Monday, April 2, 2012

More inspiration


This is my pattern for the safari project.  I purchased it from Sassy Cotton on Etsy.  I highly suggest her Etsy shop for anyone interested in vintage patterns.  She has some amazing designs to choose from.  This one, as you can see, is "virgin"!  Straight from the Pixie Shop in Grant City, Missouri and still in it's original factory folds.  Sellers of vintage patterns tend to make a big deal of that.  Should I feel guilty about using it?  I can't figure out a way to make the jacket without eventually unfolding it.  The envelope is marked 1975.  It's amazing that 36 years later someone is actually going to be making and wearing this jacket.  



Whoa!  I'm going to have to tame that collar a bit!  I'm also going to try to make a two piece sleeve with a vent just to dress it up a bit.   



Here are some looks that I've become totally fascinated with lately.  If you haven't already figured it out, I really don't follow fashion.  The only magazines that get delivered here are Wooden Boat, AARP and Architectural Digest.  No GQ or Vogue.  I just happened to stumble upon these photos via Fashionbeans , which has become a part of my everyday "blog check-in".  These designs are by Comme de Garcons, which sounds totally French to me but is apparently from the Japanese designer Junya Watanabe.  Who knew?  

What intrigues me is the unexpected fabrics under collars, inside cuffs and as part of pockets.  





I remember Tim Gunn once criticizing a trembling Project Runway contestant for being too "Holly Hobby".  Here's a designer that's taking that esthetic to the bank.  These shirts cost hundreds of dollars. I don't want to copy this look per se, but I do want to add some contrasting fabrics in what I hope will be subtle ways.  




Khaki isn't a particularly great color for me, so I've chosen a cocoa brown cotton / lycra blend for the jacket.  My goal is to spice it up a bit with glimpses of madras patchwork and the light teal oxford cloth left over from my spring-y buttondown.  I'm thinking under the collar, inside the pocket flaps and at the back and sleeve vents.  It will either be interesting or a total disaster.  Wish me luck!  

2 comments:

  1. I've seen this detailing only once before in a Jcrew magazine some years back. I loved it! Gives a little bit of interest when you pop up the collar of a jacket which I'm usually prone to do. In the Jcrew mag they used a tie silk for the undercollar and it came out rather beautifully, I think. Can't wait to see how your version turns out! I'm sure it will be lovely!

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  2. Oooohhh good luck. I feel like those details are the details that say you really care about the garment, that you really took the time to consider the construction. I know you can do and do it fabulously!

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