Sewingplums

Having at last made my final Index page 5 which lists posts on co-ordinates and capsules, here are some other capsules which could be the starting point for a basic wardrobe.

There must be thousands of attractive inspiring outfits on the web. Apart from all the style blogs, Polyvore is set up to devise them, and there are multiple Pinterest pages.

A capsule is more than an outfit – a small group of co-ordinated clothes which can be interchanged to make several outfits.
Perhaps (2 tops, 2 bottoms) to make 4 outfits.
Or (jacket, shirt, 2 tees, pants, jeans) which together make 12 outfits to cover many situations.

Here’s my post on basic capsule options : building your wardrobe in small groups. Start with one capsule and simply add another similar.

There’s so much advice available on capsules and wardrobes, I’m amazed how many people aren’t aware of the idea 😀

Judith Rasband’s college textbook Wardrobe Strategies for Women bases wardrobe building on capsules.

Once you set up the basic pieces, every time you add a co-ordinating item it can double the number of possible outfits. See my post on the power of the boring.

There’s a discussion on minimalist wardrobes at You Look Fab.

Project 333 allows a free choice of what to include in your wardrobe, but to a limit of 33 items including : clothing, accessories, jewellery, outerwear and shoes. As many wardrobe planners suggest a basic group of 5 – 12 garments, that’s quite a generous allowance really 😀

If you find it easier to take inspiration from specific capsules or to react against them, rather than devising your own starting point, here are some of the many possibilities.

Some are specific enough to show a particular style. Some are just numbers of garments. Though even numbers have style implications. Most for example include 0 or 1 dress – no use if you love dresses.

Some of these groups just count clothes, some count both clothes and accessories. If you’re allowed infinite numbers of accessories, you can make infinite numbers of outfits with very few clothes, see the Uniform Project.

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Here’s an 8-item weekend travel capsule consisting of 4 garments, 4 accessories.

Or here’s a group of 6 garments – jacket, 3 tops, skirt, choice of 2 pants : The Kit (click on the photo for more detail about each style).

In style contrast, Perfectly Packed has a classic business wardrobe of 8 garments, which can be copied easily using two wardrobe patterns, see my post on classic style.

Tim Gunn’s 10 essential elements
His 10 items are clothes only, add accessories.
For example variants of this, see the middle of my post on your personal wardrobe plan.
And Imogen Lamport’s thoughts on this list and her own version.

Imogen has several suggested capsules for different lifestyles, mostly about a dozen items. Here’s her post on a capsule wardrobe of 12 items. And here’s her post on combining colours and combining prints, very ‘this season’ co-ordination.

Stylist Angie Cox also has a few posts on capsules at YouLookFab, and now has a section called Ensembles. (She uses the word ‘outfit’ for groups of clothes on a specific person.)

Elizabeth (ejvc) suggests a 12-item group, and prices it (about $225) for sewing. If you want natural fabrics, you need to use just one pattern magazine, and mainly black fabric, to get the cost that low. Much cheaper if you’re comfortable in polyester. I would probably use a wardrobe pattern book (see Index page 3), about twice the price of a pattern magazine.

This list from the Nate Berkus Show
has 12 basic items including accessories, plus 8 add-ons : 20 in all.

Wardrobe Oxygen list updated
23 items including underwear and accessories.
I still disagree with nearly very word of this, see my post, but many people working in a very classic environment love it.

Nancy Nix-Rice builds up from 12 basic garments to 23 garments in all, plus suggestions for minimum accessories. She claims to get nearly 100 different outfits from her 12 garments. See Index page 4 for my posts on her scheme, with links to her lessons, and suggested patterns.

Seasonal 6PACs : 24 garments in all, organised in 4 seasonal groups of 6. Here’s a list of relevant posts from ejvc, who started the idea. There’s always a sewalong for the current season at Stitcher’s Guild.

Oprah Winfrey’s dream closet checklist
32 items including shoes.
(Useful tips there too on clothes that flatter different body shapes.)

Many of Janice’s posts at The Vivienne Files are suggestions for capsules, showing the different outfit combinations you can make. And most of her other posts show how to take a single garment or outfit and make many different looks by using accessories.

And here’s a whole pinterest page of capsule suggestions.

For real-life inspiration, see :
Sewing With A Plan 2013
Sewing With A Plan 2012

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What about some patterns ? Most of the capsules don’t suggest specific styles. So here are my current personal easy sewing ‘Key 3’ patterns. Sewing Workshop Hudson top and pants, Indygo Junction Origami wrap.

