Mutton-As-Lamb Tiered Skirt Yeehaw

OK, having slept on it (not literally of course), I’ve decided my adult version of the tiered Yeehaw skirt isn’t so bad. MR begs to differ. He thinks I’m on the wrong side of 40 to wear a skirt so short. The pre-final-wash puffiness didn’t help. But I think style it right and it doesn’t have to scare everyone speechless. Besides, I only live once, and I didn’t get to misbehave in my youth. So I owe it to myself to grow old somewhat disgracefully.

Style Shots & Mug Shots

When I made Little Miss’ version I already started counting the different ways I’d style this. Let’s see if Yeehaw Skirts play nicely with others.

Country-Western

Yeah, I know that’s not cowgirl boots. It’s as close as I could get this time of the year, what with boot season over and rodeo fares not year round staples in Old Blighty. Tattoo T blogged here

Vivienne Westwoodesque Cut & Slashy

With Frou-Frou Chemise blogged here

…and…

With Zara top

Classy Ms PMP

That’s Perl, Mohair, & Pumps. Actually, pearl color mohair would have been classier. But I didn’t get around to making one. So Breakfast@Tiffany Wannabe Sweater it had to be.

Street Cred enough for the Sartoiralist you think?

With Stella McCartney thigh-high boots & aforementioned Tattoo T.

Teal Moto Byzantine

With Heavenly T & Reversible Moto Jacket blogged here.

Dolce & Gabbana-ish

With altered TopShop kimono T.

Well Hello Sailor!

With marinière T blogged here


And that’s how you bend down in a mini-skirt to feed the flying pig.

& Les Mugs

And the aftermath of the photoshoot…

4-style-aftermath

Fabric & Notions Used

The Design, The Pattern, The Construction

neice-1Self-drafted Tiered Skirt for Tweeny Niece
So the Yeehaw Skirt for Little Miss was the starting point. That was basically strips of gathered rectangles. I had actually wanted to make fitted top tier for her as well. But since it was the first time I was sewing for a growing Tweeny from across the pond I thought it safer to go with elasticated waist.

This time around I did go with fitted tier 1 & side zipper. And here’s where the biggest Oops almost got me.

Zippergate

I knew the waist + zip opening needs to be wide enough to go over my hip. So I had planned for the zipper to be in the top tier only. Then tier 2 would nicely cap the bottom of the zip. I forgot that the fitted high hip (tier 1 & 2 seam) also needs to be wide enough to go over my hip. Thank goodness I fitted as I sew. Otherwise I would have ended up with another skirt for Little Miss – assuming she hasn’t overtaken me in sizing!

2-zipSo in the end, I had to extend the zipper into tier 2. Which complicated things as I didn’t want to impede the gathered puff. The fudge was to sew the invisible zip to the A-line underlayer & let the gathered tier 2 hang free with a gap where the zip opening is. This is kept closed with hooks & eyes.

I also had to add a pseudo waist stay with hook & eye to aid zipper closing. I love invisible zippers. But they can be darn hard to zip up. And after manually embroidering 400+ scallops I ain’t letting no zipper ruin my skirt!

Scallop Saga

2-hem-embroideryYes you read that right. 400+ scallops. That’s because my Scottishness insisted on using up every last scrap of the damn cut lace. And that called for equal amount in underlining as well. And to preserve my modesty, I added an A-line lining which demanded scallops of its own. I didn’t mind though. It’s rather meditative after a while. Getting started was a different story though.

Little Miss’ scallops came out slightly wimpy after the stablizer washed away. So this time I tried iron-on tear-away paper stablizer which kind of leave tiny sliver of paper behind (under the zig-zag embroidery). As the paper only come in white, I had to color it with marker to keep the visible reverse side tidy. I ran out of my old plastic wash-away stablizer and had to switch to my new Sulky Solvy. I didn’t like this new one one bit. It almost melted to my touch & wasn’t that stable. Maybe you’d get better result if you use it with embroidery hoops. I had miles & miles of scallops to do. I wasn’t about to fuss with no hoops.

I must say though, the result was spot on after the soluble stablizers have been washed away. It’s piraty romantic, soft but not too wimpy.

And A Couple More Things…

1) I found the bemberg lining fabrics a nightmare to work with. They shape shift like the best of those silky divas. And the fluff, the fraying cotton candy fluff that sticks to you and won’t let go! OMG. I don’t know how you silky lovers do it! Only a couple of tools came to my aid: iron-on interfacing, and spray starch.

