On My Sewing Table: March

February was the month of I don't want to sew anything. In my defense, life was pretty crazy so I just decided to take a break from sewing. But now my sewing mojo is back! I had a sewing stay-cation this weekend while my hubby was out of town on a business trip. (He also took all of the cameras with him so you'll have to deal with iPhone photos.) Here's what I was working on.

I finally finished my Wearing History 1930s beach pjs! Now to wear them to the beach.

I also finished the jacket for my 40s suit for the 40s Fashion Calendar project. I'm behind on February's task but at least my suit will be ready!

I also started Sense and Sensibility Pattern's 1940s Swing Dress. I made it way, way back in 2011. It didn't go so well but I've learned a lot since then and this version is going much better.

 I also started working on my Borgia dress! I've done a bit of embroidery and have been playing around with pearling options. And I bought some more pearls finally so I can start putting them on for real.

 I've been pondering Spring/Summer sewing plans (since that's coming up for the Wardrobe Architect project) but haven't made any final plans yet. These are just a few patterns that popped out at me as possibilities.

Wardrobe Architect: Weeks 3 & 4

I'm working my way through the Coletterie's Wardrobe Architect project. If you missed the first post, start here.

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The projects for weeks 3 & 4 of this project are very related and didn't require nearly as much brain power as weeks 1 or 2 so I've decided to lump them together. Week 3 was about determining what shapes I enjoy wearing and look good on me. There was a pretty cool looking chart to fill out, but I'm just going to summarize here.

Ease: I tend to like more fitted garments rather than less fitted. Except for pants. I love a wide legged pant.

Length: I like knee length to midcalf length skirts the best. I do want to try more maxi styles though. (Florida makes maxi dresses look awesome.)  For tops, I prefer shorter tops but not cropped or midriff bearing tops.

Fullness: I like all fullnesses of skirts but a-line to somewhat full the best. I also like straight or wide legged pants. No skinnies!

Waistline: I like a high to mid waistline. No surprises here.

Week 4 was on building silhouettes from the shapes from week 3. Looking back on week 2, I kind of already saw a pattern evolving plus I did already know what shapes I really liked. So here's what I came up with.

A great fitting pair of trousers and blouse with a jacket or cardigan for shape. Also add in a fun bag and shoes.

 A cute dress with some what full skirt and a fitted bodice. Add a jacket if necessary. This is were I'm hoping for some vintage cross over. A cute 40s dress with a slightly fuller skirt than average or a 50s dress with a less full skirt than average would be really cute here.

Shorts are a must for summer! I want to make some more high waisted shorts since my current ones need replaced but I think in the Florida summer, I'll need some modern shorts as well. The same blouses and cardigans from my pant silhouettes would also fit well in this category.

Florida Orange

Although my Wardrobe Architect project is focusing on my modern wardrobe, my new outlook on clothes couldn't help but spill over into my vintage wardrobe. I've been focusing on what things I really love to wear and one of those is bright colors!

 So enter this bright and orange outfit! Last summer, my unofficial color was orange and I loved it.

And since I purchased this skirt of oranges specifically with Florida in mind, it was about time that I wore it out and about!

 I also adore the shape of this outfit. You can't go wrong with a fitted waist and full skirt.

Bonus points go to this outfit for being husband approved. He's warmed up to the vintage look a lot since I've started wearing it but it's always nice to have a modern twist like a bold color in his opinion.

These photos were taken at a local park. There are actually quite a lot of parks here in Florida. It's so great that they are trying to preserve a lot of the local ecosystem.

 The other Floridian addition to this post is my flip flops. I wore flip flops almost constantly as a freshman and sophomore in college (until it got too cold anyways) and I loved it. But then I moved off campus and started being in lab more often so bye bye flip flops. I'm so excited to have a pair again.

Do you enjoy flip flops and bright colors in your wardrobe?

Wardrobe Architect: Week 2

I'm working my way through the Coletterie's Wardrobe Architect project. If you missed the first post, start here.

