Jacqui 5/20/15 Jacqui 5/20/15

Summer Capsule Wardrobe, Make One: A Vintage-Style Halter Top

Hot damn! It's my belly button. Call the police and the fireman oh wait no, just get me a bottle of self-tanner. Clearly I haven't seen much sun lately, but that's not stopping me from showin' off my first make of 2015. It's a floral halter top using Simplicity 1365, a revival of a 1970's pattern that fits in perfectly with my Summer capsule wardrobe plans. I found the fabric at Britex a few months back, along with matching vintage-style buttons (have you ever seen Britex's button wall? It's majestic).

I'm pretty happy with the fit, although the button closure in the back pulls a bit (this is because I was out of interfacing and too impatient to buy more... my bad). But my favorite thing about this pattern is the clean finish. It's fully lined and requires the you "stitch in the ditch" to secure the straps from the inside. This means that I have a beautiful, fully-finished garment without the use of a serger. So much better than using pinking shears or dealing with French seams! I'm already planning a version using some of the black Nanette Lepore eyelet I have stashed away.

In other news, I've been working on adding variety to my poses, as evidenced in the diptych below. Probably still needs some work.

Jacqui 2/16/15 Jacqui 2/16/15

Wardrobe Architect 2015: Planning My Spring/ Summer Capsule Wardrobe

During the first round of the Wardrobe Architect series, I did a lot of work defining my core style, favorite shapes, silhouettes, color palette, and print preferences, culminating in aSpring/ Summer capsule wardrobe plan. Then summer happened, and I never actually got around to sewing anything. All of that thinking did help me make smarter shopping choices, though, and I ended up investing in a few versatile pieces that I wore all summer long.

This year, I created an expanded Spring/ Summer capsule plan that includes several pieces from my current wardrobe. I plan to fill in the gaps with some handmade separates, dresses, and maybe even a Rigel bomber if I'm feeling ambitious. As for the pieces I know I can't make (e.g., the leather jacket and skinny jeans), I plan to hit up my favorite ethical brands like Amour Vert, Everlane, and Adriano Goldschmied. So here it is: the full Spring/ Summer vision above and the detailed plan below, including pattern choices from Colette, Grainline, Papercut, By Hand London, and Simplicity. If some of the "Have" pieces look familiar, it's because they're actual photos of my clothes... which I photographed on a dress form and painstakingly isolated in Photoshop. In other words, I had a rockin' Saturday night.