Tag Archives: Skirt

Wardrobe Refashion, project 3

22/01/2010 12:17 am \ 12 Comments \

Not a terribly exciting re-fashion this week, but I’m still pretty happy with the result.  Before; an old work shirt of my husband’s that he was tossing out.  Pro’s; it’s made of sturdy thick cotton knit with a lovely blue-marle denim-y colour that has a lived-in comfortable feel about it, and it has a nice button up front with attractive metallic-look buttons.  Problem areas, it was HUGE, it had a kind of daggy “sporty” collar and two too many logos.  I hate logos.  I don’t really want to walk around looking like a billboard for somebody else’s business, thankyou very much.
It may not look like a dramatic difference, but this shirt has been re-constructed completely, apart from the button up front which I kept untouched and the bottom hemline is also the original.  The collar was removed.  As the logos were embroidered onto the fabric they couldn’t be unpicked without leaving an unholy mess behind (or should I say, a very hole-y mess!), so the sleeves were shortened, removing one logo, and I added a small self fabric pocket, covering up the other logo.  The shirt pieces were rejoined to become a much slimmer, more feminine shape.
I think the new streamlined look of the T-shirt is now quite attractive and will be a useful new resident in my wardrobe.
I made my skirt also, about four or five years ago and I posted about it previously here.

Details:
Shirt; refashioned from my husband’s old work shirt
Skirt; my own design, various cottons and cheesecloths
Sandals; Vicenza, from Soletta shoes

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Olive green corduroy skirt, 6 different ways

21/01/2010 2:39 am \ 6 Comments \

My olive green corduroy skirt out of Vogue 7303 has been incredibly useful in my wardrobe and is something I grab without thinking on a regular basis, secure in knowing it will go with just about anything else I own.  With one small exception, it can go anywhere and do anything.  The exception, natch, is for dressy wear.  It’s a corduroy skirt.  Corduroy spells casual, no getting away from that.
Could you make a ball-gown out of corduroy, I wonder, and carry it off?  Perhaps it could give the same look as velvet, in the right design, maybe? That’s food for thought…
Anyhoo, getting off track, as per usual…
This skirt is a fantastic skirt in that it has worked for me in all seasons; hot weather all the way through to cold weather, and the olive green colour is so handy in that it goes with every other colour (yes, Virginia, olive green is a fabulous neutral).  I mean obviously it goes with the usual creams, white, black and brown.  But for today I have tried to style it with all the colours of the rainbow to show just how great a colour it is.

Being a mini(-ish) it can be worn in hot weather; here it is casual, and then a little more smart, say for shopping…

Then, the corduroy texture still looks appropriate if the weather is a little cooler…

Finally in the winter it scrubs up pretty good with tights and looks kind of mod (OK, the sun is blazing brightly in these photos, you just have to use your imagination and conjure up a bit of rain and cold wind to get the winter vibe in these pictures…)

Just for interest, I am wearing the purple version for today…

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Lacy “tablecloth” skirt

20/01/2010 1:47 am \ 6 Comments \

For quite some time I’ve wanted to make myself a skirt out of an old crocheted or lace tablecloth, and with this in mind I’ve searched op-shops for some suitable candidate to chop up.  Not only didn’t I find any old tablecloths with any sort of beauty at all (plastic daisy print, anyone?) but it started to occur to me that if I was lucky enough to find a genuine old crocheted cloth I couldn’t cut it up anyway, the sacrilege would be too great.  I would fold it carefully and store it away and just bring out to dress the table for special occasions.  They are pretty precious.
So when I went to the end-of-year sale at my favourite fabric store I found this knit lace that was patterned with vaguely doily-type embroidery and got a metre.
First I made a lining skirt of 70cm length, because that is how much lining fabric I bought.  Then I started arranging and cutting the lace straight onto the lining on Bessie, aiming for a layered effect with an uneven “tablecloth-y” hemline.  It looks and sounds kind of random, but it was thought out and I did a fair bit of measuring, planning and pinning before I took the scissors to the lace.  I wanted to make best use of the lace, part of my ongoing obsession with minimal wastage.  And I’m pleased to say that I used every last square centimetre of fabric with not a single scrap left!
Cost of this skirt: 1m lace, $30 + 70cm lining, $4.90 -15% sale discount + zip, $2.30 = approx $32. And no scraps.  Not bad.  I’m happy.
I love this final look.  Just call me obsessed with lace, if there was a White Lace Anonymous help group I would need to sign up.  In honour of the whole “tablecloth” inspiration I set up our outdoor table with some of my antique china for morning tea.  
Do you like my “fork” bracelet?  It’s my son’s really, and he got the idea from the movie “Elephant”.  It’s just one of those cheapie single forks you can buy, bent into a loop.

