Erica Bunker | DIY Style! The Art of Cultivating a Stylish Wardrobe

She Inspires Me | Shiona Turini #BlogLikeCrazy

10:30 AM

Fall 2014

October Recap of My #OOTD - #BlogLikeCrazy

12:45 PM

I've been such a lazy blogger. So I've decided to participate in the November challenge from See Jane Write - "BlogLikeCrazy! It's a new post, every day for 30 days! So here is my first post for this month. I'm going to recap my favorite #OOTD (outfit of the day) looks that I usually share on Instagram and Twitter -- on the days that I actually get dressed!

I loved this look so much. I love the idea of mixing prints. Now, I'm no Solange Knowles and even though I love the look of mixed prints, I really don't feel that I have an organic knack for it. I know my limitations. So I kept my look simple with a McCall's 6964 striped tee and a New Look 6107 brocade skirt.

Leather and tweed are the epitome of Fall Fashion. How can one dress for fall without these two fabrics? I paired my version of the luxe sweatshirt (Vogue 8670) with (OOP) Vogue 1066 tweed pants. Can I tell you about these pants? This fabric has absolutely NO stretch! They're lined with China Silk. I only wore these pants maybe twice at the most since I made them back in 2008. They're so beautifully made, if I do say so myself, that I couldn't part with them even if I couldn't wear them. Well they currently fit perfectly and I've become reacquainted with them and we're about to make up for lost time! If you're into making tailored trousers with really well-made interiors, be sure to read the review I did for these pants. It's good tailoring porn!

I absolutely love separates. Dresses can look beautiful, but I never get bored with separates because the re-mixing possibilities are endless. Take this outfit for example: When I pulled these pieces from my closet, I was forcing myself to "brighten up". I tend to default to wearing lots of black. Black is easy and I don't have to give it a lot of thought since there's so much of it in my closet. I love these (OOP) Vogue 1143 emerald green pants. They're gabardine and seasonless. My top is this awesome silk blouse (Vogue 1387) that I wished I'd made in every color of silk crepe de chine that I could've gotten my hands on. I really love wearing it. And I topped off the look with what's probably now considere a classic, my (OOP) McCall's 5190 military-style jacket.

The weather had warmed up, but it was October and I still wanted to represent a fall look. So wore my McCall's 6885 leather-trimmed shirt dress (which is one of my favorites that'll probably wear out), unbelted with a pair of lace up boots.

This was one of my favorite looks for the month. I love a pulled together outfit and this Simplicity 2446 - cobalt blue blazer is one of my favorite jackets! Every wardrobe needs great white shirts. I need to make another one soon. But this white shirt is Butterick 5526. This pattern has been around a long time. I guess the company realizes that it's a classic and a great wardrobe staple. And to make sure that my look was jazzy and contemporary, I wore a pair of printed pants (Simplicity 1696).

And my final look for October is amazing Vogue 8921. I'm not much of a long printed dress kinda girl, but when I find a great print -- it's an epic moment! And that's how I felt when I discovered this ikat print. I hadn't worn a maxi dress for the entire spring or summer. Look, hot flashes are REAL! I just couldn't be swathed in head-to-toe fabric during hot weather. But now the weather is perfect. So why not add a fur vest to enhance the boho-chic look that I was going for!

This post wasn't just for the self-gratification of "look at how I dress". It's to drive home the point of something I'm extremely passionate about: Building a well-thought out wardrobe of well-sewn garments that stand the test of time.

bodysuit

Review: Closet Case Patterns | Nettie Bodysuit!

12:00 AM

Let me start by saying that this is my first PDF pattern. The idea of piecing together sheets of paper like a puzzle and THEN cutting out the pattern pieces didn't appeal to me in the least. No matter how fabulous the garment it would produce. Until I saw the Closet Case Patterns - Nettie Bodysuit.

A bodysuit? With a low scoop back? Um, yeah! That is so me! Maybe it spoke to my inner Beyonce...

...because it definitely caused me to breakout in a rendition of "Single Ladies"!

In my stash was already a nylon power knit with 4-way stretch. I dropped down 2 sizes than what I would normally cut. What makes this pattern so easy is that basically you can use only your fashion fabric with minimal notions.

Everything I used is from my my notions drawers. I stabilized the shoulders with clear elastic. I omitted the snapped crotch and just sewed that part up. Since I made the low back version, I don't have a problem with peeling down to use the restroom. And I created a shelf bra.

