Style Inspiration from Rihanna to Rodarte

My plan all along was to do a style inspiration post for an amazing vintage red and cream circus cut wool jacket we have in our collection. To my suprise one of my favorite websites http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/ featured a stunning red carpet look by Rodarte on the beautiful Kirsten Dunst that bears some striking similarities to our one of a kind tailor made piece!

Even though the budget is being handed down tonight here's one way to look like a star without breaking the bank!!
Here are just a few ways to wear this lovely piece but the opportunities are endless.

Here is our little gem available for sale on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98746686/red-and-cream-cropped-circus-jacket

http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/2012/05/08/kirsten-dunst-in-rodarte-2012-met-gala/

                                     Here we have a more casual approach as seen on Beyonce

Or how about getting edgy and teaming up the same jacket with some leather leggings!

Then again we can get a little sexy and take Rihannas take on the cropped red jacket ..

Enjoy,

R&M @ GoS
xox



Upcycling

Today I thought I'd talk a bit about upcycling as it's a term we use to describe some of the things we do. What exactly is upcyling? Well it's pretty much just taking an item that would otherwise be considered useless because it may be out of fashion or just not suited to your taste or needs anymore and giving it a new life.

My personal love affair with upcycling began many years ago before the word even existed (the term upcycling was first used in 1999!). As a young teen my mother brought me a bag of clothing a friend was getting rid of. Being on very limited pocket money the opportunity for some new clothes was like a gift from heaven. Unfortunately most of the clothing was either too big or too mature for my years.... and that's when I realised... "what if I???....". And so began my foray into upcycling.

The very first thing I did was to turn a maxi circle skirt into a pair of hammer pants. They turned out a treat and soon I had three pairs of hammer pants! YAY! I was the talk of the school! The next item was turning a button down, long sleeve over the knee dress into a vest, all the rage at the time.

Many upcycled items you see for sale are intricate and have been completely restructured but it does not have to be that complicated. Upcycling is something you can do at home! It could be as simple as having an old dress with a sleeve style that is no longer in fashion. Instead of throwing it out get some scissors and a needle and thread and copy a sleeve style you have in your wardrobe that you love! Even items that are too big or too small can be upcycled. It's really about wasting less and let's face it we could all use the extra dollars these days.

One of my favorite websites for upcycled ideas and D.I.Y is apairandaspare. Here is one great example of what you can do at home.

http://apair-andaspare.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/lbd-1-diy-cut-out-back-minidress.html

                                                http://saigen.eu/showthread.php?tid=851

http://portialawrie.blogspot.com.au/

http://www.treehugger.com/style/365-upcycled-diy-dresses-all-under-1-photos.html

http://dornob.com/diy-dress-up-ideas-5-sexy-ways-to-upcycle-old-clothing/?ref=search

We hope you feel inspired!

R&M @ GoS
xox

What's the Gos?

Gos is a little project my sister and I have been talking about for some time now. We both have an eye for the interesting and unique and have been collecting everything from vintage musical equipment to one off vintage dresses for ourselves over the past few years. The reality is we were spending way too much time searching for these elusive and magical pieces. We often came across beautiful items that were not particularly suited to what we needed but would be sure to please someone else and so began the thought process for Gifts of Substance.

So what is GoS you ask? Well ...The concept behind GoS is to source beautiful, interesting and unique materials to create Gifts of Substance. Our materials have travelled the world, some have had previous lives. Be it vintage, upcycled or trade items it’s all about beautiful hand made treasures that not only express your individual personality... it has personality all of it's own.

It's early days for us yet but as with everyone starting out we are full of ideas and hopes. We have just kicked off our Etsy store and we are looking forward to sharing the excitement of our finds with others!

https://www.etsy.com/people/GiftsofSubstance