Details:
Skirt; own design, white stretch lace
Top; Butterick 4985, sleeves from another pattern, pink nobbly cotton, overdyed using an old red T-shirt
Sandals; Vicenza, from Soletta shoes
Bracelet; bent fork

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Bleached crinkly cotton

19/01/2010 12:54 am \ 3 Comments \

I was on the verge of throwing this skirt out, or re-fashioning it (I am getting so into this re-fashioning it’s not funny, I think it’s becoming an obsession with me) because I ripped it the last time I wore it.  But something about its soft sage green loveliness just kept me back from doing something extreme that I may later regret… a common whimsy of mine that can be a problem.  And with the current hot spell I’m finding myself drawn more and more to my fall-back creams and whites, particularly my collection of crumpled off-white embroidered cotton garments that look a little bit slept in (they’re not), bleached and faded and a little bit shabby, the embroidered flowers are subtle but add a puckered texture to the clothes that I love.  I feel the rumply look is as though one had just arisen from a hammock stretched out under a tree leaving a childhood favourite book open on its spine…  Dreamy summer days of languid heat…
I mended the tear in the hem of this skirt (see below, I don’t think it really shows), and gave it a second chance.  I’m wearing it today with my new scarf; “new”, but it’s actually re-fashioned from the lining of my daughter’s old puff skirt which is why it looks old, thin and washed.  The scarf picks up the black rolled hem edging on the skirt.  I like a tiny hint of black in an summer outfit, I think it adds a bit of an edge and some definition, particularly when all else is pale.  My jade and mother-of-pearl bracelet with its alienesque matte silver prongs was a birthday gift from my parents.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7880, sage green embroidered cotton
Top; Morrison
Scarf; own design, refashioned from net skirt lining
Sandals; Micam by Joanne Mercer, from Hobbs shoes
Bracelet; gift from my parents

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A dye-job

13/01/2010 1:17 am \ 8 Comments \

Looking through my wardrobe searching for new combinations of my clothes to wear each day, I am continually struck by how many of my shirts are … white… Yes, can’t seem to break my white shirt habit; I just love white shirts and always seem to have multitudes.  By white, I’m including off-white, cream, beige, etc.  My Mum would confirm it’s all I wanted to wear as I was growing up, just a white T-shirt and jeans/denim skirt.  I still can’t stop buying and/or making them in the dozens.
This particular tank top I’ve had for about three years and in duplicate, and I have a hankering for a yellow top, so it was off to rummage through the spice box…
Ground turmeric, in my opinion, is a very reliable yellow dyer, with a pretty good colourfast factor.  You only need a tiny quantity, and it’s a damn sight cheaper than purchasing a commercial dye, not to mention kinder to the environment, so is the dye of choice for a small item like this one.  Of course, if you’re dying a whole sheet set, say, and you don’t want your bedroom smelling like a curry house because you failed to rinse sufficiently well; perhaps a commercial dye may be wiser.  Of course a thorough rinsing would be essential anyway if you want to avoid waking up in the morning looking like a serious case of jaundice has struck during the night…
Woah, getting off track like I always do, we’re not dying a sheet set here, just a simple tee, so…
Before…

I soaked the tank top thoroughly, sprinkled a few shakes of ground turmeric into my wash-bucket (probably about half a teaspoon)  A little bit of this goes a long way, and I wanted a gentle yellow wash not a really garish bright yellow.  I’ve got nothing against garish bright yellow, but not this time…
I used about half boiling water straight from the kettle, then about half cold water, then dunked in the top in one swift plunge…. followed by lots of swirling, whooshing (technical terms), soaked for a few hours for good measure, then rinsed THOROUGHLY.  And I’m a good greenie, I poured the rinsings over all my pot plants…

And I have a great “new” tank top to mix and match for some new looks.
This skirt I’ve posted about previously, it’s the same pattern as the skirt I posted about yesterday, but view C.  I love this new colour of the top; its an almost lime-y acidic yellow which I think will carry me through autumn and should combine well with and cheer up the grey beiges, greys and even blacks of winter.  Am I starting to fantasise just a leetle of autumn/winter already? that’s because I saw on the news last night we are expecting a couple of days of over 40C, oh, joy… 

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7880 view C, printed cotton
Top; Country Road; dyed with ground turmeric
Hat; Rusty, from the surf shop at Dunsborough
Sandals; Anna, bought from Marie Claire

