Tag Archives: Skirt

Colour me Carpark

16/09/2010 8:05 am \ 15 Comments \

I’ve made a new top… and the colour is some sort of colour not really grey but not really brown, but something in between.  Brey?  Gr-own? Or just a darker version of my new favourite neutral; greige…  (later edit, duh, taupe!!)  I went into town today and it struck me my new top was the colour of carparks.  The colour of dirty cement and sooty steel piping.  That makes it sound awful, but really I find the colours, shapes and textures found in industrial and manmade environments can be just as artistically inspiring as natural ones…
The pattern I used is Butterick 4985, except with the sleeves from another pattern, as I prefer these “ordinary” sleeves to the rather frilly fancy ones supplied with the pattern.  I’ve used this pattern many times before…  The fabric is pre-gathered or shirred in an unevenly spaced wavy pattern on chiffon, which itself is printed with tiny paper-crane like motifs in ink blue.  It was only when cutting-out time came around that I noticed that the black shirred lines did not meet up nicely in a pattern repeat at all; all up and down unevenly, making pattern matching an absolute impossibility… I just had to give up on the idea of matching up those radiowaves!!  With the shirring it wasn’t terrifically easy to sew either, so I’m happy with how it turned out.  I just barely had enough fabric to cut out the blouse, so for the collar used some of the leftover lace from Cassie’s latest balldress (see here).  After sewing the sleeve hems by hand, I decided the edges looked unfinished, so I top-stitched some black lace braid along the edge.  I chose these little mis-shapen grey swirly buttons to finish it. 
The skirt; actually I’m not feeling this skirt anymore.  Remember when patched and shabby skirts with bits n’ bobs hanging off them were fashionable? well this skirt hails from that time.  It no longer excites me, I’m into a more tailored and simple pared back look in skirts at the mo.  But I decided to just utilise it for Self-Stitched September, and it does go quite nicely with the top, I think!  I used Vogue 7303 to make a lining (which is blue), then just patched together bits of black lace (see here) to make an over-skirt shape and sewed over the joining seams with black lace edging.

Details:
Top; Butterick 4985 with other sleeves, shirred printed chiffon with lace collar
Skirt; partly Vogue 7303, partly my own design, black lace and black lace edging strips
Shoes; Micam by Joanne Mercer, from Hobbs
Necklace; my husband’s very first gift to me! for my 21st birthday (not telling the year, so don’t ask!)
Bag; Gucci
Sunnies; RayBan

showing the lace collar, but check out the reflection in the sunglasses, lol!!

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , , ,

On mixing prints

15/09/2010 4:31 am \ 8 Comments \

Yikes!  Mixing prints!  So easy to get very very wrong…  Now (confession) I am feeling a leetle out of my comfort zone here with the mixing of prints this morning; well on choosing the python print top I did plan to then play it safe with plain black tights but then a little bout of craziness came over me, I threw caution to the winds and grabbed instead these tartan tights that I bought several years ago and that were still folded perfectly crisp and new in their cellophane packet…  I had originally bought these tights with the view of wearing them with a (hypothetical) little black dress but never did.  This is a different look for me for sure, but I reckon these two prints still work together in the one outfit because the colours in the prints are all alike and furthermore in the safe and sombre neutral tones of charcoal, light grey, beige (greige?) and brown, and black.  Plus the very plain little charcoal skirt is a haven of simple, unadorned and unpatterned in the middle to keep apart and help define and showcase the two clashing prints on either side.  So I’m OK with it.  Pushing oneself out of the comfort zone once in a while is good for the soul…
And we are now halfway through Self-Stitched September!  I am really enjoying this challenge of going all self-stitched! (although ahem, the taking of a photo every day is, dare I say it, a bigger one…!)