1-innard-pattern2) I mentioned A-line underlayer & lining. Aside from preserving modesty, the underayer was also forΒ  simplifing assembly. Last time all the tiers & layers were different widths, which made gathering & seaming a royal pain. This time I streamlined. So the shell & underling for each tier is the same width. Each tier was attached to a simple A-line underlayer. I could have used the lining as the underlayer. But the fabrics were flimsy & I wanted slightly more structure, at least above the hip – to hide bumps of any tucked in tops for example. So the separate underlayer has iron-on interfacing & the lining hangs free inside. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of Little Miss & Old Ms’ versions of the Yeehaw Skirt:

2-layers-comparison

 

The Verdict

With the tight gathering of the voluminous skirt attached to the modesty preserving A-line innards, I think I’ve taken enough pre-cautions to get away with a mini this side of 40.

So what if I can’t do the Cancan in it…Or can I? There’s still plenty of lining left. Maybe a matching Scallopy O Bloomer would do the trick? πŸ˜‰

15 comments on “Mutton-As-Lamb Tiered Skirt Yeehaw

  1. You look terrific ! Great job on the skirt and the styling. You are not the wrong side of 40. You are the Right Side of 40 and as such can make your own decisions on what pleases you aesthetically. Maturity is about knowing yourself, relaxing into it, and making the most of what you have. And you have looks and talent in spades. Age should have nothing to do with appropriate dressing. Why waste all that time and creativity and joy in life worrying about someone else’s sensibilities and taste ? They get to do life their way, and you get yours to do with it as you please. Why would anyone try to please everyone else’s sense of aesthetic and decorum ( family excepting, and even then it’s our job as women to re-educate them ) ? We live in a global world, and even in the West taste and fashion changes all the time. Life is short. Why spend all that life
    after any age in a uniform when there’s so much colour and shape and texture, and possibility out there ! And while they say 50 is now the new 40, I can tell you that there is no 40 or 50 line anymore, unless you choose it for yourself. I’m a bit ahead of you agewise, but I say “you go girl !” Fashion is fun, and the clothes are ageless – they’re just clothes. And you,my dear, wear them well.

    • Thank you Jill! Totally agree with you.

      Sadly I think there are many people who suffer from social pressure of this sort. I’m lucky to live in big cities where there are diversity of tastes. And I try to avoid jobs that are too restrictive in dress code – one spend so much time working nowadays, I’d be so miserable if I have to wear suits day in and day out.

      MR did raise an eyebrow. But luckily he’s not controlling. We joke about growing old. Look it or not, we definitely notice the difference in energy level & health. Humor help us cope better.

  2. Sufiya says:

    While I am not a fan of over-40s in miniskirts, I will concede you DO look good in it and you still have the legs to carry it off. What is truly revolting is someone who DOESN’T still have the legs or the figure and who STILL insists on wearing it! I also always wonder how older women haven’t lost patience with always having to sit “just so” in shorter skirts; if you made it an inch or two longer you STILL get the sexy without the inconvenience of a “mini’ skirt-and you look less like you are trying to “compete with the young’uns.”

    • But why is it that the young ones can get away with a mini? It’s no less risque than for older women!

      My aesthetic too have been influenced by our typical modern western conception of beauty. But I’m making an effort to be more accepting of different body images. While there are people who come across a bit as trying too hard, I feel everyone deserves the chance to wear what they love even if they have not been blessed with media-approved bodies. Yes, wear it because you love it, don’t wear it to impress.

  3. S says:

    What you wear is not a function of your age. It’s about how you look in it and how well you can carry it off.

  4. Carol says:

    Definitely think you can still get away with it! Sooooo much meticulous work in this piece, the construction detail was great. I often fret over the mutton dressed as lamb dilemma…. curiously my daughter and husband usually roll their eyes and tell me I’m too conservative! Love those thigh boots, it annoys me that these sometimes have lady-of-the-night or dominatrix associations, as I think they look wonderful with above the knee skirts. I’d love a pair but have never found any that I feel I can pull off.

    • Do you prefer more conservative style for yourself or have you restricted yourself out of concerns over what other people might think? Some people naturally prefer more conservative styles. And I think that’s perfectly fine.

      But if you’re dressing more conservatively due to social pressure, maybe take advantage of your family’s support & experiment a bit more? It sucks not being able to express yourself sometimes. Yes, some occasions & environments call for conformity out of respect for the other people around. But surely in your own home you should be able to dress more freely! I know I’d at least wear the skirt around the house. To be honest, I’ve never been that bothered about what other people think of how I dress – my head’s usually too in the fashion clipping clouds to notice!

      Thigh boots I think can look fashionable. If people think it too streekwalkerish then either they’ve been places they shouldn’t have or we have Julia Roberts to blame! πŸ˜‰ My favorite Japanese singer wears thigh highs all the time and she doesn’t look streekwalkerish to me. So that’s good enough connotation for me to try thigh highs too!

  5. You’ve got the greatest style, Pia. Love the skirt and you are definitely sartorialist worthy. Wear with aplomb!

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