Green butterfly clutch bag

I love a butterfly print and I love a green clutch bag and this does both! It's made from a fabulous cotton vintage Japanese kimono fabric with a butterfly print in bright purple, yellow, pink and blue.

I used a hot pink cotton lining for the clutch bag, which matches the pink of the butterfly. I also added a hot pink tassel to match the lining.

The clutch bag has a green zipper closure to keep everything safe, and the bag is lightly padded to protect its contents.

Look up close and see the detail of the butterflies. Some are filled with colour and some are just outlines.

This makes a great gift for someone special, a truly unique item! It also makes a great summer clutch and is the perfect accessory to a summer wedding.

You can find it in my Etsy shop here

 

Japanese kimono scarf

 The purple kimono I bought recently has now been made up into a stunning silk scarf with a matching clutch bag. I'm loving the vibrant purple colour as an accessory and love the pop of red in the design.

The kimono has a lovely modern painterly hash design printed onto it.

I picked out the red from the design and used it as the colour for the tassel detail.

Purple is a stunning colour for a scarf and enhances any outfit.

The lining of the clutch bag is also a red colour, for a flash of vibrancy when the bag is opened.

The scarf is long enough to wrap around the neck or could be tied in a jaunty loose knot.

This clutch is big enough to fit sunnies, phone, makeup and keys.

The scarf can also be loosely draped around the neck.

Purple perfection

I've just added this purple stunner to my store. It's a handbag made from a purple and cream vintage Japanese kimono fabric with stylised images of chrysanthemums and flowing water, classic motifs used in Japanese art and design. You can find it in my store here.

I decided to add a vibrant turquoise blue cotton fabric for the lining.

The bag has a detachable chain handle which can be worn over the shoulder, across the body or tucked inside the bag and used as a clutch bag.

This lovely clutch bag makes a perfect match with the three purple silk scarves in my store which you can find here.

Cute couple

Check out this cute couple! They're pretty stunning aren't they? The combo consists of a large clutch bag and a small clutch bag, both made from stunning vintage Japanese fabrics that I bought in Tokyo last year. They've just been added to my store and you can find them both here.

The small clutch bag is made from a gorgeous red and cream vintage floral Japanese kimono fabric.

I decided to give it nice turquoise blue lining for a flash of colour.

The large clutch bag is made from a vintage obi fabric in vibrant shades of green, orange and lilac with a lot of metallic gold thrown in.

This clutch has a bright red cotton lining. Wow!

If you're looking for something a bit more casual and roomier, it also has a matching tote bag, made from the same stunning obi fabric.

 The sturdy red canvas straps and red cotton lining add a nice flash of colour.

You can find all these items in my store here.

Purple reincarnation

Last Friday I mentioned in a blog post a beautiful purple kimono from my collection which I was thinking of deconstructing and making into a clutch bag. Well here it is! Yes, I finally had the courage to cut it up. It was a painful process, but I'm so happy with the outcome. It's a stunning design and lends itself so nicely to a clutch bag. I even gave it a vibrant red lining to mirror the red in the flower design. You can find it in my store here.

This purple bag is commemorate His Purple Highness, Prince, who sadly passed away three months ago today. It's till hard to imagine that he is no longer here.....

The finished product!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was working on a commission for a new bag which involved cutting up one of my beautiful vintage kimonos - you can read about it here. I mentioned that it can be quite an emotional process deconstructing a kimono, but it can also be a lovely process as it produces something new. Well, the bag has now been made and here it is in all its glory! I love it! The bold design works so nicely with the style of the bag and the red lining gives it a flash of colour when you open it up. I'm looking forward to delivering the bag to its new owner this evening.

The silver foil flower is printed over the main design and looks stunning!

Red and black flowers sit on cream and grey clouds.

The red lining matches perfectly to the outside colour.

This is the kimono before it was cut up. It has a stunning bold design in red, cream and black with a dramatic stylised silver floral printed over the top here and there.