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This week's project is about defining my core style. The goal is to find a style that feels like you and to start defining that style through words and images. Now, I know that my vintage style identity is quite developed, but I've been realizing that I also need a good selection of modern pieces in my wardrobe to really fit my life so posts are going to focus on the modern section of my wardrobe. Once I have that part of my wardrobe built up, I can go back and weave in pieces from my vintage wardrobe to make it all work together.

The first task of the week was to think about how I feel in my favorite clothing. Here are some of my words:

elegant, sophisticated, fun, interesting, put together, feminine, comfortable

Secondly, I had to think about how I feel when wearing things that are not quite right. I also added some words from styles I know are totally not me.

frumpy, stiff, sloppy, edgy, alternative, hard, young, twee

Next, I had to identify my style icons. This one was hard for me because I don't really follow modern celebrities and fashionistas. Plus, the whole leggings with a baggy top look that is popular right now is not an attractive silhouette for me. Originally, I picked Audrey Hepburn, Mary Margaret (from OUAT) and Zooey Deschanel; however, the more I looked at their styles, the more I realized that while I liked their looks, they weren't super practical for my life. So I guess I don't have any style icons.

Moving on. I then identified some styles that I like in theory but aren't really me.

skinny jeans, anything that you can't wear a regular bra with, 

anything super girly (lace, ruffles, etc.)

Then I looked back at my week 1 tasks and I identified a bunch of words, moods and feelings that I wanted to incorporate into my wardrobe. Then I narrowed it down to just five words that I really want to revolve my core style around.

classic, tailored, simple, easy, fun

It's really cool because I feel like these words all describe my favorite vintage pieces so I think it will be really easy to mesh the two once I get that far. Ok, so then I headed out to pinterest to try and figure out what the heck my new style was going to be. Having been into vintage and sewing for so long, I felt sort of clueless about modern fashion. And I had no idea what my modern size was!

I went to some stores this week just to try things on and it was a bit of a bumpy road. I had forgotten why I loved to sew my own clothes so much! But I did learn some things and that helped me to build up a pinterest board with lots of pretties to serve as inspiration for my new wardrobe.

Here are some of the things from my pinterest board.

Yellow is one of my favorite colors to wear so I knew it had to figure heavily in my new wardrobe. Choosing a color palette is still a few weeks away but you'll probably be able to figure out what I have in mind.

I really enjoy wearing blazers. They make me feel instantly put together! Plus they are great for chilly air conditioned rooms. I also want some great blouses to wear under the blazers or with shorts.

I love a simple but well put together outfit. Solids are great so I'm going to try not to get distracted by too many prints.

I also still love skirts! And I'm going to be focusing on flats for footwear in keeping with my desire for comfortable clothes.

More cuteness! As far as jewelry goes, I mostly wear earrings. Studs are my favorite so I'd totally wear these cute floral ones.

Hopefully, I'll be able to work my wardrobe to look like some of these great outfit ideas.

Dressing for Evening

Our new church runs a k-8 school and this past weekend they had their charity gala and auction. I can't say no to an excuse to get dressed up for a night out so off we went! We didn't want to lug around the big fancy camera all night so you'll have to excuse these iPhone photos.

I decided to go with the 1920s feel of my new do and try another 20s inspired look. I didn't have any 20s inspired evening attire so I pulled out this 50s dress, which is my favorite. It kind of feels like a robe de style with the fuller skirt and hip accent. Plus, I've shrunk a bit so the waist is now a bit big on me.

Add on a string of pearls and people automatically think roaring twenties. I did draw the line at the crazy fringe dress.

 I spent a lot of time on Pinterest trying to figure out what to do with my hair. I also raided my accessory stash nut no luck. So I went with a simple sparkley bobby pin. A bob is a lot like a pixie in that it goes with everything.

