I had heard of Elise Øverland before when checking out the throngs of shows from NYFW, but somehow I had missed the detail in her pieces. Finally after a close look, I discovered the magic that is the Elise Øverland brand.

While these are true luxury items (most pieces range over a $1,000 price point), they are definite pieces for style lovers of all budgets to both build a wardrobe around and covet.

The colored leather pieces are a definite dressing concept to take note from during the fall season; the asymmetrical leather vest ($3,125) and purple foil leather zip mini ($1,695) are two statement items that can be sought after in vintage shops and the like. You could cut the sleeves off a vintage leather jacket, and cut strips from the arm pieces to make neck ties and you’ve got yourself a similar moto style leather jacket.

For the skirt, locate a purple leather jacket or pair of pants (I know these terrors are out there… I’ve seen them!), and cut up to create a simple mini. since the zipper goes all the way from top to bottom it’ll be simple to fix the zipper to the leather with a bit of sewing machine action.

The dresses are incredibly unique, though they are not impossible to duplicate with a bit of work. The aqua hued dress could be created with the fabric of three mini dresses; it’s basically a quilt style construction over the base of an alrea

dy constructed mini. For the waist belt and strap, acquire high quality black elastic, cover it in black silken fabric and detail it with pyramid studs from a local shop like West Hastings’ Dressew.

The last dress is easiest of all. The hard part will be locating a silk dress to add an asymmetrical zipper to. Once you do, add the zipper, lose a sleeve and you’re good to go. If you’re not confident in your sewing skills to mess with any of these items, seamstresses are an excellent resource. They’re local, affordable and will provide you with an item that is one of a kind – and costs significantly less than $2,000!