So I have been thinking about what I am going to sew this year and what I was going to try to use up and have been expanding this into actually trying to plan out my wardrobe and what I need to make to fill the gaps that I am identifying.
One of the first things that I have been doing in this process is trying to get a coherent view of the items that I already have in my wardrobe. I have tried to photograph the items in the past but have never been that successful in achieving this. This time I have aimed to get photographs on the hanger and not on me (at the moment) which meant that I could photograph a lot more of my clothes in one go without having to keep changing outfit!
I am going to have to add to this when I can get round to photographing more of my clothes but it is a good start. Looking at this board it is clear that there is a lot of blue in my wardrobe, which I don’t have an issue with, but I do think that I need more colour in the mix. Although the colours here seem to go together here I find that choosing what to wear is not always that easy as I find that I don’t have the right clothes for the situations that I am dressing for. During the winter I find myself picking the same outfits again and again and can get a bit bored of it by the end of the season. I also find that I am wearing many layers and the only one that really gets seen is the outside jumper, I feel they need a bit of an upgrade to some more interesting but practical styles.
One thing that I think will really help me when it comes to making a wardrobe that feels coherent and makes it nice and easy to get dressed is to have colours that go together well and some good trousers (they are so hard to find in RTW and I haven’t made that many pairs myself yet). I am really drawn to jewel colours currently, think deep jade green, navy and burgundy, on top of that I am loving mustard but I don’t know how much I can really get away with using this colour! Also and as I never seem to be able to get away from Pink in my wardrobe despite not really liking the colour at all I have added coral/orange highlights.
But what am I actually going to make? Now that is a good question.
I know that I need some decent basics to build upon so I am planning to break out my Sasha Trousers pattern again (at least once) and make some nicely fitted chinos. I have some dark black/blue fabric that I am planning to use, but it doesn’t have much stretch so we will see how this pans out.
I am on the hunt for some decent Navy and Beige fabric as well.
I want to master a fitted shirt pattern, I am going to try the Seamwork Rachel shirt and see if I can use that as a base to make a number of shirts for me. I have a rather bright cotton poplin to muslin this in and if it does fit I might need to look into bleaching some of the colour out of it. It is just a bit bight for a plain colour shirt, but you never know I might love it…
I also want some basic tops, mostly from wovens. I would like a cami top but the something about the Ogden Cami (which everyone else seems to have made) just doesn’t appeal to me. Unfortunately, I am not 100% sure what it is that I don’t like so I am struggling to work out what I would like. I think that the v in the neck is a bit too steep and the top of the bodice sits a bit too high. I might try the Seamwork Savannah as a starting point.
I’m still looking for some not too posh but not a Tshirt tops. The kind of thing to throw on if I’m going out for dinner or drinks with friends and makes me look like I put some effort into getting dressed but doesn’t scream formal event. For some reason, both Nikki and I are constantly moaning that we don’t have anything that fills this void. I am thinking a fitted shirt would work if it was made out of something a little softer and drapier than cotton. But I am also looking for a few decent sleeveless tops as well. Holla if you have any ideas, patterns or just inspiration images both greatly recieved.
On the jumper front, I have been thining about a plain jumper with bell sleeves to give a bit more room for underneath layers. I always tend to find the sleeves on clothing are tight and wearing multiple layers in winter just acacerbates this issue. It looks like the Brit dress from seamwork could fix this problem if its cut down to jumper length.
I have been pinning images to another section of my wardrobe planning Pinterest board for inspiration outfits and I have to admit it there are a lot of flowy skirts on there which is some what surprising since I don’t know the last time I wore a skirt with much volume (when I wasnt dancing) and I am not sure how practical they are for my life style. But maybe that is the attraction – something that I never wear…
I have also pinned a number of ‘interesting’ outer layers. Obviously, I have been planning to make a coat for ages but I am also looking at making some more intersting jumpers as honesly they get a lot of exposure than any of my Tshirts ever do for 80% of the year! I am also looking at making a blazer type jacket to use in place of a jumper when I feel like I need to be a bit more formal/dressed up.
So not many plans then… Some times I think I prefer the planning stages to the actual execution. Although I do love those days where I can wear a 100% me made outfit so I best get making…
Have you thought of layering on top of a jumper? I wear fine shop jumpers but perhaps you could make warm shirts and top this with a waistcoat/gillet (shop or knitted) or shrug. Because you see the top and the waistcoat it makes for more different looks from the same clothes. Just a thought.
Hmm sounds like an interesting idea. I have one gilet that I wear to death but I might look for ideas for thinner ones
Deer and Doe have a couple of ‘not too posh tops but not t-shirt’ patterns that might fit the bill.
This one https://shop.deer-and-doe.fr/en/sewing-patterns/12-airelle-blouse-pattern.html
has 3/4 and short sleeves and this one which is more of a shirt and comes in sleeveless version too https://shop.deer-and-doe.fr/en/sewing-patterns/21-bruyere-shirt-pattern.html. I don’t know whether either of those would be up your alley .
I have seen them before but had kind of forgotten about them.
I like that sleeveless bruyere but I’m unsure about the bottom “skirt” section. I will have to stalk other people’s makes to have a look
Hm, just had a little ‘stalk’ myself and they look good although most people seem to have chosen the version with sleeves.
Ha ha! I was reading this admiring your dedication to planning then I read your last paragraph and realised I might enjoy the planning more too!
Lol. I love a good plan. I’m not always great at the execution. We will see how this goes…