Sewingplums

What if I wanted some trendy clothes this autumn ?
I fell in love with the Cosy Fall Wish List suggested by The Blush Chronicles.

from The Blush Chronicles

Fairly easy to reproduce.
Of course use your own best colours.

I’ve added notes on :
– simple pattern combining when you can’t find exactly what you want,
– add-ons to take this from capsule to wardrobe,
– some other sources of wearable trendy inspiration for this winter.

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Sweater top

Butterick 5679, View B.

Slim pants

Pair with the ubiquitous slim pants, such as Palmer-Pletsch McCall’s 6440.

Collarless biker jacket

Burda 03/2012-116.

Though I wouldn’t wear this in leather. Not for moral reasons, I’m just not happy in heavy stiffness.

Skirt

With my rear, I don’t look good in a short fitted jacket and pants, so would add a long straight skirt. Use the best length for you. Wearable with both jacket and sweater.

Perhaps the one in Vogue 8841.

Bag

Butterick 5367, View A.

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Cape coat – combining patterns

No pattern exactly the same as the inspiration. A bit of pattern work needed here.

There is a recently oop cape-sleeved coat pattern, Vogue 8678.

But there isn’t much of the year when I would be happy in a coat without full length sleeves !

So add some capelet pieces to a shoulder princess coat, as in the inspiration.
Perhaps start from Burda 7855.

Try a mock-up of the capelet pattern pieces to get the length and width you want, starting with a half circle. Or adapt from a cape style with shaped shoulder seam, such as Vogue 6776 (better for getting the cape hem on-grain).

The cape-coat inspiration is double breasted. One of the many advantages of a shoulder princess pattern is – it’s easy to adapt the centre front panel to different styles.

And the inspiration has a trench style collar.
So swap the notched collar and front opening of the Burda coat for something like McCall’s 5525, View D.

To combine the patterns – overlay the front pattern pieces and match up the shoulder seams and centre fronts.
Then trace the style elements you want.
Do the same with the back pattern pieces to check if the back neck shapes are different.
Straighten out the front edge and add more buttons, if you want your coat to close up to the neck.

Or simply use this trench style in dark fabric with military buttons for another of this season’s coat looks.

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From capsule to wardrobe

First stage of additions. The coat and pants photos in the inspiration include :
– long sleeved knit top,
– print top (possibly a short sleeved blouse),
– vest.
Second stage of additions :
– long sleeved blouse/ shirt,
– second pair of pants – straight leg or boot-cut.
And a self-fabric strip for one of the blouses/ shirts so you have a bow-neck look.
All in basic shapes. Vary the surfaces and textures.

That makes :
3 layers (jacket, sweater, vest),
3 tops (long sleeved tee, long and short sleeved blouses).
3 bottoms (2 pants, 1 skirt).
1 coat.
10 garments in all. The 9 indoor clothes give about 40 outfits if they all co-ordinate.

Including accessories :

Haven’t mentioned the shoes 😀 That’s the one piece of the starter capsule that I already have, as flat ankle boots are a favourite of mine. Many people round here are wearing knee high boots with their slim pants. Add a dressier pair of shoes to increase the range of opportunities for wearing these clothes. You haven’t got to wear the current sky-high stiletto heels to look dressy. Try pretty ankle boots with medium heels. Or decorated ballet flats.

Add some indoor and outdoor scarves, a narrow waist belt, warm hat and gloves, favourite jewellery.
Well, that looks like an effective collection 😀

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For easy-wear current looks in ‘modern classic’ style, see YouLookFab’s Pinterest board – copy many of these outfits using this wardrobe, and her comments on what she’s wearing this season.
And here’s a list of current items from StyleMakeover.

For a wide range of current styles, see Nancy Nix-Rice on wearable current trends and suggested outfits (no they’re not the pure classic styles which she uses to illustrate her wardrobe planning posts).
Next stage of additions : add blazer, cascade jacket, big top to your wardrobe, and you can mimic many of these outfits too.
Next additions : drape, cowl, turtleneck tops – and so on 😀

Enjoy the new season !

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Links and patterns available November 2012

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One of my key garments is a shirt-jacket. I had fun recently looking at older shirt-jacket wardrobe patterns on Etsy. There were dozens of very similar patterns published in the 70s to 90s.