 I got tons of compliments all night! Everybody was dressed nicely but vintage has a way of standing out. I also wore gloves for most of the evening but we snapped these between courses at dinner and I forgot to put them back on! *facepalm*

 Part of the evening involved a silent and live auction. The bidding on most items went pretty high so we didn't bid on anything but there was a cruise raffle we entered. Alas, we didn't win that either!

We still had quite a fun evening and hope to attend next year as well!

P.S. I also wore this dress to a charity gala in Ohio. Check it out here.

Wardrobe Architect: Week 1

Moving has been way more life changing that I ever thought it would be (and I think there will be more changes over this year as we get to know our new home town). When life changes, the wardrobe needs to adapt to keep up. Thus the great closet clean out. Emileigh of Flashback Summer is also overhauling her wardrobe and she mentioned the Colette Pattern's Wardrobe Architect series which started in January 2014. I read through it last winter as it was going along but didn't pay much attention because I loved my wardrobe.

But now my wardrobe needs some work so I've decided to chronicle my journey through the Wardrobe Architect series and see where I end up! There are currently 14 week projects in the series and I'm planning on doing one a week as they were publish. I'm usually an over achiever and would try to do a bunch at once but I really want to take my time and let my style ideas marinate so I can come up with a great niche style that really works for my new life.

Week 1 is about exploring seven areas of your life that affect your personal style. The goal is to look at your life and your style and help you find something that works for you rather than chasing the latest (or in my case, old) trends.

Awkward high school Stephanie (=nerd) with some friends and our AP Physics project.

History-

Growing up, I went to a private school with uniforms from grades 5-8 which definitely put me behind in the fashion department. I was definitely awkward in high school and focused on comfort over style most of the time. Comfort I could wrangle but fashion seemed a bit out of my reach. I was in college when I discovered vintage and I haven't really looked back, until now.

My life is changing. I graduated school just over a year ago and entered the work world so my wardrobe definitely needs some updating in the professionalism department. At 25 going on 26, I'm also looking for a classic wardrobe that will be able to transition into my 30s (which I know isn't old but definitely shouldn't look like 21 either!).

My best friend from high school and I at my wedding rehearsal. Also, this is the longest my hair has ever, ever been.

Philosophy-

I try to not talk about religion too much on the blog (because I know you are all here for the pretty pretties) but I'm a rather conservative Christian. Modesty is very important to me because of my faith. I've found that it can be hard to dress modestly when you are as curvy as me because either things fit too well and show everything off or they don't fit well and there's awkward gaping and underwear hanging out of the back of my pants.

Making an effort with some early sewing projects.

Culture-

I didn't grow up with "fashionable" parents or relatives around. As the oldest, I didn't even have an older sister to look up to. I also heavily invested in the "nerd" identity which doesn't really put an emphasis on fashion. Finally, in my senior year of high school, I tried to be more fashionable but I didn't really figure it out. I just looked like I got dressed with the lights on rather than in the dark.

A newly wed look and trying to be classy at 20.

 Community-

My husband has very different tastes in style than I do. He personally dresses almost completely in neutrals and avoids colors. He also loves the hippy drippy peasant type skirt and blouse with long flowing hair look. (So never going to happen.) While I don't want to dress just for him, I would like to keep some of his preferences in mind. I also feel like full on vintage all the time can keep people at arms length because it is intimidating. Now, a more extroverted person wouldn't have a problem with that but little old introverted me would rather have people come to me rather than me go to them.

Gardening and my idea of garden wear. Maybe you'll be distracted by the carrots and forget I'm digging in the dirt in this outfit.

Activities-

I have three birds so wash and wear items are key in my wardrobe. Poop galore! I now live near the beach and walking the beach is one of my favorite activities. Beach wear is going to be key in my new wardrobe. Working in a professional field also means I need to dress like it. Things are more competitive down here so I need to step up my game especially being so young. I also have come to realize that flats are perfect for an active lifestyle no matter how much I love heals. So I'm on the look out for more cute flats.

Walking the beach over dressed.