Details:
Top; Burda 8497 with fold-back cuffs and button cufflinks added, python print satin
Skirt; my own design, charcoal jersey knit
Tights; Tutuanna, some little shop in Melbourne
Booties; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes
Hat; op shop

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , ,

The pseudo shirt-dress

14/09/2010 3:05 am \ 5 Comments \

Quiet day here, doing office work at home, so dressed comfy and casual-ish.  Walked the dog this morning.  Doing laundry and will hit up the supermarket later.  Blah blah.
This outfit is what I’ve come to think of as my “shirtdress”; although it’s not actually a dress at all this is still an apt description as it is made of, quite literally, shirts!  Three, to be precise.  These shirts were cast-off business shirts from my husband, all tossed onto the reject pile because of small holes and rips-right-on-seams that had appeared through wear and (literally) tear.  I made myself a new skirt and top out of them, managing to cut around and avoid the areas that had holes in them.  For the original story on this refashion and other views of the outfit, see here.
I’m pretty happy with this set and like to wear it; it’s very easy to wear and I feel a bit funky and unique and out-there when I have it on… hmmm, a bit sad, no?  It’s not really that out-there.  I need to amp up the wardrobe a bit, perhaps.  In fact, this self-stitched September is really proving a challenge to me, I’m finding myself pining for all the store-bought T-shirts and cardigans in my collection, convinced that none of my separates go together… and having to force myself not to just pop on a white top with just about everything…  Really, I’m a white top addict.  My mother will agree that all I wanted to wear growing up was jeans or a denim skirt, and a white top.  So I have moved on from that (a bit) but the white top thing is still deeply ingrained… I feel the pull everyday…  At least this outfit is a complete “set”, so there’s no extra agonising as to whether one is “matching” or not when the decision is made to wear it that day.  Kind of a relief.

Details:
Skirt and top; my own design, constructed from 3 old business shirts, see here
Shoes; Country Road
Sunnies; RayBan

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , ,

Green Day

11/09/2010 5:06 am \ 8 Comments \

Aaah, social whirling over and life is back to normal around here for a while…  I do like to go out and get dressed up once in a while and the social season is certainly upon us now spring is here…  but I do hope nobody came here expecting a glamour-puss today because she’s nowhere to be seen!
A normal-ish Saturday so far, spent much of the morning waiting in a ginormous queue to organise foreign money for my son’s upcoming trip overseas; in a week’s time my youngest is going away on a trip alone for the first time (insert brave deep breath and lower lip wobble here…)
So today being a bit overcast and cool, I’m dressed for moderately presentable comfort and warmth; this is perhaps one of the more dubious of my Self-stitched September ensembles so please be kind!  The dress is a favourite seen here heaps of times  (but first and only time for this month! as per my self-imposed rule of no repeats, hehe), Burda 8071 made out of ivory broderie anglaise cheesecloth (to see this styled in six different ways see here)  This dress is really a summer-weight dress, and if I do wear it on a cooler day I usually prefer to wear my Metalicus petticoat underneath, but as I am strictly eliminating store-bought from this month’s clothing I had to think of something else…  The skirt worn underneath is possibly the only version I have of my old standby Vogue 7303 that is made to the pattern as it is in the envelope, and the hooded cardigan is knitted by me to my own design, and is perfectly snuggly for a moody cloudy day.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7303, slightly stretchy white cotton/lycra
Dress; Burda 8071, ivory broderie anglaise cheescloth
Hoodie; my own design, Jo Sharp Silk Road DK in Ambrosia
Boots; Enrico Antinori, from Zomp shoes

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , , , , ,

It’s a jungle…

06/09/2010 4:30 am \ 4 Comments \

Self Stitched September: Day 6;
Trying to zip my way through my winter options now as the weather heats up, and truthfully I’m a little roasting in this jumper here today…!
I was very inspired by the Marc Jacobs A/W 2010 looks of glamourous skirts made of luxe glittery fabrics, paired with slightly grungy oversized knits on the top… I do like unexpected contrasts in fashion as I think surprises (even in something as mundane as the clothes we choose to wear) add an element of playfulness and fun into one’s day.  And couldn’t we all do with a bit more fun and joie de vivre in our day, well, yes thankyou!  And although this skirt is not particularly super-luxe, I still enjoy the little hint of the glossy python print satin with it’s decadent 70’s nightclub air about it, a huge contrast to the staid almost un-fashionable farmyard practicality of a thick chunky knit.

