Vintage Revived

This is no April Fool's joke, y'all!

On a recent jaunt to Goodwill, looking to expand my professional wardrobe, I found this dress.  It's handmade, y'all, with the tiniest of stitches.  It fits like it was made for me, but to look at it I would place it somewhere in the 1940s.  The button plackets are reminiscent of sailors, and the side closure is made with snaps instead of a zipper.  If I can manage to get the small makeup stain off the collar, this will be the best bargain I've gotten to date at a whopping $6, and in constant rotation until I can't wear it anymore.

It'll take some stain removing prowess of the gentlest kind and the making of a lovely slip to make this the summer gem it deserves to be.  Since the whole dress is off-white, and cut on the bias, and vintage, I think a slip really is a necessary, and I've wanted to figure out how to make one so I am taking the plunge.

The dress is floor length as it is right now, and I would love to wear it more, so I am taking it up to knee length, but that leaves enough fabric and an intact hem for a whole second skirt on the bias!  When I buy fabric to make a slip, I plan to get enough to line the skirt too.  It's all making me VERY happy!

SWAP 2015

Y'all, I really like this year's rules for SWAP... Sewing With A Plan. Given my new job in a business casual environment, my desire to do something creative and use some color after acres and hours of sewing white, I think I am going to dive in.  A capsule wardrobe fitting the SWAP model would go a long way toward giving me a cohesive work wardrobe, and as a young professional I need all the help I can get.

If you're unfamiliar with the SWAP format, here's a run down:

Stitcher's Guild specifies you must create the following in an 11-garment format:
5 tops
3 bottoms
3 "wildcard" items

For this year's focus and twist, one garment has to reversible, multifunctional, or upcycled... making something new out of something old(which is right up my alley!!!) You are allowed one garment finished before the start date of December 26, and one purchased garment.  Wild Cards may not be accessories.

The deadline is April 30.  I think I'm in!

5 tops:
grey oxford cloth tee in TNT pattern
blue swiss dot Jasmine tie blouse by Colette Patterns
woven white envelope shoulder tshirt(will riff on TNT)
1 knit top using Renfrew by Sewaholic Patterns
1 cowl neck knit top in royal blue (likely also Renfrew)

3 bottoms:
upcycled purple boucle skirt with shaping and black side panels added??
Purple herringbone wool skirt??
black TNT skirt, add a pocket
grey pencil skirt with pockets

3 Wild Cards
Grey sweater knit dress
Fuschia Sweater knit dress
cardigan/jacket tie-together TBD, probably already in my closet.

Wardrobe Wednesday: A 6PAC plan

Wardrobe Wednesday might be the place for this and it might not but let’s look together, shall we?

The Spring/Summer Queue originally, with edits in the indents:

Brown bike-able skirt… maybe knit, maybe a bubble.

Instead, I’m gonna do a grey/blue pleated skirt with pockets and a wide waistband. I’ll pull out that brown knit for a bubble this summer.

Scraps of the purple-white floral dress to a bike-able skirt

This might happen, but it isn't something I need for work.

Breezy white woven top

Another breezy top

Already in progress, and it’s grey and white paisley print and uses piping.  Look for a post upon completion. 

Rie Dress In the NON-MATERNITY version

If I can find some good lace, I may still make this one… but I have to see if the pattern would work with a woven.  I have a dotted Swiss in mind for this one, so I might get pretty picky here. 

Shirtdress- blue Oxford cloth

Might be a Summer dress… especially if I can work out the fit on M5801.  I think if I just assembly line the construction for this and for the Easter dress of yore I would have 2 awesome summer dresses that’ll go into the fall like a dream. 

Not on the list:

Alter vintage white eyelet dress- It was my mom's and she's passed it on, and I hope to wear it for Easter!

Finish brown-and-white pinstripe dress- will go into Summer really well, especially when more brown starts to play in the rest of my wardrobe.

A white knit tee

Wardrobe Wednesday: 6PAC, Attempt 2

Yes, I’m trying again… What can I say? I like the camaraderie and friendly spirit of the 6PAC groups at Stitchers Guild, and how the rules are a little more lax and there’s no sense of competition in the thing.  We all come out winners because we get to see, and ideally make, lovely garments. 

I think that these 6-PACs and these more manageable chunks have value, and I think naming and thinking of what works from season to season is important. As we work our way into Spring, I am thinking of and building on these wardrobe concepts with the lovely ladies in the Spring 6PAC group, even though I doubt I will ever fully commit to this way of wardrobe planning. I like my clothes too much to go down to as few of or as neutral of pieces as is recommended in this school of thought.

But… who doesn’t want for the things in their closet to play more nicely together?

And why not sew things for Spring that will be workhorses through the summer?

