Wardrobe Planning

Inspired by the Paris tour I went on, the recent #mybodymodel3x3 challenge, Seamwork's Design Your Wardrobe, and the Fashion Sketching series from Sew Daily, I decided to plan my fall and winter sewing as a capsule collection.

I have to confess that I didn't start completely from scratch. I had a few fabrics and patterns that I had plans for last year, but didn't get to. Despite that, I tried to take the design phase seriously. After watching this series of videos from Zoe Hong, I spent some time gathering colors, shapes, and images that appealed to me into a Pinterest board.

From that exercise, I picked out some recurring colors and themes I wanted to try and incorporate into my collection.

Color-wise I'm on a red and blue kick with just a touch of gold.

As for other considerations, I felt like I was drawn to:

• Metallics

• Star shapes

• Asymmetry

I regret that I didn't save pictures of all my design iterations as I tried to match fabrics and patterns to my inspiration. The final designs don't necessarily contain all of the elements I originally wanted to have. I needed them to be something I both had the ability to make (and I'm still learning!) and would actually wear to work (so not too fashion forward).

The final collection consists of 5 outfits and 8 pieces.

Outfit #1: Full Slip

This "outfit" was an evolution of a project I already had planned. The chili pepper silk charmeuse from Mood Fabrics was never used for its intended purpose and I thought it would make a lovely fabric for the Charm Patterns Sweetheart Slip pattern. With that in mind, I ordered some beautiful lace from a shop on Etsy and then put this project away.

As I think I've mentioned, I recently rediscovered the usefulness of full slips for wearing under dresses - so when I was re-imagining things for the collection I shifted this from a half slip to a full slip. I wanted to introduce some asymmetry, but couldn't figure out how to make that work without potentially ruining the lines of what I wore over it.

Outfit #2: Short-sleeved Blouse & Pleated Trousers

Right on trend, I've wanted to make some pleated trousers. I found this gorgeous wool suiting in a fabric shop in Paris and had to have it. This is unfortunately one of those fabrics that is so much richer in real life than on camera, but it's a deep burgundy and navy blue wool with threads of gold lurex running through it.

I knew with a fabric this fancy for the pants, I needed something equally lux for the top. I selected this double silk georgette from Emma One Sock which appeared - as if by fate - in the Roll Ends section while I was looking for something else.

As a bonus, I have a cream sweater with gold threads running through it which pairs perfectly with these fabrics.

Outfit #3: Long-sleeved Blouse & Wrap Skirt

This trend may be on the way out, but I'm a big fan of full sleeves. Inspired by the new purse I bought myself in Paris, I picked up this reptile print silk georgette from Emma One Sock.

As far as I'm concerned, this fabric was manufactured for me specifically.

To balance out the wild (yes - that is a pun and no - I won't apologize) print on top, the skirt is a neutral grey boiled wool which was also picked up in Paris.

Outfit #4: Plaid Dress & Cardigan

I've had this plaid fabric (also from Emma One Sock) and plans to make my version of this McQueen dress for over a year.

I even started patterning it before it got too warm to contemplate wearing a wool dress. I made some minor changes to my design ideas this time around, but the core idea remains the same. I love playing with the direction of striped fabrics on clothing.

Outfit #5: Short-sleeved Blouse & Pencil Skirt

For this outfit, I purchased this silk crepe de chine from Emma One Sock and pulled this plaid wool out of my stash (it's also an Emma One Sock purchase - from 2019). This wool, like the one in outfit #2, is tough to capture on camera.

And in an odd coincidence, this wool, which was purchased two years ago, is from the same manufacturer as the wool I bought in Paris for the pleated pants!

I've been in a bit of a sewing slump, so this wardrobe may take a while to finish, but I'm proud of myself for making a plan instead of just sewing at random as inspiration strikes. I feel like this is the next evolution for me in my sewing practice.