Don't look back...

... in anger I heard you say.  

Now that you've got that earworm, let's pretend you are reading this post in early January when I meant to write it rather than the end of January when I actually did.

I was going to write a nice post about top 5 hits and misses and so on, but then I realised - I don't want to look back at 2014 in great detail. It was a crappy year for me personally. My dad was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 2013 and  died in late November. Hence the big blog gap and the lack of interest in reviewing the year.

So I'm looking forward at 2015 instead!

There were some good things about 2014 I am going to bring forward:

Wardrobe architect was great! It really helped me to define and refine my style and colour palette. But I struggled when it came to the final task of creating a capsule wardrobe. I think this is because I don't like the idea of a few mix and match pieces. I'm not someone who buys a couple of great quality investment pieces each season. So I'm enjoying the understanding of colours, prints and silhouettes that I gained without making a specific sewing plan out of it.

I loved Marie from A Stitching Odyssey's vintage sewing pledge (pics of my finished garments are at the top of the page). I managed 4 out of the 5 I pledged and the items I made are in pretty heavy rotation in my wardrobe. It's made me very keen to work with more vintage patterns and I have signed up again for this year to make 5 items. And a few new vintage patterns may have fallen into my Etsy cart!

This year WILL be the year I conquer trousers. The fear I have of fitting them is stupid and if I can make bound buttonholes and welt pockets, I can make trousers! I am starting with the Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers so I can get a steer on fitting without worrying about a fly front, and moving onto Colette Junipers. I also want to give jeans a go, so I have the Iconic Patterns Jess jeans and the Jalie pattern to try.

This year I am going to revisit some of my favourite patterns I have made in the past. I've done all the fitting and muslining work already so I can concentrate on the fun bit of sewing and wearing! In particular the Emery, Mortmain and Anna dresses really lend themselves to pairing with different skirts to make a new look with minimal fitting effort. The bodice from my Christmas dress was pretty awesome too.

I am planning to sew up fabrics from.my stash. This isn't a stash diet, but I have some really lovely fabrics that I want to use before I buy much else. The exception to this will be knits as I really don't have any stashed.

So no specific plans that I won't stick to beyond the next couple of garments.

Hope your new year has started well. Are you planning for 2015 or going with the flow?

Wardrobe Architect Week 10 - The Capsule Palette

I have especially loved the colour challenges on Wardrobe Architect.  I find colour much easier to define than shape or silhouette.  The week's challenge was to narrow down our overall palettes into what we will focus on this season (Spring/ Summer for me).  You can read the post on the Colette blog here.

Based on my palettes, which I blogged about here and here, these are my chosen colours:

Neutrals:

I have bought quite a few fabrics with navy backgrounds recently so this works really well!

Nearly Neutrals:

These are no brainers for me - I have lots of both in my wardrobe and the red fits in well with my recently completed Mad Men dress.  It made me feel so happy when I was making it too - proof that colour really does lift your mood!

Statement colours:

No surprises here for me - lots of blues and turquoises with purple thrown in to shake it up a bit!


So here's my Spring/ Summer Palette - I would say it's pretty true to my wardrobe and my usual palette for the summer.  I'm also glad to say that most of my stash fits in well with it!

Sorry about the terrible graphics!  I really need to improve in that area - can anyone recommend a course or some online tutorials for a non-arty person like me?  What software do you use?


Have you done a colour palette for the season? Link me up in the comments!

Wardrobe Architect Week 9 - Choosing Silhouettes

This week's Wardrobe Architect starts us thinking about our capsule wardrobes.  I've never been able to get interested in capsule wardrobes before as when I have read about it in magazines, it has been about 10 items in neutral colours, all wardrobe basics.  This is really not me.

Since Sarai mentioned that this was the method she was following, I have spent a bit of time reading the Into Mind blog.  (Warning, this is a total rabbit hole if you are interested in this kind of thing!) and I was so glad to find that this is not the method at all.

You decide on the number of days with no repeat outfits so you can have say 3 weeks of outfits planned, and this tells you the size of the wardrobe you should consider.  Sarai is suggesting 20-33 items - this is much more me!

