May 12, 2008

Special Clothes

Your Devoted Sewist Design Inspiration Alexander McQueen, belt, construction, dramatic, drape, drape patterns, dresses, fabrics, garments, mix and match, pants, pattern, project, separates, signature pieces, silk peau de soie, skirt, special clothes, special occasions, style, tuxedo, wardrobe, wearable 0 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for pieces I can make that are at once extraordinary and classic. These are the kinds of garments that I keep for years, some of my special pieces have been in my wardrobe for 20 years. For these clothes, I don’t mind spending lots of time on construction and I purchase the best fabrics I can afford. They become my signature pieces and have a certain style that is my own.

I like to have separates instead of dresses for special occasions. Starting with a beautiful pair of black pants, a black skirt and maybe even a tuxedo in gorgeous fabrics you can mix and match infinite outfits.

I came accross this design by Alexander McQueen that has all of these elements. It’s dramatic, but wearable. It’s not really “in style” but will looks stylish for years. I wouldn’t copy this look verbatim, I’d use the fabric, the neckline and the belt and lose the quarterback shoulders and goth sleeves. At this time, I’ve no clue how I would recreate the pattern, but one of the things on my wish list is to learn to drape patterns and this might be my first project. I can see it in a beautiful silk peau de soie and I could spend months searching for the perfect belt. In fact, the best way to approach putting this together is to find the belt first and then choose the color of the fabric…

Ta-ta for now!

May 1, 2008

Spring Wardrobe ’08 Part 6

Your Devoted Sewist Design Inspiration American sportswear, belt, Bermuda shorts, Bloomingdales, broadcloth, casual clothes, comfort, cotton voile, Diane von Furstenberg, dresses, J. Crew, jeans, Liberty of London, Liberty print, linen, linen shorts, poplin, raw edge finish, RTW garments, shirts, shorts, spring wardrobe, t-shirt dress, t-shirts, washing machine 0 Comments

I gathered together a lot of “dressed-up” ideas for my spring wardrobe and now I need some inspiration for casual clothes. This season there are dresses everywhere, but sometimes I just want something to throw on that I can wear to the grocery store! Alternatives to jeans and t-shirts for days when nothing special is going on. For these clothes, comfort is my first priority along with fabrics that I can throw into the washing machine. As I get older, it gets harder to dress down and look age appropriate.

Here are some outfits worth copying:

This is from Diane Von Furstenberg, available at Bloomindales. I’d have to wear the top tucked in–loose and flowy makes me look like a marshmallow. I like the shorts because they’re on the longer side. I can see the top in a cotton voile and the shorts in cotton poplin, fabrics that are relatively easy to find.

I like to wear shirts and shorts. Shirts are cool and comfortable, more so than t-shirts which are cut so skinny these days. I found a couple of copy-worthy shirts at J. Crew–with a classic American sportswear look:

This shirt in broadcloth or linen would be cute with some plaid Bermuda shorts. The only shorts I could find with the look I want are men’s, I like the muted pallet and all cotton fabric:

Here’s another nice shirt from J. Crew, in a Liberty print (I’ve always loved Liberty of London fabric–glad to see it re-surfacing. I probably have some in my stash!):

This will look comfortable but polished with these J. Crew linen shorts:

I’ll have to lengthen them a little.

T-shirt dresses are great to throw on in the summertime. This one looks pulled together with the belt. I’ve been wanting to try some the raw edge finishes I’ve seen in RTW garments, like this one:

After hours of surfing the web, this is all I’ve found that looks interesting. But it’s a good start–I’ll see if I can find fabrics to duplicate these looks.

Ta-ta for now!

April 28, 2008

Different tops for skirts and pants (from You Look Fab)

Your Devoted Sewist Fashion after 40, Project MyWay belt, hem, pants, shirt, shorter length, skirt, tummy, volume on top, You Look Fab 0 Comments

The untucked shirt thing has been hard for me to wear. I guess I liked the 80’s when a shirt tucked into a skirt or pants with a great belt would really make a statement. But, as I’ve said before, as you get older I think its important to keep up with the major trends. And wearing a shirt tucked in with a great belt looks, well…so 80’s! Untucked shirts can be a godsend to cover-up a tummy.

Here’s some good advice from on how to choose the right length for an untucked top.

If you’re going to go un-tucked, then tops that look good with skirts are not the same tops that look good with pants or jeans. Length is the key issue:

Skirts look best with tailored tops that are shorter in length. This is especially true of A-line skirts where it’s imperative to accentuate the waistline (volume on top of volume doesn’t work). Keep the hem of the top on or just above

Pants look best with tops that are 1 to 3 inches above crotch point