No. 4 White Shirt Inspiration Spring 2012

Again from Net-a-porter, the basic and not so basic white shirt for Spring of 2012.  Some more inspired than others, but a valuable basic to have in the wardrobe.  The J Crew was the most basic and nudged out a Ralph Lauren candidate because of the pockets.  The Valentino Red looks like a men's tuxedo shirt with the lace ruffled down the front.   The Karl with black contrast band was unusual, and since we own so much black it's would be a nice detail to add to any other shirt.  The Gucci just looks so soft and comfortable it had to be included.  Altuzarra with a buccaneer influence looks very nice with a high waisted skirt.  Vivienne Westwood, best for last, looks equally good tucked in or out.




Has anyone seen any good shirt patterns?

No. 6 Any Occasion Top Spring 2012

Number 6 on Tim Gunn's list is the Any Occasion Top, here are a few examples from the Net-a-Porter website, that can easily go from day to evening. You can swap out the jeans for a pair of black pants or a skirt and you are ready for dinner.

I am especially intrigued by the Etro top (I love the crazy colors), and if you have a collection of chiffon cuts that you didn't know what to do with, this would be a good use for them.  There's even a Vogue pattern (V1301)  that was recently issued that might be a good start if you shortened it a bit.

No. 8 Day Dress Summer 2012

This is not your typical day dress.  Did you inherit a number of scarves that you don't know what to do with?
Dolce and Gabbana take advantage of the border print in these two examples, and they're a steal at $995 each.

You can see more at the D&G website Here!

The perfect shirt dress....Donna Karan & Meryl Streep

Happy New Year everyone!!


I hope everyone is working away on their sewing resolutions!
I fell in love at the supermarket with the Vogue cover for January 2012, Meryl Streep in a pearl colored Donna Karan shirtdress. This will be my first project for 2012.




While perusing for the Magazine cover, I came across this short video on Meryl Streep. The dress is in the first few seconds, the rest of the video is a feature on Meryl's latest project the National Women's History Museum.



Meryl Streep Vogue video


Also I love the fact that this dress looks so much better on a real woman vs. this runway model.


(From Style.com)

No 2: The Essential Trench Coat

One of Tim Gunn’s essential looks is a classic trench. Bernina My Label to the rescue! A recent pattern release was a classic trench coat. What a project but so worth it!

The fabric came from Michael’s Fabrics. It’s a Zegna 100% cotton rainwear fabric. So luxurious… I decided I needed to put leather buttons on it and found the perfect ones at MJ Trim in New York. Finding the leather buckles were another story. The only place I could find them was at Klein’s Haberdashery in London, England. I email them the link for the buttons and asked if the buckles they had would be a match. They said they would be suitable – now that does sound British!

How they got here was really interesting. They couldn’t ship to the US but my cousin is engaged to a guy in England and he said I could send them to his house and he would bring them on his next visit. On the way back to the airport they stopped by to drop them off to me. Now that’s service!
The pattern had the front gun flaps. I also lengthened the coat as I wanted it to be full length.

I lined it with some very nice coat weight lining from Atlanta Thread. I added a back vent and the rain shield to the back.

Needless to say this turned out to be a very lengthy project! I bought some light colored fabric from Michaels for a winter version on this with a quilted lining. I think it will be a while before I do that one.

Style Icons - Lauren Hutton

Image courtesy of More Magazine

This issue came out a few years ago, I really liked this shirt, well I liked the idea of the shirt, and the perfect print. At the time I started looking for suppliers for the fabric, because I couldn't believe it was $985.... I'm an expensive girl.

I've found a number of links if you want to check out her style.

More Magazine "Role Model"

Oprah "Lauren Hutton goes Casual"

Style Icons - Carine Roitfeld

Here we go sexy edgy french women over 50! I was really happy to find some images of her not wearing black, and I love that Bohemian dress. One thing for sure, sky high heels are required for this look.

Style Icons - Jackie Kennedy Onassis

Fall 2011 - All Occasion Top

Bergdorf Goodman has their fall collections updated, these are some all occasion tops on offer.

No. 4 White Shirt Inspiration

Some of my favorite inspiration comes from Gorsuch. A number of basic pretty white shirts.



From In Style "How to pick a great white shirt"


Here are some from 2008 from the New York Social Diary (You'll have to scroll down to see them all).

From Anne Fontaine...

Just a Wee Late

Okay, super late. I had a number of things distract me from participating in this sew along - from other sew alongs to indecision on what to sew. Now that I have a focus for summer-to-fall sewing, I am ready to begin. My upcoming sewing plans include many of Tim's wardrobe basics so hopefully this will go smoothly.

