Tag Archives: New Look 6509

International Suit-Up Day

What uuuup?!
I was planning to do something else for today, but when my son informed me last night that today was International Suit Up Day, well, how could I not?  Barney is our family’s favourite character from How I Met Your Mother, and his sayings are oft quoted around our house, er and not just by me.
So I hope everybody else is suitable suited up for a business-like day, and no, I don’t think that includes tracksuits, people.  C’mon.  Even if you don’t wear a suit on a daily basis, and I certainly don’t, even if it’s months or perhaps years since you “suited up”, go and dig up that dusty old thing from its hanger, release it from its dry cleaner’s bag and pop it on.  Just for the day, and just for fun!
My suit is looking a little dated now, and I’m thinking I need to tailor a replacement, but this project will have to go to the end of a very long list of projects I have mapped out…
As for my photo, well I’m supposed to be climbing the corporate… oh, I’m sure you get it.  A metaphor pictorialised.

Just a few other updates; 
My youngest son is home, safe and sound; and it is so nice to have him back with us and everything feels normal again with us all back in the house, I feel so much more relaxed when all my chicks are back in the nest…
And thankyou so much for your lovely comments yesterday for my giveaway.  A few have commented and don’t want to go into the draw for the goodies; that’s totally cool too, and I understand that lots of people have a full pattern collection already and I’m just thrilled that you took the time to comment.  It sounds cheesy but each and every comment gives me such a buzz and I look forward to reading my comments with huge excitement everyday… truly.
The giveaway is just something to mark the day, and my way of saying thanks to you for reading.

Jacket; Simplicity 4698, grey and black suiting cotton
Skirt; New Look 6509, grey and black suiting cotton
Top; Sexy Woman
Shoes; Misano, from Labels boutique

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Evening outfit, inspired by Christian Lacroix

This is an outfit I made for evening wear a couple of years ago.  It’s been a wonderful one for when we have some winter function and the weather is really cold as I can pop on a thermal underneath if necessary, and my shoulders are covered.  I was completely inspired by the outfit at right from the Christian Lacroix Fall 2007 Couture collection.
The top is a bodysuit made out of thick stretch black jersey, and for a tiny dressy touch the shoulders were cut high and gathered tightly at the top for a little puff.  The decoration around the neckline is a tube of heavy ivory/cream raw silk that I folded randomly and artistically and hand-stitched down (see detail picture below).
While for the top I was aiming for slimline and body-hugging, I wanted for the skirt to be dramatically flared and with lots of “bits”, like the Lacroix design.  I eventually achieved this by making two skirts.  For the underskirt I started off with New Look 6509 as a basic 8-gore skirt but altered by tapering the gores to be much wider at the hemline.  I also added wide triangular inserts in between some of the gores for added volume.  The overskirt is pretty much a circle skirt, plus some extra at the front opening.  The inserts and the overskirt I hemmed in straight lines, forming points, for a gothicky, witchy look.
Oh, (afterthought!) I’m not sure what the composition of the skirt fabric actually is, but it is like a heavy and very stiff satin; with a slight sheen on one side and matte on the other.  Perfect for the look I wanted.

Details:
Bodysuit; drafted my own design, black stretch jersey knit with ivory silk decoration
Skirt; drafted my own design, starting with New Look 6509, black stiff fabric
Tights; Kolotex
Shoes; Nina, from David Jones

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Splitting up a suit

Challenging myself to wear everything in my wardrobe: I’m still coming across old winter skirts that have seen more fashionable days, but are still perfectly good.  Today’s is another one.  Do you remember this skirt?  I had got a lot of this grey cotton fabric for free from a local designer; free because the large-scale black floral screenprint on it was pretty scrappy in parts.  I just went over the scrappy bits with a felt tip pen (Sharpie) which fixed it up fine…  I had challenged myself to make a suit; thinking every woman needs a suit in her wardrobe “just in case”.  So I made a suit of a jacket with two matching skirts.  Of course in the three or four years since I made these I have had zero occasions for a suit.  Even my most corporate of office moments are still too casual for a suit.  Well, (shrug) it’s there if I need it.  I haven’t shown you the jacket yet, but I will…
This is natch the second skirt belonging to the suit.  I really struggled to find a way to wear this skirt this morning.  I’ve fallen out of the habit of wearing it.  And it’s that awkward length again.  Naturally I’ve fallen back on my beloved neutrals to try to coax it back into my heart…  I quite like the gentle neutrality of beige oyster and charcoal together; with the rich brown leather of the shoes.
Today’s random picture below; seen on my walk this morning

Details:
Skirt; New Look 6509, view A
Top; Metalicus
Cardigan (under); my own design, coffee and white net
Cardigan (over); MNG, found in a secondhand shop
Scarf; bought in Venice
Shoes; Betts & Betts Brazilian Collection, had these for about 20 years

 

 

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