The Wardrobe Architect: Color Story

The color story was a little difficult for me. I've been buying clothes for years based on whatever I could find that fit me. This really limited my options greatly. After thinking about what I really like, I came up with some ideas. I spent quite some time coming up with colors that, hopefully, represent the colors I had in my mind.

The Neutrals

camel, black, light gray (preferably textured or heathered), navy, chocolate brown

Not So Nearly Neutrals

plum, burgundy, green, teal, coral

Statement Colors

 orange, green, aqua, pale pink, fuchsia

Metallics

gold, silver, pewter

I realize the the 2 greens are nearly the same, but I guess I am just that excited about green! The colors also seemed to change with the white background. The navy, plum, and burgundy were much deeper. :( These still give the basic idea of the colors I am trying to use.  This has really made me excited to start building my new wardrobe!

The Wardrobe Architect: Silhouettes

These silhouettes really define my style. I'm not sure what else there is to say about that. :)

Wide leg pant + loose top + fitted jacket

business casual by laurahoj featuring wide leg pants

Wrap dress

wrap dress by laurahoj featuring Diane Von Furstenberg

Fitted skirt + fitted shirt + fitted jacket

sunday skirt by laurahoj featuring ruched tops

Wide leg trouser + skimming tee + cardigan

cardi/trouser by laurahoj featuring a citrine necklace

Fitted dress + cardigan

sunday best by laurahoj featuring flat soled shoes

Bootcut trouser/jeans + loose tee + loose cardigan

casual cardi by laurahoj featuring boot cut jeans

The Gabriola Skirt- New from Sewaholic!!

You guys!! Tasia over at Sewaholic just announced her newest pattern, the Gabriola skirt.  I am not into these knit maxi skirts that are all the rage right now, so when she sent out the call for pattern testers and said it was a maxi skirt I was a little hesitant. Then I figured Ashley would love it, so I went for it. I am so glad she selected me as one of the testers! This skirt is GORGEOUS!!! I have been not so patiently waiting for the release so I could share it with everyone.

This skirt takes quite a bit of fabric. Luckily, I had this gorgeous silk/cotton/lycra blend in my stash (and I bought it twice, so I had about 10 yards of the stuff). This is the fabric that everyone seems to have, and I don't blame everyone for wanting it. I ran the fabric choice by Ashley first, and she approved it joyously.

As with all of the Sewaholic patterns I have sewn, this pattern is well drafted. The yokes on this are wonderful. The seam lines are as well. I love the idea of color blocking it, and the stripes Tasia used are fabulous.

It was a pretty quick project to sew, but cutting the pieces took a bit of time due to the length of the skirt. I hand stitched the hem, as well as hand picking the zipper. 

This skirt can be simple and elegant, or really dressed up. I keep thinking of it in lace with a charmeuse underlining. I'm not about the weight of that with this length, but maybe...

 Don't mind the unvacuumed floor.

Click on the picture to enlarge and see more detail.

Notice the skirt has a center piece and two side pieces. 

The catch stitch is especially great for fabric with some stretch,

 as it stretches a little, too.

 (She has worn this every Sunday so the hem is a bit dirty.)

The hand picked zipper and back yokes.

This is such a great pattern! I will be making it again. I'm hoping to make one for myself, and I'm pretty sure Ashley wants a few more. I think when my sister sees this one, she will want one, too. It would be perfect for someone in an orchestra who needs a black skirt, especially a cellist. (I played the cello, so I understand this need.)

Wardrobe Architect: week 2

The second week of this project was harder than I thought it would be. I second guess myself and my style, I guess. I had a little help from my husband and my younger sister. Thankfully.

The goal this week is to uncover the styles that feel like yourself and attach words and images to them.

When I'm wearing my favorite clothing I feel confident.

When I'm wearing something that isn't quite right I feel really uncomfortable, and sometimes fat. I want to avoid this. I want to avoid feeling out of place or like I'm wearing someone else's clothes.