First of all, we have to choose up to 6 of our silhouettes we created in Week 4 for our Spring Summer wardrobes.  Here are my chosen ones:

Full skirted shirt dress with cardigan and pumps

Sleeveless summer dress with cardigan and pumps

Boat neck print dress, long or short sleeved with pumps

Flared or gathered skirt with boat neck tee and boots

I am all about the skirts and dresses!  Since starting to think of my wardrobe and what I feel good in, I have gone from wearing jeans a lot to only wearing them a couple of days a week.  I feel much better about my wardrobe!  I may add a wide-leg trouser option in there too.

The sleeve lengths will vary, and the tights/ boots will be worn in spring but (hopefully) not in summer.

Catching up on Wardrobe Architect - weeks 7 and 8

I have been slacking on Wardrobe Architect for a couple of weeks - I was struggling to find time to blog about the tasks although I did think about them.  For the sake of completism (is that a real word?) here you go!

Week 7 - Exploring Solids and Prints

We had to think about what percentage of our wardrobe is solid vs prints and what prints are we drawn to.

I found this quite easy!  Like lots of people when they start sewing, I was totally drawn to all the fabulous prints and *whisper* quilting cottons.  They are so fun and eyecatching in the fabric shop, much more so than bolts of plain colours.  And then I realised I had made lovely items but they didn't go with each other or anything else in my wardrobe.  So in preparation for Me Made May last year, I made a conscious decision to sew plain colours.

Almost all of my bottom half garments are plains - I don't wear printed trousers ever.  I have a couple of printed circle skirts, but the rest are plain.  I have quite a few pairs of jeans, a lot of skirts and am sorely in need of trousers.

For tops, my woven tops are probably 50/50 printed and plain.  The plain ones are all in fairly bright colours.  For knit tops, most are plain (possibly to do with the difficulty I find in getting nice patterned knits).

Dresses are tougher to categorise.  I have quite a lot of knit dresses in plain colours (see above re patterned knits).  My woven dresses are 50/50 solids and prints.  The solids tend to have details - piping or collars or buttons.  The prints tend to be fairly simple shapes with flared/ circle skirts.

I see stripes, gingham and polkadots as plains.  I love them all!  I tend to prefer large scale prints , especially florals, watercoloury abstracts and of course novelty prints (which I tend to try and limit myself on as I know I wear them less - but, y'know #sewdollyclackett and all that!).  I do wear small scale floral prints (like my Alma blouse) but only as tops.  A whole dress in a tiny floral would be too cute for me - I'm too tall for it!

Week 8 - Hair, MakeUp and Beauty

As regular readers will know, I recently had my hair chopped into a jaw length bob and I am totally in love with it!  I have never really liked my hair - it's never gone into the styles I have wanted.  Basically it does its own thing, and my new hair cut works with that!  My new cut saves a lot of washing/ combing time and adds a little bit of drying/ styling time but it is ace.  I need to find the time to play about with it, but I am hoping it might be able to be styled into more vintage looks with some blow drying for special occasions.  I also think it will cut down to the army of hair products in my bathroom!

I totally love beauty products and always have a lot of lotions and potions.  I am a dedicated cleanse/tone/moisturise person and never ever go to bed with make up on, even when drunk!  Once every couple of weeks I try to find time for a mini facial where I cleanse with a hot cloth method, exfoliate, put on a face mask and facial oil.  I don't buy pricy products but I have quite a lot of them.

My make up routine is quick and easy (5 minutes tops) and totally based around my skin.  As a spotty teenager (with spots that unfortunately lasted into my twenties) I got obsessed with foundations etc.  I don't like to look as though I have a lot of base on but I have to have something.  I use a primer (currently in love with Garnier Perfect Blur - you have to try it!), then a lightweight liquid foundation in winter or a BB cream in summer.  Concealer stick on any spots and around my nose and under eye bag cream (I have terrible dark circles!).  I use a cream blusher as I don't normally use powder so don't like a powdery finish on cheeks only.  Everything else is based on things to stop me looking tired.  Benefit LemonAid cream on eyelids and EyeBright pencil under eyes before smudging on black kohl pencil.  I never go out without mascara and always black.  I rarely wear eyeshadow or lipstick.  If I wear lipstick it is usually a fairly neutral gloss.  It doesn't vary much if I am going out - probably just another coat of mascara.

I have an obsession with Jo Malone Vetyver perfume and it is the only thing I wear currently.  It's quite different - spicy and clean and not at all sweet.  I like the idea of having a signature scent and this is the closest I have come to the right one!  I try not to use other strong smelling products so that they don't clash.

