New items!, "black rose tote bag"

Yet another new item I have added to my website.

This beautiful dark beauty is made of canvas like the earlier tote bag and it has this black rose bouquet that I hand-drawn. The difference from the earlier one is that this tote is flat, it doesn't have depth and the bouquet is not so "full". Although you can still perfectly fit a magazine of DIN-A4 size book or publication inside it.
It features a black and white polka dot fabric panel at the bottom and the handles are made of the same fabric.
The interior is a minuscule tiny polka-dot fabric in black and white as well, with a slight contrasting zip in biscuit/cream colour. It also fastens with a very strong magnetic fast.
At only £25 is a real bargain.
Let me know what you think.

Here is the link for more pictures:

http://www.theblackwardrobe.com/product/black-rose-tote-bag-42

New items!, "Polka-dot black rose tote bag"

More new items I have added to my website. (More bags!)

This romantic dark piece is made of strong cotton canvas fabric, in a natural colour. Its main feature is a beautiful bouquet of black roses that I hand-drawn myself onto the fabric. The touch of black lace and the black fabric with tiny red dots intensify its gothic flair.
The inside is fully lined in black poly-cotton fabric, with a big open pocket to keep your mobile/i-pod/keys within easy reach. (There is nothing I hate more than spending more than two minutes "exploring" the bottom of my bag trying to find what I am after...Some people have described my bags as "Mary Poppins' bags" because of the amount of sh#t and unthinkable things I came across while looking for something. Examples? a lighter (I don't smoke), a knife (I used to fix the micro-tiny screw of my glasses), euros (I only use them when I go home, to the continent or even worse! plane tickets from last time I went home....half a year ago!) chocolates or chewies that had expired quite a while ago...newspapers that are a week old...

I think I need help. I keep complaining but it keeps happening....

Anyway, here is the link if you want to see more pics of this gorgeous gothic inspired tote bag. It is only £28!

http://www.theblackwardrobe.com/product/polka-dot-black-rose-tote-bag-41

New items!, "Vintage style framed bag with flower print"

I am thrilled to announce that I have new items on my website. All of them are accessories, bags!, which are really my obsession, well above shoes. So I decided what better items to expand my accessories range than with my favourite items. Hope you like them.

My first item is an elegant and classy vintage style framed bag in a medium size. I have always loved this type of bags, they can hold more than what you might expect! Specially if they are not stiff.

This fabric print features a big floral print in deep red and dark green. I think they are poppies but I am not quite sure.

Sturdy glossy metallic frame with big snap lock in deep red. (Very easy to open and not painful!)

This beauty is handmade by me. It is for sale on my site for £34 (shipping costs are free in UK). Let me know what you think. I am so in love with it.

http://www.theblackwardrobe.com/product/vintage-style-red-flowery-framed-handbag-40

Gothic fashion windows

Fabric care, acrylic jersey.

People keep asking me how to look after the fabrics with care, specially if they are black, as dye is very easy to wear off with time or washes. This is why I am going to start to recopilate posts with fabric care instructions and I will link them to my pieces' descriptions pages on my website. I think that would be very useful for shoppers as it will give them an idea of what kind of texture to expect. As usual, if anyone is still unsure, I will welcome enquiries, via email or phone.

The first fabric I will speak about is jersey, acrylic jersey, to be more specific, as most of my pieces are made of this comfortable and extremely versatile fabric.

Acrylic is a fine, soft and luxurious fabric with a good drape-able quality. It gives warmth without weight. It is basically a fantastic substitute of wool but without being too hot so you can actually wear it throught Spring and even in the early days of Summer.

Acrylic fabric was first developed by DuPont in 1944 and in 1950 it was commercially produced for the first time. Initially it was used for outdoor purposes but now is commonly used in apparel too.

Characteristics of Acrylic Fabric, very similar to wool:

It is lightweight, soft and warm.
It dyes well. It absorbs and releases moisture quickly thus allowing the fabric to "breathe".
It is resilient, strong, flexible. It retains its shape (which makes it excellent to ironing, it is very sensitive to heat so whatever shape you want to apply with the iron, it will adopt it and keep it).
It resists shrinkage and wrinkles. (It still does wrinkle, though, but it is extremely easy to iron, I prefer to steam it. That way is easier and quicker).
It is resistant to moths, oil, chemicals, and sunlight degradation. (Good news for all of those who like to wear plenty of black under the sunlight).
Like most of synthetic fabrics, it is static. And, like wool, it can suffer from piling and abrasion problems. So if you want to keep your item looking like brand new for longer, you can opt for dry-cleaning instead of cool washing.