I am always inspired by ready-to-wear. I'm always perusing fashion magazines and ripping out pages. Or scrolling through my favorite high-end retailers such as Net-a-Porter.com or IntermixOnline.com. I never forget to explore some coupons from CouonsMonk.com while doing a bit of shopping or just surfing. By the way, these high-end retailers have great photos and always provide a detailed description of fabric content.

I discovered this outfit while looking on IntermixOnline.com. And I loved both the top and the pants. 

I love separates and these are such basic and cute pieces that I know I'll wear to death all summer. And I'll wear the pants all year with our weather.

I picked Simplicity 8385 and 8389 as my patterns. I sketched the pieces together just to see if it would look the same and I loved it. So, next was the execution.

For the top, I used Simplicity 8385, view C. My fabric is a White Rayon Challis from Mood Fabrics.com.

I cut the size 12 and graded out to a 14 at the hip. The flounce is finished with a narrow hem.

And the inside has French seams.

I love the cold-shoulder detail. I use to not get why a custom top would have adjustable straps. My thought was I'll just adjust the fit while constructing it. Made sense to me. But I've learned that even if it is customized, you still need to make adjustments.

The pants are Simplicity 8389, view D. And these pants are amazing! I cut the size 14 and lengthened them by 3 inches. My fabric is this Black Textural Blended Silk Double Cloth from Mood Fabrics.com. I love this fabric. If you're not familiar with double cloth, it means that two different fabrics (or sometimes the same kind) are fused together. These have a textured, crinkly silk on one side and a twill on the other. I would love the opportunity to buy more of this fabric and utilize both textures in a single garment.

Here's a close up so you can see it. The fabric has zero stretch, so it works really well for a relaxed fit.

These are such fun piece that'll be in constant rotation.