I am feeling the need to change this routine up a bit.  Maybe I should get a bit more adventurous.  I may try a few new lipsticks this weekend! Must be the new hairdo...

Wardrobe Architect Week 6 - Organising Your Colour Palette

This week's taks is organising the colour palette we came up with last week to see which colours we need more of and which are more accent colours.

When I divided mine up, I came up with the following:

Neutrals - basics that go with anything.

Neaurly Neutrals - like neutrals but with a bit more visual impact

Statement Colours - don't necessarily go with everything but have lots of impact

Plus we had to add Metallics, which is really easy for me - I never wear anything but silver tones.

Interestingly I have realised that as a late teen/ early 20s I wore almost exclusively neutrals, despite always having considered myself to be someone who loves colour.  Now I find I almost wear neutrals as an accent to the nearly neutrals in my palette.  I tend not to buy those classic things that are supposed to go with everything in my neutral shades.  I currently have a red winter coat, a teal and a cobalt blue jacket and a range of coloured handbags.

But I couldn't imagine my wardrobe without a serious dose of statement colours.  I could probably add just about any shade of blue and purple to that list.  I really do like blue a lot, don't I?

Wardrobe Architect week 5 - colour

This was an easy one for me - I love colour!

I have posted in the past about my summer and winter palettes below.

My winter palette tends to be darker jewel tones:

My summer palette is more nautical (but thinking about it is really a brighter version of the winter one!)

Both have navy and blue in common with a red or burgundy to lift it.  I do wear a lot of blue.

I wanted to make something a bit more cohesive across all seasons so I had a play about on Picmonkey:

I would say this probably covers about 95% of my wardrobe.  I really like blues and reds (and a mix of both in the purple!).  You know, I thought I wore all colours, but clearly not!

I had my colours done when I was about 16 (hey, it was the 1980s and a thing!).  I found my little Filofax thing (I told you it was the 80s!) and this tallies pretty strongly with the colours I was told to wear then.  I have dark hair, blue eyes and very pale skin (incidentally a combination catered for very badly by magazine beauty columns - it is normally assumed that brunettes have brown eyes and medium skin and people with blue eyes have light hair!). This makes me a Winter, and I was apparently a True Winter.  Here's the colour chart for that:

Source: Bondbeautyful.com

Pretty close eh?  There's a colour theory I read about a long time ago (no idea where but could possibly have been something like Colour Me Beautiful) that says that we naturally choose to wear the colours that suit us.  Not sure where that leaves me with all that pink - I'm just not really a pink or yellow person, no matter what my colours say!

Looking forward to the next task!

Wardrobe Architect Week 4 - Silhouettes

Wardrobe Architect Silhouettes by sewlittletime on polyvore.com

I had a lot of fun with this one!  I put together the above collages really quickly as I had already spent time thinking about my preferred shapes and had gathered quite a lot of inspiration on my Happy Wardrobe Pinterest board.

All of this thinking since starting Happy Wardrobe led me to the realisation that I really do love to wear dresses of all kinds.  There's a place in my wardrobe for casual knit dresses, long and short sleeved woven dresses and shirt dresses.  What they all have in common is a fitted bodice and a flared skirt.  I like the same overall shape when it comes to skirts - a fitted top and flared skirt (also a-line shapes).

For trousers, I am giving up the skinnies!  I feel much more comfortable in wide leg or bootcut/ flared trousers, again with a fitted top.  I do love slim cropped trousers in the summer though.

I love boat necks and peter pan collars, but I also wear scoop necks and v necks.  Slim fitting cardigans are an important part of my wardrobe - I have so many cardigans that I have a filing system for them!  Once my carpal tunnel improves I need to get knitting the Miette I have planned in my head.

The clothes that get the most wear in our generally fairly rainy and grey climate are ones that can be worn or without tights (and tights save on the fake tan for my pasty pins!), so unless it's a very summery item, i often steer clear of the lightest colours.

And definitely no heels!  I have heels but rarely wear them unless it's to a formal event.  I'm tall so don't need the extra height, and frankly can't be bothered.  They don't do well with my walking pace or lifestyle.  Flat boots, brogues, ballet pumps or flat sandals it is! (and based on the collages above I need a pair of red ballet flats - you can never have too many pairs of red shoes).

How did you find this week's exercise?  Was it easy or hard to distill your style into a few silhouettes?