Location-

New location, new climate, new wardrobe.  I definitely need to stock up on light weight options for mid-summer heat and humidity. What I wasn't expecting was the insane levels of a.c. most public buildings have even in the winter! Brrrr! So I need great layering pieces that I can easily lose when I go outside. I also want to keep my pale complexion, so things that cover me from the sun are a plus.

Trying to be fashionable because a button down and a vest say cool and sophisticated.

Body-

I am super curvey and it's hard to find ready to wear that fits my curvy figure. I purchase mostly separates because it's much easier to fit when I can have one size on top and another on the bottom. I prefer styles that accentuate my waist but I've been more open to at least trying on other styles lately. Modern "fashionable" shapes look horrible on me. Skinny legs accentuate big hips and loose flowy tops make my waist look thick. This is one of the things that drew me to vintage in the first place.

How do your history, philosophy, culture, community, activities, location and body affect your style?

Less is More: In my Closet

I posted back in January that my motto for this year is "Less is More" and I've been trying to work towards this goal. I've been doing some research into minimalism and started following some minimalist blogs to get some ideas. I doubt I'll ever be a true minimalist because I like stuff but it's been really encouraging me to think about what I have and if it adds value to my life or if it is just taking up space. Trying to buy less also helps too!

So today was the day I finally decided to tackle my closet! I did some reading on the Project 333 blog and one thing I found there was a link to this article which had great tips to declutter your closet as well as other rooms around the house. The article suggested taking all of the clothes out of your closet and sort them into piles-I love it, I don't love it but I still want to keep it for some reason, donate and trash. So I pulled all of the clothes out of my closet and found this:

Oh dear! I do not need this much clothes! And this isn't even everything. Winter clothes were packed up in two boxes in the bedroom. Evening wear was in the guest bedroom closet with the costumes. Outwear was in the hall closet. And there were even a couple of things laying around the sewing room for one reason or another. Plus, I had a stash of things I was thinking of letting go already but hadn't had the guts to say goodbye yet.

So I did a really quick first sort. Alas, the biggest pile was the I don't love it but I still want to keep it for some reason pile. Why did I still want to keep all of this stuff? So I pulled that pile back on the bed and sorted by type of garment and went through it again. It was hard to let go of a lot of me-mades but I'm tired of so much clutter in my life. If it's not working for me, it had to go. Sort, sort, sort. Bye, bye, bye.

Here's the final donate pile. I've been feeling lately that my wardrobe needs a bit of a shift. I still love vintage but especially for work, I really need some nice modern pieces so out went lots vintage me-mades that I didn't absolutely love. I tried to be a bit conservative with the donate pile because a) I've only been in Florida two months so I'm not sure how the rest of the year will make me want to shape my wardrobe and b) I'm sure I'm going to wake up one day and really miss my vintage so I kept more than the in the moment purging Stephanie really wanted to keep.

And, seriously, I'd rather have just a few pieces that I love that I wear all the time rather than a mountain of things I'm meh about that get worn once or twice a year because I have so many things.

Three garbage bags full of stuff to go to Goodwill! Eeep! I also threw a few purses in there but shoes, hats, and accessories didn't even get touched!

Then I got to load all of the keep stuff back into the closet. And I had space for everything! My fall/spring weight jackets got upgraded from the hall closet to the actual closet. Florida appropriate winter clothes got hung up and the in case we visit Ohio in the winter clothes were boxed up and stored in the back of the closet.

This rack contains my more modern work appropriate pieces. Plus, check out all of those empty hangers in the back! Yay!

 Straight in the back are my more casual vintage dresses. Fancy things are still in the other closet because a lot of them have significant sentimental value and I was tired by this point.

On the other side, my hubby has the top rack so I put all of my vintage blouses, skirts and pants.

Ahhh. My closet feels so much nicer now! It's going to be much easier getting ready for work and other functions because everything is sorted by style rather than type of garment. The closet clean out has also brought some gaps to my attention so I'll be working to fill those up and also replace a few things that are getting sort of sad looking.