New skirt.
The above picture is showing what I actually wore out and about today… please note the far less glamorous shoes than featured in the remainder of this post!
Pattern; Vogue 1521, a Perry Ellis design from 1985.
Fabric; taupe and white silk/linen mix from Fabulous Fabrics, with a crisp and rather dry and paper-y texture to it. The taupe was purchased as a remnant, and I added the panel of ivory onto the bottom edge. I added it underneath the hem, leaving a little overhang of the brown, so it looks more like an underskirt than a pieced addition. Pockets are cut from some nondescript cream-coloured cottony stuff, from a bundle of scraps Mum gave to me.
So; this is another thing to fit in with my vintage pattern pledge; only my version is terribly unfaithful to the original design. It is supposed to have an absolute truckload of pleats up the top there. I got halfway through making it, pinned the pleats and all and I and suddenly just hated it, and veered whimsically off and away for a random new look.
But, I’m still counting this as part of my vintage pattern pledge 🙂 … not because it’s almost the end of the year and I’m running out of time to fulfil it … 😉 well, okaaaay, there is totally that! 😉 Anyway technically these are all the pattern pieces cut out right and they’re all joined up in the ordinary way and all; just that instead of multiple pleats there is just one giant pleat both front and back. I wrapped the extra width back upon itself, folding the same way on both the front and the back. And bought it into my waist more with some discreet darts along the top, both front and back, and overlapped the R side pocket with the front pleat a little bit too. This worked out quite well, I think.
Moral of the story; if you’re hating where something is going but you really do want it to work, because you really love the fabric and don’t want to waste it, or can see some potential in there somewhere … DON’T GIVE UP! There will ALWAYS be a way to make it work out!
Being that it is so unfaithful to the original look, is this a cheat on my vintage pattern pledge? Meh, I’m not angsting over whether I’m sticking to the letter of the law all that much. Generally speaking I prefer an avant garde skirt over a safe one.
I maintained the L side pocket closure, which I’ve always though was a brilliant closure/pocket combination deal. I should do these more often! And instead of button/buttonhole I sewed on some long tweed straps, made from sewing up a scrap of bias cut piping tweed that was wrapped around a bundle of fabric I bought at the Morrison remnants sale a few years ago. It’s very nice tobacco-brown tweed and I always knew I’d like to use it featured somewhere in a thing. I really like how it its rough matte texture looks against the smooth dull sheen of the silk.
Wanna see something funny? here is my 20 year old self wearing the top I made for myself using this same pattern, thirty years ago. I know I made both the top and skirt when the pattern was first released, but strangely I can’t remember any of the details of that first skirt! A bit sad too; I know there are loads of things from my younger years that I’ve forgotten, simply because I have no photos of them.. Here, I’m visiting a rose garden in Pinjarra with my mother and grandmother. I totally would not remember that outing without the photo. It’s sad how much of our memories are only cemented in later years by the existence of a picture, to jog them.
Project happiness factor; given my rising hate for it halfway through (bad) followed by serendipitous ad-libbing and eventual satisfaction (good) I’m awarding this one 8/10.
Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1521, a Perry Ellis design from 1985, taupe and ivory silk/linen
Top; my own design; blue jersey dyed black, details here
Shoes; low sandals are 2 baia vista from Zomp shoes… high black are Diavolina from Zomp shoes
Beautifully crafted skirt that looks very contemporary despite being based on a vintage pattern. Your fabric choices work very well together.
Great skirt! I like how you 'fixed' the pleats and your advice to not give up on a garment 🙂
Very pretty! Not sure how it would have turned out with all the pleats, but for a 1985 design the skirt is very, very current and modern. 🙂
I would give it 10/10!
Okay…you totally had me at Perry Ellis! I think I even have this pattern…if I see them in the thrift stores, I scoop them up. Too bad I measure in at under 5'2"…sigh.
You've nailed the essence of Perry in this outfit Carolyn, and I think he would highly applaud your ad-libbing. Pure bliss to see! Even {especially} the flat sandals that you wore for 'real' life. The fabrics…also perfect!
Good point made about not chucking a project partway through because it doesn't feel right. That's the beauty of sewing…we are the designer, and can edit as we go.
I too just posted a Vogue American Designers pattern from the late seventies, early eighties:
A Colourful Canvas: Vogue American Designers Anne Klein Jumpsuit
those were clever adjustments to make it work for you now. And I agree about that L-pocket opening, we used to see that more often on patterns, it does work well. lovely look.
Great save. If you cut it with a vintage pattern, it totally counts.
I made the dress version of the top when I was 19 out of a gray/blue striped cotton. It refused to stay closed so I gave up and cut it off to top length.
When I was 21, I found the navy linen version of that skirt in a NYC thrift shop. They had a whole bunch of sample size PE garments from that collection at the store, but that was the only one that I bought. I had to chop 6" off the bottom to fit little 5'5" me.
thanks BMGM! Yes, the top/dress only had the one button at the top, so you had to either tuck it in to something, wear a belt over it (oh so 80's!) or add a hidden button placket. I'm lazy, so did not do the last 😉
I love that skirt and the whole outfit is just gorgeous. I think both shoes look good – just different looks.
Great save. I love the colour blocking and the faux wrap the mega pleats make.
