I am not paying over 10$ for your chains, you have enough improvements already.”

“Gold or silver?” I ask.

“Silver, of course. That looks nice.”

The Coat pointed this nice silver necklace, actually there were about 5 feet of it for about $10. I don’t think it’s really silver, but she doesn’t know this.

We returned home, with the chains and the two possibilities of Buttons.

The Coat chose pink, as you can see in the pictures. She made me promise that if she is not happy I will change them with silver. I promised.

So, here we go. Cut off all he cheap plastic, get thread and start sewing the new buttons. The Coat chose different one for the sleeves, same shade of pink. She was pretty unhappy that I only had black thread, but I wouldn’t start driving again to find pink. Sorry Coat.

It didn’t take a lot of time, and I am not an expert sewer. All you do is sew the new buttons and then attach some chains to each button…

The Coat is happy. She has new shiny buttons that are not plastic and silver-like chains attached. She will never be a Balmain jacket just because she has some silver attached to it… but, at least she is now a Unique jacket, instead to  a mass-produced one.

“I am so happy. I am the only jacket in the world with pink metal buttons, and different shape buttons on the sleeves. And I have chains attached to them. I can’t wait to be taken places.”

Lanvin & HM

No, this is not a review of this collaboration. I am not such an expert and no, I am not one of the top five bloggers that were invited to the event.

I could have been, if I had figured out to do a blog in 2007 instead of 2010—end of 2010, stepping into 2011. I am self-involved enough to take pictures of myself every day.

My experience with Lanvin Loves HM goes like this.

Saturday, the 20^th.

Me, at the Century City Mall in Los Angeles.

12 noon.

Looking for the directory. (I hate malls)

Seeing the HM sign.

Me:

Excuse-me, where is the Lanvin collection?

Seller:

In the back.

Me:

Thank you.

Walking through the store trying to figure out where the back is.

Me:

Hello, excuse-me, where are the Lanvin dresses?

Seller:

There are all sold out. People were here in the line at 5am.

Me:

But you open at 10.

Seller:

I know.

Me=Sad=In shock. Looking at the leftovers. There was nothing, no tshirts with happy faces on them, no yellow dresses with distressed edges. NOTHING. There were voices in my head:” You stupid, of course it will sell out. You could have woken up at 4am like everybody else.”

Me :”But it was raining, one of the only days in LA when it rains”.

Voices:”Well, I guess the hundreds of people before you that got the dresses weren’t bothered by a little bit of rain”.

Me:”I know.”

Sad and Defeated, I was heading to the door. When, The Miracle happened.

“Would you like this dress? It’s not my size.”

It was a real person talking to me, not voices anymore.

“Yes. Of Course. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving. Are you serious?”

She was gone. I was holding The Dress. It was the black version of the yellow one with ruffles. It was mine. Two sizes bigger, but who cares.

But, the dresses hungry women around me, came to ask for it.

“I want it, if it doesn’t fit you”.

“Give it to me, either way.”

Angry looks.

I was scared. I felt like in a zombie movie. Lanvin eating Monsters.

I paid for it without even trying it on. I can fix it. I know how to fix things. Or I will just get fat. Either way, the dress is mine and I will copy the pattern and make 10 more in each color, and they will all be mine. Mine Mine Mine. Sorry Alber. You should have made more.