Wardrobe Architect - Week 3

Onto week 3!  This week the task focuses on specific shapes and styles in dresses, skirts, trousers, tops, jackets, cardigans and outerwear.  We also have to think about neckline and sleeve styles we like.

I found this fairly quick and easy to do as I had been thinking about it already for my Happy Wardrobe project.

In terms of ease, I like fitted tops and looser trousers.  I'm not keen on loose fitting dresses as I think they make me look bigger overall.

For length, I like maxi or knee length skirts and dresses.  As I am tall, I tend to like tops that sit on my hips - I'm not a big fan of tunics (they can look like too-short dresses) and cropped styles make me look like a giant wearing too small clothes!

I like full-ish skirts.  A full circle can make me feel a bit dressed up for everyday, but dirndl/ gathered are good.  A-line is also very much my comfort zone.  I feel less happy in straight skirts (altho my Hummingbirds have seen a lot of wear!) and I don't normally wear pencil skirts.

A big reason that I sew is that I never get waistlines at the right level in RTW.  I have a high waist but as I'm tall, I rarely find things that actually fit on my waist (including a beautiful vintage 1950s silk dress i tried on the other day - sob!  Must find fabric and make my own version!) and I spend the day pulling dresses and tops down to my waistline and hoiking jeans/ trousers up!  I generally go for natural waistline for dresses (never empire line) and slightly lower for trousers and skirts.  I do like a high waist too - I wear my Kelly skirts a lot (wearing one now in fact!) and it's a flattering look I think.  I really don't like things with no waistline - it definitely makes me look bigger as I have a large frame.

I'm less fussy about necklines and sleeves.

I can live with most necklines with a preference for boatneck, sweetheart and scoop.  I don't tend to wear very low necklines and jewel necks can be a bit choking.

I am happy with most lengths of sleeve, other than above the elbow.  I find this uncomfortable to wear and not especially flattering!

Looking forward to week 4!

Wardrobe Architect - Week 2

Oh I am behind!  It's been a crazy week and I've only just got around to blogging last week's Wardrobe Architect and now the next one has just been posted!

The Husband has been away for work, throwing all of our precarious childcare arrangements into disarray, so I've been working through lunchtimes (when I usually blog) so I can leave early or come in late.  Thanks goodness he is back today!

So on to Wardrobe Architect week 2!

This week is about identifying words that describe how we feel about our style and ourselves and attach images to them.

When you are wearing your favourite clothing, how do you feel?

 Confident, slim, put together, stylish, quirky, attractive

When you are wearing something that is not quite right, how do you feel?  What are the feelings you want to avoid about the clothes you wear?

 Uncomfortable, restricted, fidgity, exposed, judged

Who do you consider to be your style icons?  What is it about them that appeals to you?

 Jane Birkin - laid back, carefree but still glamorous
Daisy Lowe (and actually Pearl Lowe too!) - mixes vintage and modern with a bit of an edge
Alexa Chung - also mixes vitage and modern with lovely detailing and cute accessories
Lou Douillon - quirky and rebellious
Karen Gillan - vintage style with a bit of a modern edge

What are some words that describe things you like in theory, but are not quite you?

 Fashionable, loose, funky, urban, minimal

Under this, I also noted that I love Audrey Hepburn and the way she dressed, but it's just not me at all.  I wouldn't suit her style.  I thought about why this was and I think it is that she had a very clear style that was totally her, and she always stuck to it.  She was always beautifully chic (of course it helps if Givenchy dress you!), wearing plain coloured, slim fitting styles that really showed off her petite figure.  So a clear style seems to me to be really important.

Looking at answers from week 1, list 15 words that you associate with your answers

 Difference, confidence, ethical, practical, standing out, focus, clear, dual purpose, work, home, child-friendly, music, slow fashion, quality, balance

Are there any words you would add to this list? What other words describe your core style?

 Vintage, modern (since these 2 are a bit contradictory I am interpreting it as mixing vintage with modern), rebellion

If you had to narrow your list to 3-5 words to describe your style what would they be?

Vintage
Modern Twist
Practical
Confident
Great accessories!

Here's my moodboard, broadly collated from my Happy Wardrobe Project Pinterest board (which you can find here if you like).  I skipped the pics of dresses on their own or on models in favour of real people or characters as I think it gives a better feel for how the looks might actually be worn.

Now onto the next task!