The pattern provide excellent instructions on constructing a shelf bra with a cutting line already placed on the pattern piece. In case you ever want to add one to a bodysuit or a top, here's how:

At around 7.75 inches from the top of the armscye in your bodice front pattern piece, fold your pattern.
Cut out your shelf bra in either your fashion fabric, a nylon tricot (that you would use to line a knit garment) or mesh.
Cut a piece of 1/2" elastic 85% of the width of the bottom of the fabric that you've cut out for the shelf bra.
Fold your shelf bra in half lengthwise and mark the half point. Fold that in half to mark for the quarter. Do the same with your elastic.
Match the markings.
Stretch the elastic and sew with a wide zig zag stitch.

I love this bodysuit pattern. It has made me a PDF pattern convert. I'm pretty open to trying more now. I attended a fashion show at Saks Fifth Avenue I wore my bodysuit with a my black and white wool pinstriped pencil skirt - (OOP) Vogue 1092 by Tracy Reese. This is an old one. But with my original fabric choice, it's a classic -- hence the reason I was able to pull this out of the closet. And since this fabric has absolutely no stretch, the fit is now perfect! And here's another skirt I like that would work with this look. And my tweed and leather bomber jacket -- Burda 7210, that I made last year.

bold prints

#ThrowbackThursday Pattern: Vogue 8138 | A Bold & Graphic Cardi Wrap!

4:30 PM

bold prints

Review: McCall's 6886 | A Glitter Sheath Dress!

10:15 AM

bomber jacket

Review: Vogue 9032 | Tailored Black Trousers!

5:00 PM

Fall 2014

Review: Vogue 9031| The Flippy Hem Skirt!

6:00 AM

B-Metro Magazine

Review: Simplicity 1427 | A Shocking Pink Tulle Skirt!

3:45 PM

I had been dreaming of a tulle skirt since spring. Especially when I saw Kelis' fabulous skirt in The Coveteur article, that I posted about. I mentioned my apprehension regarding such a whimsical piece. I do dressy... but never whimsical... that's simply not me. Even I at times, question how a garment will fit into my wardrobe and my lifestyle. Where in the world would I wear a tulle skirt, particularly a BOLD fuchsia one?! How impractical, right?

Wrong! You know the perfect time to wear a bright, bold shocking pink tulle skirt? To a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Pink Party -- sponsored by the North Central Alabama Susan G. Komen and B-Metro Magazine!

Of course I used Simplicity 1427, view C. I knew I wouldn't make a ball-length like Kelis', so the midi length would be perfect. Remember back in the day, we called that "tea length". I had previously read some negative reviews on this pattern. So I *tried* to work this pattern with an open mind. I tried too... So here goes: First for view C, I cut the size 14. You need over 14 yards of tulle. Thank God for how cheap tulle is per yard! And over 4 yards for the lining which I used satin fabric. So this ended up being a $50 project. For those of you that don't sew and wish to have a custom skirt like this made -- DON'T even think of scrunching up your face when you're quoted a price. A lot of labor goes into this!

I've never had a problem with slow sewing projects. As a matter of fact, I actually love them and I'm so glad it's fall so that I can get into some tailoring projects. But what I don't like are fiddly and tedious sewing details. And working with tulle and having to make gathers falls under fiddly and tedious. Also, hemming a wide circle skirt. Yep, that's pretty tedious as well. I hated that and literally suffered through it.

Let's talk about how this skirt is constructed. Now, if I were making this skirt on my own I can see why you'd need that amount of tulle and why to do it in layers -- for the fullness. But what I don't understand is why cut the tulle into sections and THEN sew it back together. The first pattern piece (why do you even need a pattern piece???) has you cutting out 8 pieces of 60" sections of tulle, and sewing 4 sections together twice, that will create 2 sets of gathered circle skirts that will be layered atop each other. My question is what's the benefit of adding the seams? Those two layers are sewn onto a yoke (center picture below) and the lining. Remember that part.

The next pattern piece is a little larger than the first and you do the same thing all over again. These two layers are sewn onto the waistband and all of this is sewn to the yoke and first set of layers. The finished look is the first picture above. Why is the yoke needed? I think this part is what threw off other people that made this. I didn't find it confusing, just unnecessary.

But even after the weird construction method and details, I was pretty pleased with the way the skirt turned out. I guess the end justifies the means! And who knows, I may even make one in black! Here are some shots with friends from the event:

She Inspires Me | Shiona Turini #BlogLikeCrazy

October Recap of My #OOTD - #BlogLikeCrazy

Review: Closet Case Patterns | Nettie Bodysuit!

#ThrowbackThursday Pattern: Vogue 8138 | A Bold & Graphic Cardi Wrap!

Review: McCall's 6886 | A Glitter Sheath Dress!

Review: Vogue 9032 | Tailored Black Trousers!

Review: Vogue 9031| The Flippy Hem Skirt!

Review: Simplicity 1427 | A Shocking Pink Tulle Skirt!

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