I didn't really think I had any style icons. Then I realized that mine are characters in TV shows. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel, Bones), Carrie Wells (Poppy Montgomery, Unforgettable), and Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack, In Plain Sight) are all characters whose style I noticed while watching them. They all have a common thread- they wear jackets or cardigans- often.

I love looking at clothes and other things that feminine and flirty. I don't think this style works for me, though. When I try to pull off this style I feel like it just isn't me.

I asked my husband what he thinks my style is. He described me as classy, older Hollywood actresses, ie Audrey Hepburn. More in the sense that they always looked put together and would never be caught having an off day where style was concerned.  I took this into account when figuring out my style words.

I narrowed it down to three: classic, put together, with a touch of edgy. I think I already knew this, but was so unsure of myself that I couldn't put it into words. I also create a Pinterest board representing these words.

Wardrobe Architect: week 1

I am a little late in starting, but since I need a whole new wardrobe I felt this was a great project for me.
Sarai of Colette Patterns started the Wardrobe Architect: Designing and Building Thoughtful Attire. For week 1, there is a worksheet. I was a bit intimidated by the idea of this, but it wasn't so bad once I started.

So here goes:

History
I was really tall at an early age. In kindergarten, I already had trouble finding pants that were long enough for me. This has never changed.
I grew up in a poor family. We didn't get new clothes often. My grandmother used to send money for clothes on our birthday and my would take us shopping. Somehow my older sister always got to come along on my birthday. We wouldn't get to go until after dinner, when the mall was about to close. Usually we ended up grabbing whatever my sister picked out just as the store was closing. I wasn't really encouraged to develop my own style. There was one year in high school that my sister didn't go along with us. *hallelujah* I got to go to the stores I liked and picked out what I really wanted.
In junior high and high school I tended to dress more alternatively. The same sister, who is a year older than me, was more preppy and popular. She tried to influence me in how I dressed and acted. I so strongly wanted her approval and to be my own person at the same time. I didn't really fit in anywhere- I wasn't grunge, goth, punk, or prep (which was pretty much all the categories there were back then). I was a mash up of everything. Finding a style has been a struggle for me from the start.
I was sewing as a teen, and I mostly sewed dresses- sort of baby doll dresses, but longer. I made a pant suit and LOVED it. I wore it to school in 8th grade. I was all over the place!

Philosophy
I believe in moderation in all things, not that I always live by this. Are we all works in progress? I don't strive to have a closet packed full of clothes. My closet has been quite bare for years. I just want to have more than one pair of jeans! I also want to teach my daughters that quality is important and quantity, collecting things, is not. *I see you over there, fabric stash, with your "do as I say, not as I do" taunting.* Work in progress, y'all...

Culture
I grew up in the midwest. People there dressed fairly well. I moved to the east coast after high school. Casual in that area of the country is more of a business casual attire. People dress up on the East Coast. We moved to Oregon not long after we got married. It was pretty much culture shock! People went out to eat in tye-dye and sweats. We aren't talking fast food joints, we're talking sit down restaurants. I was way overdressed walking the malls in my khakis. Here in Vegas, it is very random. You will see people in formal gowns next to someone in sweats.
I personally don't think loungewear is appropriate for anything but lounging, but I see people wearing that and exercise clothes at the grocery store all the time.

Community
I do follow cues from those around me as to how to dress, whether it be casual or formal.

Activities
I'm a stay at home mom. My daily activities require clothes that are washable. I mostly go for pants on a daily basis, as I don't want to worry about keeping covered while wrangling kids. It's windy here! It isn't easy to hold down a skirt while grabbing a boy who tries to run off in parking lots. I also go out with my husband. I usually try to dress up a bit when we go out.

Location
I live in a desert. I don't need big winter coats. With air conditioning, I can wear long pants year in the summer. Mostly I need several swim suits and plenty of pool side attire. :)

Body
I was very thin until I had children. That is no longer the case. I have struggled to accept how I look now in comparison to how I used to look. I haven't learned how to dress for my figure, as finding clothes that fit in stores is nearly impossible. I am ready to figure it out!