Add intermediate sewing skills, and make the Sewing Workshop Tribeca shirt and Indygo Junction Silhouette vest (close the vest up to the neck). My current ‘Vital 5’. In quality fabrics for Relaxed Luxe style.

Very different in spirit from many wardrobe plans. My needs are most like the Sewing Workshop wardrobe, see my post on Linda Lee’s layering wardrobe.

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I groaned recently about some wardrobe styling advice which suggested what were supposed to be different style capsules, but were actually all variants of blazer, knit top, jeans. As I don’t wear any of those. I’m glad I’ve done all the work on identifying my own style and wardrobe needs, so I can just move on from unhelpful advice. People who love dresses probably feel equally ignored by most wardrobe suggestions.

If your personal style is ‘modern classic’ and you feel happy in blazer, tee, jeans, then good luck to you. Prefer different types of top, bottom, layer, or dresses ? Best Wishes to all the people who have to find their own capsule scheme.

Is it because I don’t match any of the simple advice on fit, colouring, style, body shape, that my blog is helpful 😀

I think most wardrobe lists need to be adapted to your own personal style, colouring, body shape, lifestyle.
(All that black and classic shapes – aargh. . .)

Hence my post on your personal wardrobe plan.
See Index page 4 on wardrobe plans in general.
Also your personal style preferences.
And Index page 1 on personal style.
There are some links on the other ways to look your best, in my post on So many choices.

If you haven’t got a good starting point for your own wardrobe group, have a look at patterns that are supposed to take less than 2 hours sewing time – Index page 8.

See Index page 5 for comments on co-ordination, and posts which include specific capsules.

Starting with a small capsule and building on it isn’t the only way to get a basic wardrobe. There are many books and websites with wardrobe plans with other approaches – see wardrobe and capsule planning references thread at Stitchers Guild. Each writer has their own scheme.

If you still think planning a wardrobe is frivolous, here’s an excellent piece by The Dashing Eccentric.

As usual, have fun with it all 😀

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P.S. Several people have commented that we haven’t got to develop capsules and wardrobes. Just have good outfits, if that’s what works well for you. No need to worry about co-ordination if you don’t want to. Just avoid ‘orphans’ – clothes which don’t go with anything else. You don’t even need to worry about them if you only wear dresses 😀

Or have several different small groups of clothes, which co-ordinate within one capsule but not with others. I should think there are very few people who have a wardrobe in which everything co-ordinates with everything else. Would that only be possible if you led a very limited life ? I haven’t got clothes wearable for both sailing and a black tie evening.

My clothes are in a limited range of colours and shapes so many, though not all, are interchangeable. Not so with accessories – some of my outfits are enhanced by scarves, some by necklaces.

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Links and patterns available March 2013

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It’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee long holiday weekend.

I haven’t got an ideal post for celebrating it – I don’t really write about copying the Queen’s style 😀 Not many patterns for a sheath dress with matching coat. (Saturday she wore her usual coat with pleated ruffle round neck and front edge, attractive and current.) This can be a more interesting look than a suit, especially for a petite. So perhaps start from New Look 6163. Leave off the band collar for a more classic effect.

And she always shines in her ‘Spring’ Colours. Good Luck to her anyway.

I could just go on as usual, and post more comments on Judith Rasband’s summer capsule. Or write about my current obsession – getting basic blocks to fit – which I plan to spend the weekend doing. I’ve chosen instead to post the first of some pieces on relaxed clothes – suitable for a switch-off and laze weekend.

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This post is inspired by The Vivienne Files. Usually I enjoy looking at the ideas there but would never copy them for myself. All those close fitting tees, leggings, short skirts and sheath dresses – not my style at all.

But she (Janice) recently suggested a some loose casuals which I could happily wear. All clothes from L. L. Bean.

In fact I got so inspired by this it has turned into 4 pieces – this on patterns for her basic wardrobe, another on accessories and layers, yet more on big jackets for wearing over loose casual tops, and some comments on simple wardrobe plans.

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Janice talks about building a wardrobe in groups of 4 items, and starts with 2 tops, 2 bottoms. Sleeveless and sleeved tops, gathered waist skirt and capris.

image from The Vivienne Files with permission

Everything in the same accent colour. An interesting idea if you like strong colour in summer. But not essential! Don’t let the colour put you off considering this approach to wardrobe building 😀 Personally I prefer variants around a colour rather than everything exactly the same, and I rarely wear accents.

A bit like Kate Mathews’ ideas for a 6-yard wardrobe, in her oop book ‘Sewing a Travel Wardrobe‘. She uses a jacket, dress, skirt and pants all made in the same fabric, as the core of a travel wardrobe.