This is a Wardrobe Wednesday post because these 6-PACS are intended to make your whole closet play well together, and that’s something we all want to shoot for, and the thing that started out this whole series of Wardrobe Wednesday posts… This post speaks to that desire, and I think to why I started out on this whole journey to begin with. 

So, what’s the plan, you ask…

I could look at the queue… and I will.  But I think that list will be changing shortly to narrow colors and styles and look at what I’ve got...  You can see my colors over there.  I’ll let you know about more changes, and tell you more soon!

Hanger trick

It might be time to revisit the lovely Wardrobe Wednesdays series, friends…

I am planning for Spring, and have done a much better job these days of wearing more of what I have due to a tip found on Pinterest… One I have mentioned before, which has countless names and just happens to be awesome and work:  The hanger trick.  

It's been called many things, and given many time parameters, but it's a fun little challenge and you can see what you wear and what you don't simply by looking at which way more hangers are facing.  
I'm about a month into it because I didn't flip things around in my closet until I had settled in from being home from Europe, but I have already notices that I wear more things, and that before the deadline I have set(1 year, not 6 months, because I don't flip my closet seasonally), I am more ready to give up some things I know I won't wear, because I can see a difference between the things left to be turned around and the things that have already been turned around.  It's a lovely trick to keep only the things you love and wear and fit the body you have now.  
Awesome, right?

Wardrobe Wednesdays: Overlap

I had to do a closet switch, FINALLY.  

This is a great thing, friends... Fall temperatures have necessitated the pulling out of sweaters and jackets  and made vests feel appropriate once more... Have I shared how much I love vests?  I do, I really do...

But we'll talk about that later.  Let's go back to categories.

As I was thinking about my categories, I felt the need to show you guys how much they overlap.  So, I put some work into a chart this week.  And then realized the chart didn't do justice to how much overlap really happens, so we're a day late because I took some extra time.  Next week will be about versatility basics too, but there's the diagram... 

The overlap is important.  There are things that I wear to class and on the weekend, like jeans, and very rarely sweats.  There are things on the other end of the spectrum I wear to class that I wear to church and to work.  

There are things I will wear like it's nobody's business.  Seriously.  Most often these are dancing things and fun sun-dresses, and man oh man do I love em.  But... That's me.  

I think everyone could do these kinds of diagrams, and I think overlap happens.  Overlap is the product of well-made pieces and a cohesive wardrobe.  Pat yourself on the back for it.

Categories will be back next week with some more on overlap and list time.  This post is too late already!

Wardrobe Wednesday: Categories!

The Academic Wardrobe is providing the food for today’s thought.  In planning a wardrobe, you have to plan for YOUR life… and what that looks like.  So, the idea of what composes the perfect list of basics and the perfect number of things you should have off of that list of basics should get based on how you live your life.  Here are my categories and some things:

-Class/weekend (4-5 days/week in class)

-Dance/going out (dance at least once a week, going out twice a month)

-Work/Church (3 days/week)

-Gym (ideally, 3 days/week)

      Running/general workout

      Cycling

-Dress-up Day

      Interview/funeral/preaching clothes

-Dress-up Night (maybe once or twice a semester)

      Cocktail hour, weddings, evening-wear

-Weather

      Rain, cold, etc.

-top drawer

      Undies, jammies, etc.

Now, how many of what go into each of these categories? How do you decide?

Consider your habits… How often are you doing these things?  I put my usual schedule in parentheses. How much space do you have to donate? How often do you like to do laundry? You want to make sure you have enough clothes to get you between laundry days. Bottoms can be re-worn sometimes, tops less often.  Enough to mix it up is nice, but not so much that you don’t wear things… And this is where you really have to determine YOUR perfect amount, in the words of the unclutterer.

Okay.  Now, this is the part where I leave it right here and go achieve this step in my own wardrobe.  I'd love to know if these are steps any of you are taking in your own wardrobes, or which systems and categories you have.  

Happy day, friends!

Wardrobe Wednesday: Clean out 2

Well, it turns out that school is counter-productive to wardrobe reform. 

But.  Fall is not.

As the seasons change, I have a great desire for cohesion, friends.  And a touch of paring down.  Nancy’s Week 1 has been my guideline, and I really do want to work on it, it’s honestly about the time to do so right now. 

I want to organize, and get control of things while it’s still warm enough to clean out, and run back and forth to my car, throw open the windows, and pare down Summer before I have to add Fall and Winter clothes into the mix… because here in Georgia, it may be fall according to the calendar, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it.  And the cleaning? Well, we won’t get into that.  This is, after all, Wardrobe Wednesday, not one of  Sarah’s crazy nesting/cleaning/home-making post.  Go here for that. 

I’m on an organizing kick, and I’m going to link to some things I think will help me, and maybe they’ll help you too!  There are some links that are general, but all are on my current wavelength. 

