My khaki army-style jacket has been my go-to coat/jacket this winter. I made it two years ago, completely inspired by all the fabulously cool examples I had seen out and about in Tokyo. I got home and pretty much immediately set about gathering all the bits and pieces to make one for myself, adapting a jacket pattern from Burdastyle magazine so the features matched the ones I had seen in Tokyo.
Australia often marches to the beat of its own drum, fashion-wise; and looks that are IN! overseas may or may not take off over here. You can never tell…. but anyhow, this winter army jackets were IN! here and I remembered that I had made one (o serendipitous moment!) pulled it out and have been wearing it pretty solidly since. It is sooo warm!
Now, you might think it could only been worn as a casual thing, but being such an on-trend item I’ve found it incredibly useful and the deep olive colour goes with everything I have in the wardrobe. I also made an attachable fur-lined hood to go with it but obviously such a thing is pretty irrelevent to our climate and so I’ve never attached it. Maybe one day I will visit a snowy climate soon and can happily button on the hood without looking ridiculous? A girl can but dream…. but in the meantime these are some of my favourite combos with it from this winter.
Below: at left; casual to the max, worn with my purple flared jeans. Funny thing, I’ve kind of gone off jeans completely lately and don’t want to wear them at all. I’ve semi-tossed these ones out now… they’re on probation…. At right; the jacket kept me toastily, snug-as-a-bug warm on our coldest day (15C) along with my crocheted Granny squares skirt, a black Tshirt, black woollen tights and biker boots. I had my knitted gloves on for part of that day too, but not for the picture… brrrr!
At left; I’ve seen sequins combined with utilitarian khaki in a gazillion gorgeous street-style photos, and loved the craziness of the look, so I wore the jacket over my own silver sequinned skirt, a drapey white top, and with black suede pumps to a dinner with friends, and felt like an ultra trend-ite, for once! At right; sporting a symphony of satisfyingly subtle sludgy goodness, worn with my khaki linen shirt, my sludgy little skirt (incidentally, the same fabric as my purple jeans in the photo above, dyed brown), my olive leggings, and olive knitted socks (not really showing here) A bit drab maybe? but then again drab is my middle name. Seriously, you should see the looks I get when I fill in forms.
(10pts to anyone who can pinpoint that quote….)
So, the weather is warming up gradually, in fits and starts, and soon I’ll stop reaching for this jacket but I’ve sure appreciated and enjoyed its cosy comforting warmth and its easy-going style. Hopefully the trend will stick around for a few more winters to come!
No wonder you wore that jacket so assiduously, it's perfect to combine with all your wardrobe! You are the queen of combinations of clothes, dear Carolyn!! Happy started of Summer for you.. here, Summer is go out…. sigh…
Ahhh I really wanted to make one for winter but never got around to starting. Yours looks great of course:)
Ahh! so versatile a jacket that really goes with everything 🙂 I love it with the sequin skirt – very cool!!
Funnily enough I picked up some beige twill in Melbourne this weekend – with vague arm waving that I wanted a 'festival style' jacket, ie slouchy, perhaps hooded, drawstring waist, outer pockets etc. In many ways similar to the versatility of this jacket – love it!
Of course the Burda pattern I love is not in the country yet, there is a Burdastyle pattern I love but I LOATHE adding those seam allowances… maybe if I get some Clover chalk things I might manage…
Agreed. My khaki coat (sadly not made by me) goes with everything, all winter. Yours is beautifully made and I love it with the sequins! Such a great juxtaposition. But you really must stop making me laugh, with your tales of very cold 15 c days. The maximum we wear on days like that are jeans, t-shirt and cardi and my son wears shorts!!
i love this coat! it does pair perfectly with everything, trend or not!
Hmmm – thinking Dr Who for the quote, possibly a Matt Smith episode… will be back if I can place it!
And the coat, of course, is fabulous, but my favourite thing here would have to be your granny square skirt. Genius!
runciblespoon; yes, spot on! Although the Doctor used a different adjective to "drab" of course, using one more appropriate to the situation although I can't remember what it was now. But the essence of the quote is the same 🙂
ooooh, love it with the sequin skirt!!!
Love all those combinations it seems to go with everything! I think I have said before, but your granny square skirt makes me want to try crochet.
These are all great combinations! And I love that granny square skirt, too!
I love all these combos-hmm my fave has to be the granny square skirt combination. Those colors are so complementary, and the skirt is such a cute surprise.
That coat seems to go with practically anything. I never would have thought that seeing them in the stores… I'm making granny squares too, but I'm saving them all to become a blanket for the couch…
That coat certainly does go with everything! You are so good with colors, and creating a versatile wardrobe that is cohesive but still interesting. The coat fits in perfectly!
great style jacket and you have shown how versatile. it must be a testament to your interesting creations and sewing talent that I read your blog so avidly considering that I generally seek to banish drab everywhere 🙂 keep on showing me that sludgey can be stylish !
Your coat really suits everything. I love it with the sequinned skirt – really good contrast.
I've somehow missed seeing the crochet granny squares skirt before, so I'd like to say now that I think it's fab. Perfect in fact – wish it was mine.
Two things will stay with me more than others from this post:
1. That cost looks great. With everything. Nice seeing!
2. You wear gloves at 15°? Oh, no. Days with a high of 15° (thinking as I type 🙂 )
I love the mix of utilitarian and luxe too – sequins are the new basic, huzzah!
Oh! I love it paired with the sequins. Great look! That jacket is so versatile!
I always like to see how you combine clothes, Carolyn, so very stylish…always!
You are posed just like your drawings! I'm impressed!!!
I love every single look, but especially the jacket and skirt combos. Each is so fabulous. Say, as an appealing cold weather option, do you line all your skirts to avoid the creep factor with leggings? Or do you have another solution?
Cheers,
Kathleen
Kathleen; thank you! and yes I do prefer to line winter skirts for that reason; however if you don't want to have a permanent lining in a skirt but still wear it with tights and leggings you could always make (or buy, of course!) a separate half-slip to wear underneath an unlined skirt. The advantages of a separate slip are that you can leave it off if the weather dictates, and also that you could have just one to wear with all of your unlined skirts, hemline permitting, saving having to line them all. The half-slip can be the simplest of things, a hemmed tube with an elasticised waist; or sewn with waist darts to fit and with a finished slit at the waistline, with a small flat button and loop to close.
I love all six outfits, but the sequinned skirt is especially lovely. More inspiration to live up to – sigh!
love the granny squares crochet skirt, how quirk My favourite is the sequinned skirt, love those contrasts. How sweet of you Dad to always wear the shirt you made him, that the sort of thing my Dad would have done.
A fabulous piece and I especially love it over the crocheted skirt. So chic!
Beautiful outfits! The olive leggings and socks aren't drab…they look nice. You never wear "drab" colors. Oh…I guess I would consider olive to be a "drab" color, but you combine it so well with other colors…the whole outfit is perfect!!!
One great thing about living in a colder clime is the winter ciothes. I love Autumn, new boots season. Much as I love sunny, summer weather I'm sure I'd miss the cold if I lived somewhere that only got down to 15 degrees. It's very sad that you haven't had a chance to wear that furry hat, maybe a trip to London is called for.
I love the outfit with the sequined skirt.
But eh… 15C on the coldest day?? It's now starting to cool down here in the Netherlands and we had that temperature a couple of times this week. At that point I start to wearing a light jacket…
Of course, our "hot summer days" must sound pretty hilarious to you.
I love how you show the many options for a garment. I love olive as well.