22. A Denim Make-Over

You'll notice I have moved, and my mirror image no longer has a clean background. I will have to work on that... In the meantime, I thought I'd show a nice summery outfit. It has been pretty warm here lately, and this outfit is both easy and good enough for "town".
Skirt is a recent make,  and if you are visiting for the how-to, please scroll down.

skirt: me-made 2013
top: Liz Claiborne 2006
belt: H&M 2002
shoes: Vagabond 2009

Some close-ups of my favorite parts as the main photo is so grainy:

 I love the cross-hatch pattern and inky blue of the top, and the unabashed hippie vibe of the belt.

These babouche flats are a dream. They are comfy and pretty - I especially like the reverse applique.




Now for the Refashion Part:

Stonewashed denim may be in again...

... but this 90's full skirt certainly isn't!
It was good lightweight chambray, so I grabbed it. It was a full circle with some hideous netting flounce underneath.

 

I removed the lining and the flounce, opened up the seams and spread it out. It was huge. Large enough to be making something substantial with it.

I took the Marcy Tilton V  pattern. As it is a tunic, I folded away the tops and used just the bottom parts to create a skirt. I love Marcy Tilton for her shapes, her patterns always have a twist.

I am not fond of pale denim. When the skirt was finished, I threw it into a dye bath. I wanted a dark indigo but ended up with a medium blue. Well, sometimes you can't have it all...
The skirt has been previously shown with different tops and accessories in posts #15 and 16.

I am very happy with the skirt, it cost me all of 1€  in material plus the dye (and several hours worth of work).

linking with:
Refashion First Friday
Recycled Fashion
Visible Monday
Mix-It
Me-Made-Mittwoch

14. mayday, mayday

On May 1st Europe shuts down. It's our Labor Day, day for marching along for better work conditions (if so inclined) or for having a picnic, barbeque or a long walk in the woods (if so inclined).

I am invited to a barbeque, which is not going to be in a park nor in a garden, instead in the stony court yard of a city apartment. Weather is coolish, so I may wear this outfit.  There is a draped jersey tank  under the leather jacket and a jersey skirt (patterned as not to show spills...).
If you are looking for Recycled Fashion, please scroll down.

jacket: me-made (2013)
skirt: me-made (2013)
top: H&M (2006)
shoes: Gabor (2009)
necklace and pin (2013)

I played around with jewelry and hung a yellow flower bouquet brooch pin onto the necklace that is fashioned from two bracelets a while ago (see post#7). I thought the pin adds the outfit a nice spring flair.  Though maybe a tad much for a barbeque?

jersey fabric with a houndstooth netting for lining

Skirt is a recent make. I showed one last week that I had made out of one yard of jersey - this is the very same cut. Another impulse buy fabric which I spontaneously liked but originally thought hard to combine. But it turns out I have things to combine. I like summer darks like aubergine and bittersweet,  both go well with this.

Now for the Refashion part:
I have been coveting a draped suede cardigan jacket. This Draped Paper Weight Suede Jacket made my heart go pitty-pat - it would have been a dream. But as always, dreams come with a hefty price tag...
When life threw a vintage 1980's suede costume my direction I grabbed it with both hands. 2€ for the set, I could not believe my ears.

 

It was of course very dated plus several sizes too small.

For my draped jacket, I took a Burda pattern (from magazine 11/2012 #132). I modified the fronts to be more square and extended them a good 8"/ 20cm to give them enough drape.
I cut the back from the existing back, sleeves from sleeves and the fronts from the skirt.
I used the old lining, too. I took no photos of the process, so I leave you with the finished photo for comparison of before - after.

Now I am left with a heap of odd leather bits which I am going to use to make something for my Medieval wardrobe. By the by,  I have added a link to my Medieval blog for those who might be interested. Be warned, there is no juicy clothing to be seen just yet (as I lost all the photos from last year), just a few random thoughts on research.

Had there been enough leftover scraps, this is what I would have loved to make! Leather ...um... stockings? What do you think?

linking with:
me-made-Mittwoch
Mix-it
Recycled Fashion Finds
we are beautiful
Refashion Co-op First Friday

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