Blossom season

Blossom season is nearly here, which I love! To me it means that spring is well and truly on its way. When we lived in Japan, the blossom season was a rather magical event, where everyone embraced the beauty of the soft pink cherry blossoms and came out to celebrate with hanami parties, or blossom viewing parties. Hundreds of people flocked to the parks around Tokyo and spread out their picnic rugs to eat good food and enjoy the flowers. Along the Meguro river, close to where we used to live, was especially magical as the river was lit up with lanterns at night time. In true Japanese fashion, blossom season is always predicted pretty accurately and this year the Tokyo area is predicted to be starting as early as 26th March, although I've read that some buds have already been seen at the Yasukuni Shrine. I'd love to head over there and get a little fix of it!

In celebration of the coming of spring, I have made two pretty little clutch bags out of vintage blossom kimono fabrics that I collected on my last trip to Tokyo in November.

You can find both clutch bags in my shop here.

A bit of black and white

Last week I mentioned some of the beautiful kimono fabrics I picked up in Tokyo. I finally got sewing over the weekend and here is the first of the brood! It uses the pretty black and white maple leaf design and I used it on one of my small clutch bag designs. I couldn't resist adding a purple/pink lining for a flash of colour when the bag is opened.

You can find it in my store here.

Millinery Monday

Happy Monday to all! I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was fab, helped by the fact that the weather was gorgeous here in London. On Saturday afternoon we headed to Sadlers Wells theatre to see the fabulous Car Man ballet by Mathew Bourne, based loosely on the opera Carmen and with a score that was inspired by Bizet's music. It was a wonderful performance.

On our way to the theatre we happened to pop down a side street and came across the lovely shop of Alexandra Harper, a London-based milliner who designs and produces stunning statement hats and headpieces. I was immediately taken by her 'Rhopalocera' creation in the window (shown below), which has a tiny swarm of delicate red metal butterflies on it. My immediate thought was how well her hats would go with some of my Cheeky Leopard clutch bags, so I decided to pair some of them up!

The stunning red of this 'Rhopalocera' hat would work very well with the stork clutch bag below, made from delicate red and cream Japanese kimono silk.

I love the stunning orange colour of her 'Hespera' hat and it would make a great match with the orange, gold and black clutch bag below, made from a combination of Japanese obi fabrics.

This dramatic 'Dreams of Sioux' hat above uses a combination of stunning turquoise feathers and flowers and is the perfect match for the Indian sari and Japanese obi fabric clutch bag.

I couldn't resist this hat which is called 'In a mood New York'.

I picked out the purple of the hat to match the purple Cheeky Leopard handbag below.

Alexandra Harper creates bespoke hats and headpieces. Each item is a one-off creation and pieces can be custom-made to meet any price point, style, function and time requirement. You can visit her store at 25 Arlington Way by appointment from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm.

A little gem

I recently added this little gem to my Etsy store.

It's a little clutch bag (which I call my 'little gem') and is made from a pretty orange and cream blossom vintage kimono fabric. I often like to wonder what kind of life my kimonos have had and like to think they have had a good one. This may have been an under garment as the silk is very fine. It comes from a piece where the flowers ombre from deep orange to a very pale coral. I decided to compliment the outer by giving this clutch a vibrant yellow lining.

You can find it in my store here.

J'adore violet!

Anyone who's a regular to this blog or to my Etsy store will know that I'm a tad partial to the colour purple! I've had a stunning purple floral kimono sitting in my collection for a while and decided to take the plunge and cut it up - a rather upsetting experience! Luckily, I have made two lovely items out of it, both of which you can see below, and you can find them in my store here.

The kimono fabric has a lovely big flower on it.

 I decided to place it in the bottom right hand corner of this clutch bag.

This bag has a detachable chain handle so that you can use it as a clutch bag or as a handbag.

I used a hot pink kimono fabric for the lining.

This handbag is made from two different kimono fabrics and has a long woven strap, designed to be worn across the body. It can also be worn over the shoulder.

It has a hidden magnetic closure to keep the bag closed and everything safe.

Check out that hot pink lining!