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Jewel tones

12/01/2010 12:39 am \ 6 Comments \

Today I feel a bit old-world-jewel-y, like Aladdin’s cave wrapped around me somehow (yeeah, my similes sometimes, oftentimes leave much to be desired).  I’ve always loved this fabric, bought on first sight at my favourite fabric shop, and felt inspired by its gorgeous shades of of gold, bronze, copper and raspberry, mixed in with a whole kaleidoscope of other random colours; it feels rich and warm, and yet in a light floaty fabric that can be worn on the hottest of days.  OK, if I’m honest, the cardi is probably not going to stay on all day, forecast for a warmish one.  Given the up and down nature of the temp it could be on and off more times that the proverbial … something (brain refusing to come up with any proverbs, here)
Take last night, was a bit chilly so I had to put on my woolly winter dressing gown to get my weekly TV fix of Bear Grylls doing his usual manly surviving stuff.  Hmm… yes, ok…
Back to the fashion, I like how the general clash of brights actually go really well with this skirt.  The shoes.  Even the pedicure fits in, miraculously.  Amazing how this baby blue nail varnish has actually complemented all my outfits, er, I’ll leave that one for others to judge, but I’ve loved it.
Got a few appointments today, and errands, been working on my weekly Wardrobe Refashion project (I’m pretty pleased with this one although its been more complicated that first anticipated), and its now off to walk the pooch….

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7880, view B (minus the odd hanging thingys), burnt-out polyester chiffon
Camisole; Country Road
Cardi; Alannah Hill
Necklace; Sportsgirl
Shoes; Neo, bought from Nine West (I think?)
Nail varnish, Litl Boy Blue, Artmatix

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Cool neutrals

11/01/2010 1:33 am \ 4 Comments \

(Can I just start by saying that I looked back over a few of my old comments and people have written such kind and uplifting comments; thankyou all so much!  Especially about my daughter’s ballgown, yes I am so proud of her, and some of the beautiful things you had to say truly brought a bit of a tear to my eye!  It was very thoughtful, thankyou…)

Today dug out my favourite pale pink skirt for an airing.  I love this skirt.  Although pale pink isn’t strictly a neutral it seems to work as one with this skirt here.  When I conceived this skirt I had a kind of creative mental maelstrom going on where I worked feverishly on the design with no thought to passing time and it all came together perfectly and was exactly how I envisioned it.  The skirt has eight layers, four at front and four at back; the six under layers are attached to the lining separately, graduated and all slightly angled and offset to each other, it’s actually kind of clever and now I don’t quite know how I did it myself.  It all just seemed to happily brainstorm together and worked out just right. Very rewarding…
I’m wearing it today because it’s practically cold in Perth … 27C!  
Also I just felt like dressing elegant.  After a coupla days of casualness I just wanted to up the ante for a change and look like a lady.  So it was out with my beloved neutrals and hopefully channelling the sort of beige loveliness that calls to mind the careless cool of a previous era…..
Please note below the incredibly artistic reflective pool shot, in which one can contemplate with crystal like clarity the classy layered fashionableness of one’s ensemble… and be reminded that one should really skim the leaves off the pool before one’s photo shoot next time…

Details:
Skirt; own design based on Vogue 7303, from pale pink silky damask
Top; Tutte, from Mid 70’s, gift from my parents
Camisole; Country Road
Shoes; from an op shop
Nail varnish; Litl Boy Blue, Artmatix
Bag; Gucci

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Red and apricot combo

03/01/2010 11:54 pm \ 2 Comments \

So here is another outfit with this floral skirt.  It’s proving surprisingly versatile, given its eye-catching print that one would, on first glance, think is a bit difficult to mix-n-match.  Not so after all!
I’m often drawn to red and have a lot of it in my wardrobe, it’s such a cheerful energising colour that seems to suit both the winter and summer vibes equally well.  I only don’t like it when it’s mixed with black.  That particular combo is a bit harsh and stark for my colouring… leave that one for the black-haired beautys out there..
Today’ll be another scorcher so dressed for coolness.  Very hot weather is so unkind to fashionistas as you can hardly throw on a cardi or scarf to add another colour to your ensemble, for fear of passing out from heat exhaustion…
My hair is a little wild this morning, we took the pictures quite early while my hair was still wet from the shower.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 2894, red floral cotton
Camisole; Country Road
Necklace; From the surf shop on Rottnest Island
Beaded thongs (flipflops); some little shop in South Africa

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