inspiration

That’s why I sew

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Right, that’s it. I’ve had enough of losing things I kept in the ridiculously shallow pockets of my Top Shop Trench.

First my outrageously expensive annual travel card. Now my classy Brooks Brother sunglasses all the way from America. If I’ve had doubts about why I bother sewing this is it: sensible pockets to my heart’s content!

I’ve been tempted to make a trench ever since I saw the Selfish Seamstress’ stylish renditions in delectable prints. But now it has shot straight to the top of the sewing list. The ever popular McCall’s 5525 at the ready, I just need to figure out what tweaks to make to ensure it’s more chic than frumpy.

And those all important pockets, they’re already on the alter list after reading about 5525’s similarly shallow version on Patterns Review (What is it with trench & shallow pockets?) I think I’ll also throw in an inside double-welt pocket or two for good measure.

McCall 5525 E

McCall 5525 E

Of course trench has always been on the list. But I’ve just never seen any pattern I liked. Most tend towards the frumpy side. Even the photos on 5525’s pattern envelope look borderline. If it weren’t for the Selfish Seamstress’ great fabric-pattern combinations (+ a dose of ANTM attitude thrown in for good measure), I would have passed on this pattern.

To avoid disappointment I have chosen an ugly cotton twill from the stash for my muslin test. Ugly because the fairly traditional beige is not very flattering for my skin. There’s also not enough of it, so I’ll have to figure out where to save the yardage.

One possibility is adding contrasting border to the hemlines like this Louis Vuitton trench…


Or go jacket style with more fitted bodice, shorter length, and  3/4 sleeve like this Dolce & Gabbana number from Fall 1995.


Here’s another D&G from the same season I really like. But I don’t smoke, am not blonde, so will never be able to pull it off with the same Belle De Jour panache…

And another  risqué one, from Donna Karan, requiring miles and miles of pearls and legs…The peals I definitely can do. And maybe the empire waist. Seems a bit counter-intuitive to place it above the slimmer waist. But maybe the elongated line actually creates an even more slimming effect for those of us not blessed with a womanly hour-glass shape.

Finally, a more ladylike beltless one by Todd Oldham, again with an empire waist…

Probably for a future attempt as this is way off the beaten trench path. (Sorry, I just can’t help myself with the clipping porn once I start! }:-)

Taking the scenic route with Gigli wannabe coat

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Unlike the Selfish Seamstress and her recent finished-in-less-than-a-day dress, I take the scenic routes with my sewing projects.

V 1159 is simmering along nicely. It only took me like 2-3 weeks to research, trace out & adjust the pattern, order & prep the fabrics, and finally cutting out the pieces. Still need to transfer the markings. And sewing up, that’ll probably take another week or two at 2-3 seams per day. All relatively rabbit-fast to the tortoise that is my Romeo Gigli wannabe coat from ages ago.

Here’s the inspiration…

At $4000+ back in 1989, there was no way I could have bought it. So I vowed to make a copy. Fortunately I was able to examine one in a store (though how good I was in analysing and recreating is a totally different matter). Here’s my rough pattern sketches from back then.

Even more fortunate was a runway report from Paper magazine which had this close up of the embroidery. I was able to trace and enlarge the pattern on a copier. It saved me from having to recreate it freehand.

So the flurry of activity started in 1989. But it took me another 13 years to finish the coat, partly because I got bored of all the hand applique and embroidery, partly because I moved across the pond so the project had to go into hibernation like forever.

Here’s the end result.

Unfortunately, it turn out to be a massive oops.
(That unlucky 13!)

Oop no.1: As usual, I didn’t check the scale and silhouette first. The coat swamped my frame. I eventually gave it to a friend who is taller and fuller than me. Her vivacious personality and socially active lifestyle really brought the coat to life. In my hand, it just languished in the closet. She wore it out, even for grocery shopping, and got compliments after compliments. Once she was in Harvey Nicols (a very posh London department store) and a gentleman asked where she got it. He wanted to get one for his wife. The other time she was at the opera in NYC and another lady also complimented the coat. Made all that effort so worthwhile, even if it wasn’t me wearing it.

Oops no.2: Cotton velvet wasn’t the best choice of fabric. It wasn’t as drapy as rayon or silk velvet, so looked bulky and too big on me. And although the coat looked like it should be quite cozy, it was actually not very warm. Again probably the cotton to blame. (Didn’t help that I’m a girl of the Tropics either.)

Oops no.3: I didn’t think through the button-hole choices and went for hand sewn ones. Turned out a bit wonky. Luckily I had some stretch brown cords which I was able to fashion into fancy loops that pretty much covered up the wonky button holes.

