Friday, April 5, 2013

7. Friday colors

I have been called the Queen of Grey. I really truly love grey, almost any shade of it. It's so versatile, it's so elegant, it's so, uh,  - mousy?  It didn't go well with my grey hair which is why I resorted to coloring back to my own brown shade rather than re-thinking my wardrobe choices.
(If you are looking for Refashion how-to, scroll further down.)


The blue of this shirt was my color addiction from my teens to mid-thirties. My grandma was a painter and this was one of the shades she used frequently. Hence I coined the name Grandma Blue, and it stuck in our family. I'm so glad the color is available again. I think I'm ready for another round.


I have been quoted to say I could eat that color with a spoon, I loved it so. It's also a perfect color for an introvert. As I grew out of being painfully shy I started adding other colors, like reds and purples. I don't like to wear black but I see the usefulness of it, like for shoes, tights, pants and skirts.


So in a way today's wardrobe choices are a walk through my personal color history. What about you? Do you have a color history?

The snow has started melting, but this new cord skirt (newly re-fashioned that is) is going to be very useful for the week(s) ahead.

skirt: me-made 2013
shirt: C&A Wien 2013
cardigan: Vienna International Christmas Bazaar, Mongolian Stand, 2012
shoes: Deichmann Wien 2013
red leather necklace: Blickfang Designer Show, Wien 2012
leather "necklace": NDH. It's two such bracelets hung together:







(click to enlarge)





Here comes the refashion part:


My heart skipped a beat when I found these vaguely 70's style cord pants, in grey and black stripe. (The shirt I didn't need as it turned out)
I cut the length using my skirt sloper.


Front and back seams were cut straight and sewed together.


I am far bigger than the pants (see my regular skirt waist above), which means new side panels hat to be cut.


I cut them from the left-over pant legs.

Here is a detail of the inserted panel.

Lining came from another skirt on the to-be-refashioned pile. It was shortened, hemmed and attached.
The bottom was hemmed with a black bias tape.




I sewed a piece of elastic on both sides towards the bottom to make this more of a balloon shape. It didn't work the way I envisioned, I got those funny dutch cap points instead (see first photo). Never mind, it's quirky and I like quirky.

Pants 1€, sewing thread 2.5€, lining for free. Time: a day, on and off.


linking up with: Refashion Co-op's First Friday




4 comments:

  1. I admire your willingness to be experimental! Thank you for stopping by my blog and admiring my obi - it is a fun style (and good for accentuating but also hiding the waist!). I bet you could make one!

    Cheers,
    Sheila

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    1. You are right, I might be able to make one... thanks!

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  2. I love the cord striped fabric you found for your skirt. And quirkiness is cool. Don't you just get a kick out of turning one thing into another that works for you? I've always gone for pinks, reds and purples. And then there was the all black phase. Now I've open up more to colors and definitely to patterns.

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    1. Oh yes, turning an unpractical or downright hideous thing into something beautiful and workable is a source of joy.
      Yes, I can see how the expressive colors would be your thing, and black, it's inevitable. Even I had a brief black phase, believe it or not.

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