Here’s one from the 70s. McCall’s 3280, 1972.
(Goodness, that summer I bought this house, so lived on crusts for several years. And I finished my thesis. It wasn’t a time I was thinking much about new clothes !)

This look was popular for decades. A recent pattern like this was only discontinued a short time ago, Butterick 4811.

In the late 80s to 90s, there was also another popular look for unlined casual jackets – oversized and collarless. Here’s McCall’s 7501, 1995. Huge oversize supported by huge shoulder pads, worn with a small skirt or full pants.

So, what is it about these styles that makes them look not quite up to date ?

Well, some designers have been showing oversized jackets in recent seasons, but usually without the huge support structures, and worn with slim pants or leggings. You Look Fab has a post about these here. Jackets like this haven’t reached this suburb (except for the students who buy men’s overcoats from the charity shops).

These days there’s so much freedom in fashion, you can find at least one designer who uses any given look. I’ve tried to focus on what’s frequently seen.

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Here’s what I might replace those looks with.

New wardrobe pattern for wovens, Butterick 5821.

For a less casual jacket look, use the wardrobe jacket, but thigh length and without the hem casing. Add a waist casing for this season’s waist emphasis if that suits your body shape. Lots of seams for adding hip width if you’re pear shaped.

Or Nancy Zieman’s knits wardrobe McCall’s 6247.

I want a shirt-jacket wardrobe so would add McCall’s 6606, especially lower right.

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What are the differences compared with earlier styles ?
Ignore the curved versus straight style elements, a matter of personal style.
I think the key is proportions and silhouette.

Shirts and tops

Shirts are now often not mid hip length but low hip or thigh length.
Several common proportions :

The trendy shirt look is slim with slight waist shaping, such as Butterick 5678.

A narrow belt at waist is ‘this season’.

Or oversized but without the huge shoulder pads, such as Katherine Tilton Vogue 8748.

Or for overlayers, try the indoor poncho look in a woven fabric, see McCall’s 6603.
Actually, in the trendy mail order catalogues I’ve received this season, there have been knit sweaters this shape and ponchos, but not shirts. (The ‘arty’ catalogue always has an oversized shirt.)

Both slim shirts and big trendy tops are worn with slim pants/ skirt or leggings.

The current casual shirt look is looser fitting, as in McCall’s 6606 shown with the wardrobes above. Straight not shaped to the body, but not very loose fit. Even the new Palmer-Pletsch unisex shirt (McCall’s 6613) has 4 inches of ease not 8.
Worn with straight or boot-cut pants.

The ways style elements are used to emphasise the shoulders has also changed.
We no longer wear :
– huge shoulder pads or very dropped shoulders,
– wide spreading or high collars.
These days unlined casual jackets rarely have shoulder pads. And shirt and notch collars are usually not emphasised. Instead we have :
– yokes or epaulets,
– fitted or slightly dropped sleeves.

Shoulders dropped well down the arm are coming back as they’re essential for over-sized styles, but they’re not generally used. Though dropped shoulders are featured by some boutique designers – like the Katherine Tilton shirt – as arty rather than trendy personal style.
Raglan sleeves rather than dropped shoulders are currently used on gear for easy movement like sweatshirts.

Skirt

Skirts are now usually straight or slightly tapered (pencil),
or subtle rather than full A-line.
Knee length or shorter, or below knee, or calf length.
Or short and flirty pleated (one of the very, very few styles I think is best worn only by the young).

You can wear a full skirt if you like the ease of movement. Make it in soft fabric so the silhouette isn’t wide and stiff (unless you’re going for a vintage look), and wear at lower calf length with a fitted top.
Such as Butterick 5650.

Pants

Pants are now usually slim,
or straight,
or boot cut rather than flared.

All styles in new Butterick 5818.

You can wear very full or very flared pants (with a high-hip length top) if you have the body shape for them, but happily we haven’t got to wear them if we haven’t !

P.S. Lovely new post by Imogen Lamport on what is in/out of style – letting go of trends.
Key question : “Could you go into a store and buy a similar garment today (if not, it’s gone out of fashion) ?”

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Nowadays there aren’t many full wardrobe patterns in shirt-jacket style.
There are many patterns for shirt plus pants. Add a simple top, and a skirt if you wear them.

Would this be a good casual look for you ? – or do you feel as miserable in a shirt as I do in a blazer 😀

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Links available October 2012

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