Not an Oops: The embroidery I’m quite proud of. The applique was made with China Silk, outlined with green embroidery cords. The embroidered parts were backed by wadding to give the collar and cuffs a bit of body, maybe a tad too much. Here are some close-ups.

Here’s what it looks like inside.

A fittingly Tragic Romantic Ending…

Sadly the coat was too delicate to withstand the fast paced lifestyle of my friend. Buttoned up the bottom is rather narrow. So one day one of the buttons came off, not being able to cope with her grand strides. It tore the fabric where it was attached to. I tried to repair it clumsily with fusible. Of course that didn’t work with velvet. So now you see the outline of the fusible patch where the tear was. My friend decided not to take it back as she felt guilty about the tear.

So like a faded grand dame it has retired back into my closet. But I’m glad it had gotten a good leash on life. Better to have lived and be torn than to be pristine in a sterile ivory tower!

Catching the Kimono Train

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I was reading about Chanel No. 6’s blue cut velvet kimono the other day, and thought I’d share my 2 cents from my clipping stash (and past obsession with many things Japanese, though mostly pop / modern).

So here’s the lovely kimono she made, with her step-by-step instruction inspired by an authentic kimono she got from a friend.

And here’s how to wear it
if you really must do housework in it…

Keeping Your Sleeves out of the Soup (and Laundry)

I’m glad I found this, for I thought my mind was going. I vaguely recall seeing something like this, but can’t find any evidence in my clipping stash. Must have been some girl’s manga I was into way back when.

I wished I had found it earlier though. I had made this kimono robe a few years ago. But it got little wear because…well, the sleeves was sharing my soup and much more.

It also doesn’t help that it’s a bit immodest in the back – thanks to not enough yardage as it was just another fabric from the stash. And as Channel No. 6 mentioned, you really do need a very soft, drapy fabric. Mine was a bit spongy – soft, but not limp enough. So it feels a bit too boxy for a shorty like me.

Construction-wise…

Mine is a little bit different from the version Channel No. 6 detailed. It also has the open underarm and inner edge of the sleeve flaps, but without the rectangular insert mentioned in her step 6.

I made mine unlined and reversible as I find the peach side more flattering for my skin tone than the lovely iridescent blue side.

Mine was based on a Threads article on kimono from Jan 1991. Unlike the recent Burda 7/2011-124, it’s all rectangular pieces of fabric…

It seems relatively authentic – if you can trust Japanese Jenny doll kimono pattern and instruction to be faithful to the real thing…

Variations & Styling…

I love the extra long sleeves of girl’s / single women’s formal kimono. So decadent! There are some styles that don’t seem to be as well known in the west. Like the middle picture below, which is a Meiji period school girl uniform.

Kimonos from different periods

Interestingly the Japanese versions don’t seem to be drapy. Yet the way they wear it still makes them look slim and elegant. I guess what looks like a padded middle and the resultant high-waisted effect create a vertical column that’s slimming…Unlike my unpadded attempt which by betraying a narrower middle paradoxically ended up exaggerating the width above and below the obi belt (actually a wide scarf ).

And the long sleeves of course further emphasize the graceful vertical lines. Love to catch a breeze in those!

Also note how the collar hangs away from the back of the neck in the most deliciously seductive way. As they say, less is more – just a tiny peak of a graceful long neck is way more enticing than acres of skin.

But can one pull off a Japanese styling if one’s not Japanese? I think I’d feel foolish. Costumy is not an issue, but I’d wouldn’t know how to move in it with conviction. And that, I think, is a key ingredient of style.

My all time favourite western styling of a kimono has to be this one from John Galliano’s Autumn/Winter 1994 collection…

John Galliano Autumn/Winter 1994

Supposedly he was so broke he had to resort to cheaper lining fabrics for this collection. Yet the result is stunning.

A real shame then about his recent disgraceful behaviour. But I’ve never been one to put talented people on pedestal. So the fall in no way affects my appreciation of his designs.

La Chemise

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Finally London is sunny! So here’s how La Chemise turned out…

Les Basics…

Mit Frou Frous…

Mes Dames,

Le Scandal!

