Original photo made for fashionable brand of Candie's.

Ernestine Carter once said "It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior and Mary Quant". I think we all know how obsessed I am with the 60s. It was my mother who would introduce me to the fashions she loved as a young adult, including the wonders of Carnaby Street and the stylish designer Mary Quant.

I believe Mary Quant was a revolutionary and doesn't get enough recognition for her fashion innovations

It's believed she was the first to create the most famous invention of the 60s: the miniskirt! Mary titled it after her favorite vehicle, the mini. She also popularized hot pants and patterned tights (where would we be without those!). She is the essential designer of the 1960s that mixed pop culture with fashion.

There isn't much about Mary Quant on the internet besides a few sparse pictures of her and a few of her designs. Her brand was later bought out by a Japanese company and her name licensed out, in the example of Mary Quant cosmetics, which I heard is still popular in Japan but is no longer affiliated with Mary Quant the designer. This video from the V&A is a great summary of what it was like to work for Mary Quant back in the 1960s and how it influenced a generation. He also talks about the make and wear of Mary Quant designs, which is interesting to know her methods of construction. There is also this great video on Mary's fashion show at the Hotel Crillon in 1963, which is at a long, unedited 24 minutes, but many great scenes of 60s socialite models and of the catwalk.

Vintage Sweater

I must be out of my mind. Why do I always assume I can handle more than I can? I've been disappointed that I've missed out of all the sew-alongs that seemed to be going on the last two months so when Casey posted this past weekend on a vintage sweater knit-along over at By Gum, By Golly I was very interested. When I saw the vintage sweater they'd be knitting, I was sold! I'm sure between my internship and midterms that I'm going to need a little stress relieving knitting. I just hope that between everything on my plate I'll actually finish it.

To be honest, I'm a little intimidated. The pattern requires lightweight yarn. Last year I made a kimono for my newborn niece with lightweight yarn and it took forever! And it was for a baby! I just can't imagine how long this will take. I just have to remember that knitting is slow by the foot but fast by the mile.

I might have become a bit of a yarn snob, which is a bit of a paradox because I'm fine with using synthetic fabrics for sewing vintage clothes. I feel in the wintertime I'm fine wearing synthetics, but in the spring and summer it must be 100% natural with the heat waves New York seems to get every July. The swatch is from Knit Picks. I was amazed about how inexpensive the cotton fingering yarn is over at Knit Picks. Today I picked up 8 skeins of Sea Foam Comforting Finger Yarn at $2.99 a skein with an amazing 218 yards per ball. Fantastic, right?! I really wanted something breathable for spring.

I quite excited because this will be the first thing I will knit for myself, let alone a sweater!