In doing this worksheet, I have learned a few things about myself and my style. I am excited to continue working on this project and develop my style and wardrobe.

A bag for Ashley

I was one of the pattern testers for Seamstress Erin's new Presidio Purse. I made it for Ashley, as she had been asking for a big purse that would hold all of her things.  Well, this purse is definitely big enough! It is fabulous.

Ashley went shopping in my stash- which has plenty of bag making options. She chose this Amy Butler fabric that I've been hoarding for quite some time. I thought the fabric pattern was perfect for this large bag, and it is. 

I used a medium weight twill for the main fabric, but felt it would be a bit lighter than I wanted, so underlined it with some natural bull denim I have lying around. 

For the lining, I used a crepe/satin like fabric that was in the stash. It was a small piece that just worked for the lining pieces. Because the lining was pretty flimsy, I interfaced the pockets with SF101. 

I really wanted to make the version with rectangular D-rings on the handle, but couldn't find large enough ones locally. I settled on smaller ones found at JoAnn's and made pleats in the handle pieces that attached to it. With the denim underlining, this was a very difficult feat, but still looks good despite the stitches showing. (I have ordered the proper size rectangular rings online so I will have them for my next bag.)

Closeup of the pleated handle pieces.

I did make one kinda big mistake when making this. I had the instruction pages out of order and wasn't paying attention to the NUMBERED steps, so I attached the handle before inserting the zipper. DO NOT DO THIS. If it weren't so much work to attach the handle and get the stitching so nearly perfect, I would have removed it and redone the zipper. I still might. 

I skipped the insets because I felt this fabric was better suited to no insets. That is one of the great things about this pattern, there are so many ways to customize it! 

This is the most expression I think Ashley has ever shown in blog pictures! 

That is how much she loves it.

My thoughts on this pattern? The instructions were wonderful. If you follow them, it really isn't difficult at all. The zipper instructions are great, and I love that the main zipper has a tab at then end. It makes it very professional looking. The design is so fun! The possibilities are endless. It is a very large bag, and that makes it perfect for so many things. At first, I didn't really think this was a style for me (obviously that is why I made it for Ashley-normally I'd selfishly make these things for myself), but I was wrong. Ever so wrong! I love the pattern and will be making one for myself. 

After seeing all of the other versions, I want one with piping at the seams (I'm obsessed with Erin's tweed version *swoon*), a solid one, and one with insets. Will I really make this 3 more times? Maybe it will be my new go to gift item...

Ready To Wear Fast 2014

Once again I have joined Sarah's RTW Fast group! Last time around, I had great plans. I didn't make quite as much as I had planned, but it did help me to get past some hurdles. As I mentioned in a previous post, I made jeans! I learned many things during that fast as well.

This year, I have a few things I hope to accomplish. I don't like goal setting, so these aren't really goals, just thoughts.

I want to practice slow sewing. I've raced through sewing things just to get them done in the past. Over the last year I have been better at taking my time. I want to improve even more and really hone my skills. This year I am going to really work on it, with my reward being a class with Susan Khalje in 2015. (I hope!!)

I have the main fashion fabric for my French style jacket, this book by Claire Shaeffer, and the desire. I just need the lining and trim. I hope to make it this year.

I need to perfect my jeans. They came together just fine, but the zipper insertion wasn't quite right (you can see the zipper), so I need to figure that one out. It was my first fly zip, so I'm okay with it this time. The fit isn't quite right, so that is my real challenge for this year. I want a good fit. I've never had that before in pants.

I would like to make a fitted button-down blouse. I made the Grainline Archer and love it, but I would like one that is more fitted. I have the pattern. I planned to make it last year. I will do it this year!

One last thing that I would like to do this year- start sewing more of my children's clothes. I have been doing pretty well with this for my oldest, but not my younger children. If I can perfect my fly zip insertion, making pants for them should be no problem. Pants are my main holdup in sewing all of their clothes- which is my ultimate goal one day.

Here's to a great year!