Les Westerns Bon Brute et Le Truand…

Apology for the Pigeon French, with gate crashing Bastardized German :o)

Overall I’m quite happy with how it turned out – a couple of Oops notwithstanding (1. miscalculated armhole depth – thanks Burda for the red herring – easily fixed! 2. misaligned underarm seam while fixing oops 1 – not worth fixing – no one’s going to get close enough to see). It’s already gotten some wear just days after. And so has les Frou Frous…

Cuff Sides & Brooch Fronts

Cuff Front et Back & Brooch Backs

La Rose Brooch Mein Weg

And to recap, this is how it looked in progress…

7/13 Hopefully there’s method in the madness

How it all began…

Originally, I was inspired by these clippings of Vivienne Westwood’s  Autumn/Winter 1988-89 collection:

Vivienne Westwood Autumn/Winter 1988-89Vivienne Westwood Autumn/Winter 1988-89

Vivienne Westwood
Autumn/Winter 1988-89

The first fruit of those seeds was a slip skirt with frills & worn with a vinyl A-line mini-skirt I made, both long gone – the vinyl a victim of careless laundering.

Yes, I’m not very good to my clothing. Even designer ones have had trips to the painting studio. Call me a Romantic with a capital R. Clothing needs to be lived in. And lived in Beauuuuuutifully. No dry-clean only clothing for me. Well, almost none. And certainly no specialist cleaning – goodbye real leather and suede in pristine-only colors. But I digress…

Thakoon Autumn/Winter 2007-08

So anyway, no so long ago I came across this Thakoon dress in US Vogue Oct 2007.

I really liked the contrast between the rather monastic dress and the peasant cuffs, but couldn’t commit to such a permanent pairing. I’d rather have a sack dress that  could be worn separately as well, maybe with  a fabric sash for a 60ish look. So I brought the VW idea back from hibernation.

So part 1 of this look is now complete. Some day part 2 Le Sac will be made. Hopefully part 1 won’t have disintegrated by then! The gauze is rather delicate after all even if I’m not being typically careless 🙂

Vogue Pattern 7581

There were smattering of other inspirations as well. Like Vogue Pattern 7581 dress.

I never got the pattern as it seems like such a simple dress that one ought to be able to make something up oneself. But I saved the clipping for inspiration…mainly because of the necklace! I’m crazy about turquoise. And I’m wondering where I can get a tassled shawl like that, and pick up some flamingo moves on the way. ¡Olé!

And let’s not forget the period dramas…

Like the visual feast that is UK Channel 4’s English Civil War drama, The Devil’s Whore…

The Devil’s Whore, episode 1,
with scenes that could have come straight out of the Old Masters. You can watch it on Channel 4’s You Tube channel (at least in the UK). Or you can get the DVD.

The Devil’s Whore, episode 2

Finally, not so much an inspiration, but another idea of how to wear La Chemise…Another Vivienne Westwood:

Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer 1991

She likes her historical inspirations doesn’t she. Peasant Punk! I think I’ll do without the slashy denim.

Blast from the past: back-burner CdG top

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Hurrah! La Chemise is done!

And for once I’m quite pleased with the result. There were hiccups for sure. But not bad enough to make me want to feed to the TBA pile. More about La Chemise soon. London weather has turned all Spring-y and changeable. So it’s too dark to take pictures. And a blog post is no fun without the pictures.

In the meanwhile here’s a blast from the past. Another back burner project. Another attempt to raise the glorious dead! 🙂

The sketch is from a long time ago, in a notebook I hardly use anymore.

Like most of my attempts back then, it was an attempt to copy designer clothing I couldn’t afford as a student – I was much more fearless back then. The inspiration for this one was…as the sketch indicates…Comme des Garcons’ Spring / Summer 1987 collection. I adored CdG at the time. It was my first designer love. This collection was quite feminine – a bit unusual for the avant-garde brand better known for weird baggy stuff. Actually there were a few seasons back then that were quite feminine / wearable.

My copies were mostly guesswork. Occasionally I got to examine the real deal in store and make a few sneaky notes. Sometimes the guesswork paid off. But mostly there were no cigars – like my various attempts to recreate Romeo Gigli Autumn / Winter 1989-90 coats…more about that epic attempt another time!

I made this top once back in the days and it was relatively successful. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the result from that incarnation.

I’m now hoping to create it again. This time with a thinner, flimsier jersey. I’m hoping for a slightly more fluid, drapy  effect, like the variation in the collection that was the same sort of bias-tape-lace effect, but on what looks like chiffon or voile.

I’m a bit worried that this fabric is going to stretch out of shape while I sew the bias tape on. Hence the procrastination. Maybe a bit of dissolvable stabilizer like those used for machine embroidery?

In the meanwhile, here are some more luscious CdG SS 87 clippings for you to oggle!

Comme des Garcons Spring / Summer 1987