Hello! Well, it's been a little while again but that's entirely just because I've been a bit busy working on Peter Pan costumes for the LPAC Christmas Production. I'm going to see it tomorrow finally, with my little sister and family. Should be wonderful, I'll try and sneak some photos.
Also, a quick bit about The Vintage Kilo Sale. "The Vintage Kilo Sale is the UK's first ever 'buy by weight' vintage shopping event. Founded in 2009 and now serving multiple cities across the UK. Revolutionising the way we shop retro, The Vintage Kilo Sale calls at London, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and many others, bringing 8 tonnes of good quality vintage clothing from the 1960s - 1990s.Allowing customers to pay by weight at only £15 per kilo means vintage lovers can get their fix without spending a small fortune.Featuring: dresses, denim, blouses, shirts, jumpers, bags, boots, shorts, tees and trousers - think the most affordable vintage sale in the land!"
(And that massive bit there, will take you straight to their Facebook page. I do spoil you lot sometimes!)
Now, down to business. After some thought and quick designs, I decided that a slightly flirty summer outfit would be the best choice to make from these existing garments. I currently have a massive thing for culottes (which is odd since I can't pull them off!) so that skirt was definitely destined to be some. I thought they'd also make lovely culottes due to their volume and already elasticated waistband. I decided that the black shirt was mens, and so needed to be fitted better and show a more feminine silhouette but without making it too tight and clingy since this is a Spring/Summer ensemble. I used the pink shirt for embellishment.
Right, let's get into it!
The Shirt
The shirt was the garment that required most work, so I started there. I unpicked the sleeves and used a size 12 existing shirt block that I drafted a few weeks ago to decide where to cut and insert shaping. I marked and cut a good few inches from the side seams which altered the shape of the garment. I also took off about 6 inches from the bottom so that the shirt just skims the waistline with the view of it being worn with other items like a cute circle skirt. After overlocking and stitching the new sides together, I removed the sleeves from he pink shirt and salvaged as many lengths of diagonal 2inch strips as I could manage. I measured the armholes then created the appropriate amount of binding, then finished off the armholes with that nice pop of pink. I also used the rest of the pink strips from earlier to create this adorable neck tie, adding femininity and tying in the pink on the armholes to the garment.
The Skirt
The skirt was a long, lined floral number, and as soon as I took it out of the bag I fell in love with it. It was a shame to have had to change it, but such is the nature of refashioning and challenges! I simply used a trouser block and measured to 4 inches below the crotch, cut it and stitched it into volumes culottes. It did not take very long, so definitely going to look out for more skirts that I could whip up in a similar way.
The Outfit
So here it is, now finished. I didn't have much time in and amongst university commitments and running around like a loon to be able to find a slot in the photography studios, so my bedroom wall was the next best option! I think this is a lovely outfit and it turned out how I imagined it to. I wanted to create a fairly relaxed look, suitable for just throwing on before going for cocktails on the beach or shopping in Milan. It is a casual day-to-do vintage look, for those who aren't quite ready to embrace huge skirts and making a spectacle of themselves.
What do you think? What would you have done with these garments? Part One can be found here.
