I knew when I saw this pattern that this would be one I'd be making. I'm such a fan of Rachel Comey's "Uptown Girl Style", so Vogue 1645 was a no brainer for me.

This pattern with it's unusual design is not the easiest for altering. I normally don't make a muslin, but my mind lead me to do one for this. And I'm so glad I did. My normal alterations for a jumpsuit is to do a FBA, swayback, full seat, lengthen the rise and the hem length. My brain didn't want configure a FBA on this because that would've consisted in re-drafting the fronts, because the bodice and the pants are a single pattern piece. 

I just cut the straight 16, made a one inch swayback adjustment, lengthened the rise by one inch, made a 1.5" full seat adjustment and added 3" to the hem length.

My fabric is a Navy Peachskin from Mood Fabrics.com. I've worked with this fabric before and I love the texture and how easy it wears. It doesn't have a lick of stretch, so you can't really skimp on the fitting in hopes that the give of the fabric will rescue you. It cuts and sews beautifully. But you do have to watch the temperature of your iron and use a pressing cloth.

Even though I'm all for a beautiful interior, there was just no way I was going to Hong Kong finish the entire inside of a jumpsuit. If this were a jacket, I could see it, but not on a jumpsuit. My serger worked perfectly fine. And if you're wondering how a jumpsuit like this stays together, it has an invisible zipper on the inside.

And it's held closed with a belt on the outside. I used a Maxant Rectangular Buckle Kit 1.5" from Mood Fabrics.com for the buckle. 

I absolutely love this jumpsuit and I can't wait to layer it over a top for cooler weather!

So I've added a new member to my ever growing jumpsuit collection. This time it's Rachel Comey's Vogue 1523 pattern.

This pattern is my newest love! You know how you make something and you just can't wait to put it on and you want to wear it everyday? That's how I'm feeling about this jumpsuit. It's like pajama dressing because it's even though it's slim cut, it's pretty loose fitting, while at the same time it has waist shaping. I normally don't go for this cropped length pant, but these work. I think it's because of the proportions. The billowy Bishop sleeves just balance out the look. And also with these type of pants, I can go from heels to flats and that's what makes this super wearable!

Tracee Ellis Ross wore the short sleeve version of the Rachel Comey Silt Jumpsuit on What Happens LIVE last year. She's a fan of the designer and wears pieces from her collection often. That shows you right there this is the designer for the "cool girls"!

This jumpsuit has really great lines that get a little lost in my print. So here's the technical drawing so you can see!

My fabric is this fabulous rayon crepe that drapes with perfection that I got at Fine Fabrics. I cut the size 14. I lengthened the bodice by an inch and I lengthened the hem of the pants by 3 inches.

The jumpsuit is done in French seams and it also has bias bound edges. Not exactly a quick project!

And this is a zip-front jumpsuit. That's a bonus!

Above the zipper is a deep v-front. If this is too deep for you, keep that in mind and buy a zipper longer than what is recommended and raise it.

I love these sleeves! They give the jumpsuit that 70s vibe that's so popular right now.

The sleeves have buttoned cuffs and a continuous lap. My buttons are adorable and I love the vintage look.

The cropped pants have a welt back pocket. I won't go into any details because I've been showing welts on the last couple of projects.

But here is a close up. As much as I love, love, love this print, so much gets lost in it.

I decided to omit the self belt. It's not like it would really be seen anyway. And I kind of like breaking the print up, slightly. If I get around to it, I think I'll make this one in a solid too!

I've never been the biggest fan of prints, so when I find some that I like, it's true love!  I fell in love with this crisp Dark Midnight Paisley Printed Cotton Poplin which is unfortunately sold out, but there is still some available in the yellow colorway.  I knew it would be great for this top.

And since I knew that I would be making the pants also, I wanted a complimenting fabric, so I picked this Italian Navy Pinstriped Blended Linen.  It's a cotton/linen blend with 1% of polyester.  Just enough to keep them from wrinkling like crazy.

Vogue 1507, by designer Rachel Comey is taken straight from her Spring/Summer 2015 Collection.  So I wanted to use similar types of fabric that I knew would work for both of these designs.

I cut the Rachel Comey Bowtie Crop top in a size 12.  The fit of the top is quite generous.  I probably could've cut the size 10.  But I just tied the knot tighter, which worked out to my advantage and made the back "bra-friendly".  The top is a layered design with scant narrow hems... lots of them!  I felt like I was hemming this all day, but it was so worth it in the end.  