• Apartment Therapy has collected closet things. 20 beautiful ideas that gave me a serious case of closet envy.
• When you see these, you’ll need something attainable to aim for, go look here for a very comprehensive, picture-heavy post.  Organizing Made Fun is great AND attainable for all of us. 
•  Discardian’s hanger trick: flip em around, and when you’ve worn something, it gets to be flipped back.
• Lest these things seem expensive, go check out The OrganizedHome’s post on frugal organizing- not everything needs an expensive system.
• Peter over at Male Pattern Boldness is always great, and his Daily Ditch is an inspiration.  
• And on removing general clutter in our lives, Discardia is great.

Be inspired, friends! Clean out those closets before winter sets in!

Wardrobe Wednesdays: cleaning up and clean out

It's back to school time, and I confessed to you already, I've done my shopping.

Now Labor Day has come and gone, and with it a massive amount of cleaning, and it's time to talk about what came out after all of the going-in that happened.

There are many schools of thought as to how much clothing a woman need own, and I'm thinking it through here in front of my wardrobe, too... And I've decided to start with a good solid culling of excesses before any other step.

So, I took a "before" tally of my wardrobe, pre-clothing switch, and as I was going through things, I had some questions written in dry-erase marker on the mirror.

Nancy Nix-Rice asks a great list of questions in the first week of her series on style:

Is it in good condition?

Is it a good color for me?

Does it fit? Really?

Is it comfortable?

Have I worn it recently?

Friends, the resulting pile of clothes and shoes wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but Nancy has some great thoughts on putting things where you can see them that I hope to implement, although I don't have as much hanging up space as she does... Or the space for my closet to be just for clothes.

Traditionally, one changes seasonal clothing on Labor Day weekend, but I'm anticipating more warm weather, and many summer pieces are transitional.  But, I'm glad I went through and got rid of some things.  And the re-organizing? Crucial.
I need to do more one day when I'm in an unforgiving mood... I'll only keep the really good stuff then!

Wardrobe Wednesday: A day late. Sorry friends!

Well, there really is a good reason to be late sometimes.  Being home and hugging my mama?
Qualifies.  She gives the BEST hugs.
Right.  Wardrobe planning.
There are soooo many websites that will try to tell you about how to plan a complete wardrobe, and they have merit, but who is to say what is right?
Real Simple gives their guidelines here, with a list of basics by season.
For me, this won't quite work.... I think it's geared toward professionals more than students. And the number of pieces of outerwear and designated pairs of jeans? Not quite me, but this list has good things to it too. It covers a range of footwear nicely. It is built around classics. And it's seasonal. And I think it's going at it from an angle of someone getting in on the ground floor of the wardrobe train.
A blog post entitled the Academic Wardobe caught my eye for reasons I'd think woukd become apparent when juxtaposed with my student status...
I liked this article much more, because it takes an analytical approach, inviting you to look at your life, and make up . I think this is a better starting point for me than square one and the basics... So go see it. This is where we will begin next Wardrobe Wednesday!

Wardrobe Wednesdays: A confession

I confess, as I have in the past...

I bought things.

Not thrifted, bought.

Not as spectacular as when I bought things in Turkey...

But Gap and Old Navy this time.

You see friends, I have not conquered pants.

And it's waaay easier to go with what you know works sometimes. And so, a pair of khakis, pictured, from Old Navy(25% off) and a pair of jeans from the Gap(40% off) now call my wardrobe home...

...Oh, there were tops, too.

2 knit tees I could easily have made, but so much more easily picked up at 70% off.

1 knit top that will be a pattern for a refashion, pictured top left (Finish-it Friday is returning, friends!)

1 woven top that will beget lots of shells for church, pictured in the middle... Just had to get the sample, and it was on sale too!

1 cardigan that I have eyed for a loooong time, bottom left, now sold out...

and 1 great vee-neck sweater(at half off) whose softness reminded me of boyfriend sweaters and whose shape was a nice little hybrid, and the color? A beautiful green that pops for this redhead.

Oh... Sorry I couldn't stalk the internet for pictures of everything for y'all. gap.com has something against showing wardrobe staples, apparently.

Something I am learning to be okay with is where I am right now in a lot of ways, including what and how much I sew. I sew because it brings me joy. I could sew everything I wear, but then I'd stress so much over holes in my skills and failures that I wouldn't get the joy anymore. So sewing the things I can, when I can, is how it is for now, and I really am okay with that, even if it means less to write about here... I will, however, continue to try to fill my wardrobe with good things I make, I'm just not good enough to make them all, and that's okay with me.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the start of something pretty nice. I'll be tracking my journey in forming that wardrobe- the one I like with things I make that fit my lifestyle- on Wardrobe Wednesdays. It'll be my journey toward a cohesive kind of style, and I couldn't be more excited to share it with you all!