Or follow the trendy colour blocking idea, and make each garment in a different strong colour – red, green, aqua, blue, orange, yellow, chartreuse, purple.

True basics, with minimum style elements – co-ordinate easily with almost any other relaxed loose fit styles. Easy to reproduce using Cutting Line Designs.

Cutting Line shell – Pure & Simple

Cutting Line sleeved top – 2 x 4

Looking closely at the photo in the red group, this might be a boat neck raglan top, like a classic sweat shirt. See my post on patterns for sweatshirts and relaxed tees.

Cutting Line skirt – In the Trenches

Cutting Line pants – One Seam – at cropped length

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Janice then adds 4 to the initial group, 2 more tops, 2 more bottoms. Tee, knit cardigan for layering, shorts and pants.

For colour this time she uses a simple medium-light or medium neutral.

image from The Vivienne Files with permission

For the top, use your favourite tee pattern.

If you’re looking for a starter tee pattern, find one with the right level of ease for you. Do you prefer loose fitting knits ? knits which are the same size as your body ? knits with negative ease, that stretch over and emphasise your shape ? Skin fit knits are ‘modern classic’ but may not be your style. Carefully check illustrations of the effect. Best to measure a knit pattern before cutting out, so you don’t get too-big/ too-small surprises.

I’m learning the importance of this from a tee pattern I’m currently trying. This pattern has negative ease over the hips (oh dear, not an area I need fabric stretched over), sleeves so tight I couldn’t bend my average size arms, and a neckline too small for my large head to get through. (Sewing Workshop Trio Tee – use very stretchy fabric.) As always, a huge pay-off for me from making a muslin. (And a huge pay-off from all my previous fitting struggles – I’m merrily slashing around and altering my muslin without concern 😀 )

Plus Janice’s second group includes a classic button up cardigan in a textured knit, perhaps chosen from Butterick 5760.

Pants with waistband, fly, slant pockets – shorts and full length.
Palmer-Pletsch have a pattern for chinos, McCall’s 6361.

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Finally Janice adds 4 more tops – a variety of ‘casual classics’.

Using fabrics which bring together the colours. Here she adds white (use your lightest neutral).
And added interest with multicolour weaves :
– accent-light neutral stripes
– accent-medium neutral-light neutral plaid.

image from The Vivienne Files with permission

Make a big change to the style of the wardrobe by using prints instead of straight line weaves.
This season’s print possibilities : underwater aquas, paisley, Afro, pretty florals, or techno prints that could only come from a computer.
Or introduce a current fabrication : sheer, satin, metallic.
Prints for jackets and pants as well as tops this season.

For garment patterns, repeat your favourite shell and tee.

‘Polo’ shirt with set-in placket in a knit. A couple of patterns :
Jalie 2562

Silhouette Patterns 225 Sarah’s Top has B, C, D cup sizes.

Well, only if you like polo tops of course. For some reason I feel ‘no never’ about them – too many associations with high-school sports perhaps 😀 Though I do like a lowest layer with a collar. So I would replace the ‘polo’ top with a collared blouse in a woven.

Big shirt which can be worn alone or layered – many possible patterns, even a men’s shirt.
There’s the shirt in Butterick 5760 mentioned before. Or a new big shirt from them, Butterick 5773.

Or, staying with Cutting Line patterns, use The Blouse Perfected.


Louise Cutting also has a ‘big shirt’ pattern coming out this summer.

I like the big shirts from Rag Merchant, which have softer corners and some added ‘crafter’ design interest. Here’s their Back Country Shirt.

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Use quality fabrics : linen, sheers, satin, light textured knits or stretch lace, pretty or striking prints. Fabrics for work, relaxation, special occasions. Add your favourite embellishments. Wear these relaxed shapes without looking like you’re on a camping trip 😀

Janice is always good on accessories. But this post has got very long, so I’m putting them in a later post.

And relate your choices to your own tastes and needs. Even in summer here I usually need an added layer. It’s the ‘essential fifth’ for me – the initial core 4 plus layer. So I’ll suggest a range of jackets for a different look to these relaxed basics.

Or perhaps you only wear dresses and can ignore all this. (Here’s the start of a series from The Vivienne Files on how to accessorise a basic dress.)

Or perhaps like the Queen you prefer tweeds and a Barbour when not on show.

Are these clothes in your style – a quick make for an easy-wear collection ? or too casual and shapeless for you to be happy in 😀

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Links and patterns available June 2012

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