The Renegade Seamstress

You remember the beautiful and talented, Miche from the first season of Refashion Runway. I’d like to welcome her as my newest partner. If you love to be inspired for fashion and refashion her blog is the place to go! The photos and projects quite often take my breath away. Not only is Miche adorable, but she is a talented seamstress as well.

She won the Summer Dress Challenge with this adorable refashion:

I was fortunate to get an interview with her, so you could get to know her a little better.

You have an incredible blog with beautiful photographs of your amazing style. What inspired you to start your own blog?

I had been following various blogs for a while and always thought to myself ‘Man, I wish I could do that’. One day I woke up and just decided, ‘you know what? I’m done wishing I could do it, I can do it’. I stopped making excuses that day and decided to go for it.

 You obviously love vintage, do you have a favorite vintage piece and does it have a story behind it?

I do! I really, really LOVE vintage. My absolute favorite vintage piece is actually one of the first I acquired – it’s a leopard print scarf that my grandmother gave me. My grandmother love leopard print (she’s hip like that) and since she passed the beautiful scarf on to me a couple of years ago I have literally worn it probably 200 times. Surprisingly, I haven’t worn it much on the blog (that will definitely have to change soon), but you can see it tied in my hair here.

 I noticed you are a graduate student. What are you studying and where do you hope it takes you?

Actually, I need to update my profile because as of May, I am no longer a graduate student (yay!). I graduated from a dual Master’s program and received a Masters of Public Health (M.P.H.), and a Masters of Social Work (M.S.W.). I have always been interested in health and working with people (but I can’t stand blood), so they seemed to be a good fit for me. Currently I am working as a mental health therapist at a local non-profit organization in my town. I don’t have an exact destination for my career at this point, just hoping to help some people along the way 

 You also mention that you are a travel enthusiast. Can you tell us about some of your favorite travel adventures?

I have been very fortunate in that I have known a lot of amazing people who work/live/travel internationally, and I have been able to kind of follow them around. One of the most incredible trips I’ve ever taken was actually my first major trip out of the country without family. I went to Peru with one of my good friends and we hiked the Inca trail and went to Machu Picchu – it was INCREDIBLE, the views, the people, the entire experience was completely life changing.

 The photographs on you blog are so fun and beautiful. Who takes your pictures and where do you get your ideas for your shoots?

My boyfriend, Paul, actually takes pretty much all the photos for the blog. He is an amazing photographer and it’s actually become a really fun project for the two of us to work on together. We try to not shoot in the same place twice (keeps things interesting for us, and the readers). We typically try to plan out locations in advance, but sometimes we end up just driving around and looking for places that look fun.

Tell us about your favorite photos?

I have to pick? One of my absolute favorites is actually a photo of Paul and I together that we took using the timer for the Great Gatsby themed shoot we did a few months back (Actually all those photos came out beautifully).

Another favorite is from the first Refashion Runway Challenge: Stripes, this photo was so totally candid – Paul wanted me to stand basically in the middle of this giant water fountain, and it started spraying right as he started taking the photos.

 Do you have any advice for new fashion bloggers?

Don’t be intimidated – one of the biggest things I still struggle with related to my blog. Remember, it’s your little place on the internet to write about things you love. One day, you’ll be able to look back on your posts and you won’t care about what other people may have thought when looking at them, all that will matter is that it was a true representation of you at that moment.

 After looking at all of your refashions, it’s easy to see that you’re an excellent seamstress. When did you learn to sew? Do you remember your first project?

I first learned to sew in middle school home economics class, we sewed a locker organizer, and I chose this deep blue fabric with stars and moons printed on it (crazy the things we remember, isn’t it?). Even though I loved it at the time, I only recently picked it back up and am definitely learning as I go (blogging has been incredible helpful in allowing me to perfect my craft).

 Judging from your photos on your site, it looks like you live in a beautiful area. What is it like where you live and what do you do for fun?

I live in a city, but honestly, there is so much green space that it feels more suburban. In only 15 minutes you can go from downtown to the country – it’s a great place to be. I love biking around the various neighborhoods and hanging out in our ‘arts district’. I’m originally from a pretty rural town, so being close to things has been an awesome change of pace for me.

 What has been your favorite thing about blogging so far?

The sense of community that has come along with it, and the amazing people I’ve met along the way. Blogging has connected me to like-minded people with similar interests, and
it has allowed me to further define not only my sense of style, but also who I am creatively.

 How would your best friend describe you?

Oh man, I feel like I should call her and ask this question because I’m actually not quite sure. She would probably say something like ‘She is one of those people you can just relax and have fun with, no need to impress or anything like that’ (at least this is what I hope she would say). I generally try to have fun, and not put a lot of pressure on people to act, or be a certain way.

I highly recommend that you head over to Miche’s blog, Buttons and Birdcages, and subscribe right away. You will be throughly entertained, I promise!!!