Wardrobe Architect - Week 1

The first task in the Wardrobe Architect project is to look at how different aspects of our lives and personalities have an influence on our personal style.  Read Sarai's full post here.

I thought I'd answer on a blog post as the ones I have read so far have been really interesting! Check out Helena and Becky's if you haven't seen them already.

History

Probably the two biggest things that have influenced my personal style were going to university and having a baby.

At school I didn't have a lot of confidence due to a bit of bullying (nothing serious but enough to make me keep my head down and not be noticed by being different). Looking back, the clothes I wore were mainly copycats of what my friends wore.  When I went to university I got into the indie music scene and started wearing clothes to look different and stand out.  It was around the time of grunge so think DMs with floral dresses, combat trousers, band tshirts, shorts/cutoffs with tights, parkas and checked flannel shirts (a la Bridget Fonda in Singles)

Source:  Projections

When I had a baby i seemed to lose my personal style all together. I suppose this started (pre-sewing) with a lack of interesting maternity clothes and ended up as a very blah wardrobe. I went back to work quite a bit heavier than before and dressed to blend in.

Philosophy

Probably the philosophy that has the most bearing on what I wear is a dislike of fast fashion. I hate the cheap and nastiness of the clothes and recent events in textile factories have really made me think about how the high street produces clothes (and not just the cheap places either). I used to just avoid the very cheapest places like supermarkets or Primark but when places like Gap or J Crew are involved with these places it's hard to know where to shop. The only low-paid sweat shop I want to wear clothes from is my own sewing space!

Culture

Source: Ayay.co.uk (this really made me laugh - that statue always wears a traffic cone!)

I grew up in the west of Scotland not far from Glasgow where there was (and still is) a very strong culture of reverse snobbery - the "who does she think she is?" effect. As a result, some people look down on people who want to look different and so a lot of people look the same.

I also find that when i go back there (my mum still lives in the town where I grew up) I see far fewer people wearing "trends" or dressing to stand out.  Probably the exception is students.

Community

Source: ourmommyhood.com (look at these glamorous mummies!)

At this stage in my life, lots of friends have at least 1 child if not more. Several don't work (and therefore have financial constraints on clothes shopping) but jeans and tees are often the order of the day.

By contrast where I work is extremely trendy. The average age is about 25 and most of the women are very slim and look great in everything.  There's no dress code so anything (including jeans) goes. 

I ddon't want to look trendy but I do want to have my own style and look.  But balancing this idea of practicality and style is very important for me.

Activities

Source:  workingmomsagainstguilt.com

As I said above, I need a wardrobe that works both for home life with 5 year old and work life in a trendy but casual office.  My main non-work activity is sewing and through that I have met lots of lovely ladies (yaay Spoolettes!) who often have a clear look and style and I think that is so important when you sew. When you can make anything in any colour I think you need a style to narrow it down and focus.

I have a small child and a limited amount of time So for that reason I need to focus on clothes that are easy to care for (hand wash means not worn in my house), that can be worn with flat shoes, and are practical for everyday life. Separates and knits are important and I have done a pretty good job of filling out my wardrobe with these this year.

Location
 

Source: map-of-uk.co.uk

I live in the south East of England.  The weather doesn't require very specific clothing although it does rain a lot so things that can be worn with boots are good - sandals tend not to be worn much! Tights are essential probably from about September to May, so the skirts and dresses that get worn the most are ones that work with and without tights. A jacket or coat is usually necessary and I tend to layer with cardigans to deal with the range of temperatures from home to outside to train to air conditioned office.

Body

Source: Clkr.com

This is a big one for me. One of the reasons my personal style fell by the wayside was weight gain. I have always gone up and down in weight. I lost 60lbs a couple of years ago and felt much better about myself. It's amazing how much more confident I feel, even speaking up in meetings etc. I have put a little bit back on which I am currently working to lose (that'll be a lifelong battle right there!).

I am coming to terms with my frame as something I can't change (obvious right?). I have a large frame with broad shoulders and hips. I am tall so it is relatively proportional.  My top half is not too bad. Since having N I carry a bit of extra weight on my stomach (I never had any extra weight there before).  If I gain it goes on my hips and thighs. My hips are fairly in proportion. My thighs are not. I definitely have what Tasia nicely calls strong thighs! My legs are ok. Wow, I managed to critique my body without being too negative - that's a first!

This has been interesting - looking forward to the next task!