Oh man – I made that top also, in a natural linen. And I wore it to threads. Great memory. Thanks. Lois K
The color blocking of this skirt makes this so special! Love it!
I love this skirt just the way you made it – I am sure I would not have liked all the pleats either!
That's fabulous!
Great looking skirt! I can't imagine it with loads of little pleats having seen it with the big ones. Always nice to be able to save a project that seems headed for disaster!
Beautiful shirt. I really like the side pocket closure. You could still wear the shirt today- style is timeless!
Simply perfect!!
thank you!
Wonderful wonderful save and the two large pleats make the skirt that extra bit special. Both pairs of shoes show the versatility of this design.
Great save turning it into something you love. It looks great, and I think as far as your vintage pledge goes, it's your original intetnion that counts.
Loving this series. This skirt is great. The silk/linen looks lux AND comfy.
Photos and memories are funny, aren't they? Some of them I wonder if my memory of a time isn't too influenced by a photo…like maybe I just remember the picture and don't really remember that moment…strange.
I have this pattern, too! Funny how good design can come back looking fresh. You did a fantastic job with it. I think it would look quite cutting edge with some sort of crop top silhouette, like a bolero, or a drop shouldered shell. Your work inspires me to try more interesting things.
thank you! I hope you make up yours again too. And I think you're right, a little crop top would be a good fit for the style. Will have to make one… 🙂
Your skirt is very beautiful… It looks so effortlessly chic:) Have a nice day, Sophia
http://www.littlesewingmachine.blogspot.de
Thank you for that dose of nostalgia. My mother made me that skirt in the mid 1980s (I actively resisted sewing then, but was quite happy to have Mum to make me Vogue designer patterns – hee hee) – and your iteration looks so stylish in 2015.
I think I'll have to dig through Mum's pattern stash to see if she still has that pattern lurking somewhere.
thank you Paola! I hope you find it! 🙂
I love the changes you made to the pattern which makes the design very different to the original, but recognisable. I'm sure you will be enjoying that skirt for a long time – it's gorgeous.
I made both top and skirt, probably wore them to the 80's magazine office job. The silouette was so much wider and boxier, and I was much smaller. If I recall, I used a thin linen and had see through issues with the skirt (I was strictly a 'sew the pattern as is' gal at the time) so I ended up cutting it into a long vest. The shirt ended up with my sister, who wore it to pieces.
I bought a similar era Calvin Klein shirt pattern out of the drawer (still there, never touched, still in it's numbered slot) this summer. No barcode. The clerk gave it to me for the Vogue sale price (4.99?) and couldn't stop laughing. "Thanks for cleaning out the drawers for me!"
Your skirt is marvellous, and the changes you made have enhanced the look. This is such a contemporary design, which always intrigues me with vintage patterns.
Milady, you have this mad rad skill that takes patterns I would normally overlook and makes them EPIC! This is so good! Also, 80s Carolyn is fierce 😀
The way you made up this skirt is totally wonderful! I'm so in love with the idea of the ties instead of buttons. Beautiful skirt, Carolyn. Your posts are and inspiration as always!
Love those closures, I too wish there were more of them, like a hidden door in kids adventure stories!
Beautiful skirt and that side closure is fabulous.
The skirt looks lovely. I remember the outing well. But as you say its great to have the photos to jog our memeories
What a great skirt. I really like the panel at the bottom! I was so close to winning your last vintage pattern at auction last week. But I missed out because I was skiing when it closed. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be mine but I could certainly imagine making up both the top and skirt. Whoever said nothing good came out of the 1980s!
I have a skirt with pleats along the top and I had to completely make it to realize how awful it looked on me. (Can you say "cheerleader"?) Now I am going to dig it out and see if I can mimic what you did here! You are a such a genius as this sort of thing.
And mind blown – I had no idea we were about the same age. I thought you were at least 10 years younger.
thanks Lorrwill! yes pleats are pretty hard to carry off; not exactly the look of the moment. I hope your skirt goes well! 🙂
Silk/linen, swoon. Your beautiful skirt looks very modern and yet still perfectly in keeping with its era, I'd say. And your flat sandals match the original styling of the pattern …
wonderful skirt! I think you didn't cheat because you cut the vintage pattern pieces. Your Version is vintage and modern at the same time (back to the future 😉 ) and very elegant. What a clever closure! I love the picture of your twenty year old self! So this year, I missed to wish you a happy birthday. Take my late best wishes for you for another half of life!
Lovely outfit. The changes reflect a more modern look for today but yet still kept the original feel/look of the pattern..a win win 🙂
That looks great on you! A bit of ad libbing to take a garment from meh to loved is my preferred way to go, too. It would be sad to see that pretty fabric just hang out in a wardrobe instead of on your body, no?
Hej Carolyn,
look what I found – in Germany they are doing a version of the great british sewing bee.
One of the judges is the president of the german tailor guild and she wore a pattern magic dress the first episode and I loved it and immediatley had to think of you. I don't know of you have ever seen one "out in the wild" so I wanted to show you, I though you might be interested. 😉 I personally totally loved it, I just don't have to skills to do one myself. (And my husband wasn't to sure about it…)
here is the photo: http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/guido-maria-kretschmer-mit-geschickt-eingefaedelt-fotos-fotostrecke-131588-2.html
Nele