Details:
Knit jumper; my own design, made from Jo Sharp Silk Road DK
Skirt; my own design variations on Vogue 7303, python print and black satin
Tights; Kolotex
Booties; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , , ,

Urban Sport style

04/09/2010 5:31 am \ 5 Comments \

Self-Stitched September, day 4… 
I made this black parka a few years ago, completely inspired by the “urban sport” vibe of the Marni Spring/Summer 2007 collection, anyone remember this sort of look?  Although I copied the shape and style from the designer collection, I drafted the pattern for my version myself.  I was really taken with the slightly sporty appeal and loose comfort of this look at the time and I still think it is flattering as well as easy to wear.  I was particularly pleased with how the oversized crumpled collar turned out.
The skirt is one I’ve worn loads over last autumn… you’ve seen it many times.  It is made using Vogue 7303 again, out of a cheerful brilliant orange raw silk, seen here first.
Husband and children all out and occupied; I visited the library this morning to reserve next month’s bookclub book (Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig), then faced the Saturday morning supermarket crush.  Got three loads of washing on the line, house tidy and am feeling virtuous and accomplished; so with a clear conscience will spend a few hours now having some quality time with my sewing machine and the fabric stash …  yes!! (air fist punch)

Details:

Parka; self-drafted, black cotton drill
Skirt; Vogue 7303, orange raw silk
Leggings; Metalicus
Shoes; Perrini, had for so long I’ve forgotten where I bought them…

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , ,

Smudgy colours on the beach

02/09/2010 6:07 am \ 9 Comments \

I often gravitate to the comfort of the drab families of colours like shades of olive, subdued purples, rusty browns and mustards and dirty greys, perhaps the drabber the colours the better they suit me… and yes, this favourite little skirt had to make an appearance before too long!  It wouldn’t take much going back over this blog to find me wearing this olive corduroy skirt yet again, to see how I styled it in 6 different ways see here…
The top, however is getting its first outing today.  This is the first version I made of the Pattern Magic, page 50 pattern, designed by Nakamichi Tomoko, made up in a very thin cotton jersey in a yummy drab berry or purply putty sort of a colour (I showed it first on Bessie here).  It’s been too cold up until now to wear it at all but with the spring sunshine warming up this place fast fast fast I’m not concerned today about the need to reach for the trench coat to cover up… and maybe it’s time to think of shopping for bathers soon??  daring thought…  
From a more depressing angle, the thought of that awful first sight of a pale post-winter self in a bathing suit in the harsh fluorescent light of the changing room … shudder… not looking forward to it…

Details:
Top; drafted from Pattern Magic, by Nakamichi Tomoko, grey/putty cotton jersey
Skirt; Vogue 7303, olive corduroy
Tights; Metalicus
Boots Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , ,

First day of Spring!

01/09/2010 4:15 am \ 6 Comments \

 


Woke up thrilled at the first day of spring, and the first day of Self-Stitched September!  Then looked hopelessly at all my handmade clothes and felt completely uninspired… blah blah blah, all horrible.   Resisted the urge to throw on a completely store bought outfit, oh, I’m such a rebel.  I wouldn’t last one second in the armed forces.  Order me to do something and I’m very likely to do the complete opposite out of sheer obstinacy…
But I’m nothing if not self disciplined, and I have committed myself to do this and I generally do snap-to and obey my own randomly self-imposed crazy rules, so managed to get dressed after all…
This is a linen shirt I made for my husband and plucked surreptitiously from his side of the wardrobe (I know, tragic no?, stealing from one’s husband so early in the month, but it is stitched by me so I figure I can include it… and I have a dearth of self-stitched shirts)  It is made using Burda 7767; with collar stand but no collar, a double welt single pocket with loop button closure, see here for the details.  I rolled the sleeves up so I can actually use my hands while wearing it today…
My skirt is based on the basic shape of Vogue 7303, my old favourite.  The fabric is handwoven by my mother, so a precious garment in my wardrobe indeed…  for a close-up of the fabric see here.
This felt like a suitably semi-smart ensemble for my day’s activities of an appointment, some office errands and office work, and a supermarket visit…

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767, custom fit to my husband, fine white linen
Skirt; based on Vogue 7303, fabric handwoven by my mother
Belt; Morrison
Boots; di Sempre, from Zomp shoes
Bag; Gucci

pinterestmail
Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: , , , , ,
Switch to mobile version
↓