I cut the Rachel Comey Expedition Pants in a size 14.  I was shocked at how long the inseams are on these.  I normally have to add at least 3" to the length, I didn't add any to these.  I suppose they're drafted long with the intent to cuff them up like on the designer's version.  I did have to take in the waist, they were very loose as these are high-waisted pants.

The back waistband is faced, but the front is simply a single layer of fabric with a narrow hem.  If I were making these again, I'd interface the front panel and probably use something thin like lining fabric as the facing. I feel that they could benefit from stabilizing, because after I've been sitting that the waist may grow.

What the pattern company failed to mention on the back of the envelope is that you're supposed to use a "separating" 6" zipper.  I had a regular metal 6" zipper.  I even did an online search and I didn't find any separating zippers that short.  So I had to do a LOT of maneuvering to get that zipper where it's supposed to be.

But I like the asymmetrical design with the fold over pleating effect that's created.  Even though it takes some shimmying to pull these up and down.

I really like these pants because they're interesting.  The go together really quickly.  They're different than just a plain pair of tailored trousers and a lot more special than a basic pair of jeans.  So these are two winning wardrobe pieces added to my collection.

I'm currently Fall/Winter 2015 wardrobe building.  I'm going through my current wardrobe and I'm just kind of filling in gaps.  The things I need most are pants.  A lot of my older pants and some of my favorites have had to go to the donation bag because they're currently too big.  This is a good thing -- It's always good to become fit and healthy and being a smaller size is simply a byproduct.  But the downside is that I had a limited amount of pants to wear.  Having to reach for the same ones all of that time? Well, that ain't cute... So I decided to focus fall colors and styles.

One of the first pair I'm making for this new season is out-of-print Vogue 1323 by Rachel Comey.  Has it really been that long that this pattern is OOP?  Wow... time does indeed fly by.  It just seems like I made the top, which was actually about 3 years ago. 

I love the style of these pants.  They're shaped like joggers with their elastic waist and elastic cuffs.  But the tailored details set them apart.

I cut the the size 12 and lengthened them by 3 inches.  The only major change I made was to the welt pocket construction.  I posted a single-welt pocket tutorial for how I did mine.

Also, these pants has some of the greatest details.

Here is the sewing porn -- the inside shot.  The waist band has seam binding.  I used a contrasting off-white satin binding.  It's also around the cuffs.  These pants that are made from a stretch cotton twill from Joanns, have French seams... the seams and the pockes.  And even though these pants have an elastic waist, they still have a front fly with a hook and eye closure.

They aren't pants I can sew together in an evening -- it took me a couple of days off and on.  But I really enjoyed all of the details.

And I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing them too.

I love the back of this dress!  I love clothes that juxtapose daring and demure.  And this style is a perfect representation of that.  (I sewed a bra into the dress.)

And I also love the curved high-low hemline.

This is Vogue 1298.  See the original reveiw here.

I've been needing to add cool basics to my wardrobe.  Let's face it, sometimes I just want to throw on a pair of jeans.  But since I'm no where near a "jeans & t-shirt" kinda girl, I need some cute tops.  You'll notice a few of those being added to my wardrobe in the near future.

Inspiration:

I used Rachel Comey's pattern, Vogue 1323 for my top.  If you had only looked at the extremely editorialized pictures on the VP website, you may have passed on this pattern altogether.  But with experience, I've made it a habit of looking at the line drawing of each and every pattern released.  Trust, it's worth the time.  You may miss out on something great if you don't do that.

For this pattern, I added an inch to the length.  Everything else was fine.  I used this gorgeous silk crepe de chine by Marc Jacobs from MoodFabrics.com.  It feels like heaven and was perfect for this type of shirt.

Nail color is Essie "Penny Talk".  Love it!

The description of the top is:  loose-fitting, pullover top has collar, front button bands, self-lined yoke, forward shoulder seams, flaps, pleated pockets, and sleeves with pleats, button cuffs and continuous lap. Narrow hem. Collar, bands, yokes: cut on crosswise grain of fabric. 

I really love the collar and the neckline.  

I love the front bands and the pockets too.

And the back has a self-lined yoke, which I wish all button-front shirts that the Big 4 release would have.  

And the hemline with the side slits make this top look really nice when worn untucked.

And here are the cuffs.

I really love great wardrobe building pieces, and this top falls right in line.