I actually only have nine garments to go. I made another pair of jeans in May, but I have yet to do an updated pattern review. The jeans are black and fit nicely into my wardrobe plan.

L

Number 1: The LBD

I don’t know what took me so long but I’ve always wanted a little black dress. It seemed kind of ridiculous that I can sew and have virtually anything I want but didn’t have one of those. Well, the Tim Gunn challenge on Patternreview.com was just the motivation. I have the princess dress My Label pattern drafted specifically to my measurements. I used it for the day time dress but I thought it would work well for the LBD. I had some black on black striped silk fabric from Michael’s Fabrics that I had received in a bundle a while back. Those bundles are fun when offered! Any fabrics I don’t like become muslins and any I do are a great bargain. Anyone interested in this watch out on the MichaelsFabrics.com website.

I also lined the dress in black silk charmeuse I ordered from Mood.com. I made the sleeves ¾ because that way it would work during either Winter or Washington’s over air conditioned Summers. There is a slit on the back. This might be the first of several black dresses. Now that I’ve made one I’m inspired to make more!

No 8. Day dress

This is the day dress I did for the Tim Gunn Sewalong on Patternreview.com. He suggests a day dress and when I got this fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics I knew that’s what it had to be! I think this fabric really has a Tommy Bahama feel to it.

It was the Bernina My Label basic dress pattern but, of course, I had to change some things. I put pockets on the front because I always wished dresses had pockets! Hey, I made it so I can do whatever I want with it! I put the slits in the front as opposed to the one in the back and added a placket neckline. I finally mastered doing plackets so now I want to use them more often!

What is a Blazer anyway?

All blazers are jackets but not all jackets are blazers.... it's beginning to sound like Algebra.

According to Wikipedia

A jacket is a type of sleeved hip- or waist-length garment for the upper torso. A jacket is generally shorter, ending just below the waist, and often lighter. Some jackets are fashionable, while others serve as protective clothing.

Blazer, similar to but more casual than a suit jacket; single- or double-breasted of sturdy material, commonly with metal buttons.

I've even read definitions that include striped cloth school or club colors.

So the search for the Blazer....
When I think of a Blazer, I think of school blazers...like Thom Browne's collection for Brooks Brother's under the Black Fleece label.



The net-a-porter.com versions.....



Now to peruse my patterns for possible blazer candidates...



I'm thinking 7421 is my best bet, I'll just have to tweak the collar a little, and drop the neckline.

I had to look at what's available at the Vogue website and didn't find a lot, but I did find

McCalls 6172 - Palmer Pletsch jacket in three lengths, and that one on the right looks like a silhouette Stella McCartney has been showing in her spring collections.



Butterick 4610 - Looks like a nice pattern for a basic blazer you could do a lot with.

No. 10 Sweatsuit Alternative .... continued

Here are some simple (easy) patterns for summer skirts, which will also be my sweatsuit alternatives.... because casual clothes are always welcomed.

Vogue 1247 - Rachel Comey (pattern released March 2011) - cotton plaid blend - read more on my blog here.

Simplicity 2451 - View C - stretch denim - for a closer look.

No. 4 White Shirt

This my interpretation of the white shirt. I used the Bernina My Label tailored shirt pattern and using David Coffin’s book and DVD I flat felled the seams and did the placket the way he instructed. It’s much more professional than the one that came with the pattern. The fabric came from G Street Fabric and is a white on white stripe.

I could not resist using the embroidery on my Bernina Artista 165E to do a monogram on the cuff. When I originally got that machine I didn’t realize how much I would use the embroidery but it’s great for things like this.

No. 3 Classic Dress Pants

These are my completed black pants. I used the Bernina My Label flared pants but narrowed the leg. I also omitted the back pockets as I didn’t see any reason for them. The back is much smoother this way. I used a classic fly front and belt loops. The fabric was a black on black stripe silk suiting fabric I got in a Michael’s Fabric bundle a while back.

No. 2 Trench Coat - Vogue 1180

I really love this trench!!



More on the blog...

No. 5 - Jeans that make you look great

Vogue 1034 - Sandra Betzina... thank you.





Not as the designer intended but my version has no pockets (equals no bulk), added length, and a dark wash. These will be a nice basic under hip length tops, and very comfortable.

No. 3 Classic Dress Pants

These are Vogue 8156, they are a dark dark Navy wool crepe, with a back flap welt pocket. I really like this pattern and I'll be sewing them up again very soon.







The belt loops were eliminated giving the pants a simpler line. The cuffs were eliminated so that I could wear them with heels :).