Made by Me File: Vogue Couturier 2439. It's a Valentino!

You can pretty much guarantee that if I am silent here AND on Instagram, I probably have been delving deep in sewing, and that was for sure the case this past week and weekend.  (I haven't even used Instagram from Saturday forward, and I blame the oversaturation of sewing for that, as Instagram couldn't be any easier to use.)

Anyhow, there is a Vintage Pattern contest running over at Pattern Review, and though I really (honestly!) don't care about winning, I like to have an excuse to make something, and this contest seemed the perfect kick in the behind to get my sewing mojo on and get a dress done in time for school to start (and with the perfect retro flair, the way I really like it).

I have in my stash of patterns this beautiful Vogue Couturier pattern from Valentino from 1970.  I have a real sickness for these older patterns.  There's also the Vogue Paris Original patterns that are lovely, too (I made this LaRoche pattern a few years back).  If I see that one or a few are for sale and they will suit me and fit me, I'll put in a bid on ebay or purchase them outright from Ebay. 

There is a lot of history on Vogue designer patterns, and this very recent (as in yesterday) article from the New York Times explores it a bit.  They even mention Valentino in the article. 

I knew most of what was in the article, but it always bears repeating, the garment on the cover of these patterns ARE the garment as designed and shown by the original designer, and the pattern makers from Vogue use that as their base for their patterns.  So I was basically recreating the original garment that Valentino crafted even before I was born.  This is still true today, and the Anne Klein dress that I copied was from an original from the Anne Klein line.

Obviously I really dig the style and silhouette of the dress and if a current designer or clothing company made a dress like this, I would want to buy it.  The pockets are integrated into the front dress design, and those belt carriers are part of the dress design, and are NOT added as a waistband feature from a waistband pattern piece.  Instead they are part of the dress front and pocket and dart pattern piece.  (All in one.  When you see the instructions below, you will agree with my hesitation in cutting my dress fabric in the convoluted design they wanted me to...of course it worked out, clearly, but I couldn't believe that design would lead to what you see above.)

The dress, as made up, is very pretty, but practical.  I made it from a double knit, so it is very comfortable and stretchy, but the pockets and belt add a level "I didn't know I needed these features until I had them here."  I now want all my dresses to have these details.  Especially the pockets, which are not your typical inseam pockets, hiding from the world.  These are integrated on the front and help showcase the unique seaming. 

Nearly all my belts fit in these carriers, and the fancier, jeweled belts helped create a more formal look, while this patent leather one suited a more casual outing, like teaching school, or going to church.

The mockneck is very comfortable, and though it could read frumpy, the sleeveless and fitted bodice help keep it from looking too dated.

Though I have few plans to wear the cloche with the dress, I did like the look, and would possibly pair the two for the right occasion.  :-)

The back was far less complicated than the front, but I will say the dart that extended from the back yoke to the hip was one of the longest I have ever encountered.  It also integrated the belt carriers into it, so there was a bit of finagling there, too.  There was also an additional back carrier that had to be created by making a welt insertion for the facing piece, and that terrified me that I would place the welt in the wrong place and ruin all my work.

Because my hips are larger than the pattern called for, I had to bring my seam allowances from waist down from 5/8" to 1/2".  If this had not been an a-line skirt, I would have likely had to add allowances to the pattern itself as no straight skirt from this era would ever fit me in a size 12 (the hips on a size 12 are a 34, I am that plus 5!).

The mockneck called for hook/eye closures that are hidden, but I wanted to use a loop/button closure.  I wish the loop was a bit tighter, but I don't think it totally ruins the look of the dress, either.

I love this fabric.  It was exactly right for the job.  The weight of the double knit means I can wear it in non-summer months, but it also meant I didn't have to try a designer pattern from 1970 in a non-stretch woven.  Plus, it even looks a bit like the original Valentino dress fabric (though I know that was likely a brocade of some sort).

Here's a good closeup of the fabric, the carriers, and the pocket detail.  So glad this all worked out.  :-)

Yeah, those are the (dang) clear directions.  But look at the illustration for #2, that was the shape I had to cut.  I mean, it makes sense how that becomes what you see on me, but it does require a bit of a leap of faith that it will all work out.

If you would like to see my pattern review, it is here.

In other news...before I even started my pretty Valentino dress, I had to complete this ridiculous Piranha costume.  I used Simplicity 2853 for the pattern, and yeah, I recognize it doesn't look a thing like the pattern shows.  That was because I took a lot of liberties with the design.  It all worked out and the swim team LOVED it (or was scared, rightly so).  What a monstrosity.  LOL.  :-)

Okay, that's all for now.  I hope all of you are doing well, and I'll be back soon. 

Made by Me File: The Joy of the Red Coat.

Before I start talking about the joy of making the red coat, I encourage you to visit the post I wrote up at Fabric Mart first, especially if you are a sewer.  I am sure it would be fine to replicate, word for word, and photo for photo, that post here, but since this blog is more focused on style, fashion, and garment reviews, I am choosing to leave the bulk of heavy sewing info there.

I am choosing to focus here instead on the journey I took to getting to a place where I made up a fully lined, fully tailored red coat in a month's time.  :-)

The back story here is important.  I wrote to Fabric Mart and told them I would love to make a coat for my January make.  I always enjoy picking out my projects with them, but most of the time the projects are not so involved.  Usually I'll make up a dress, or a top and pants, but I tend to not sew up intense projects as they don't really fit in with my hectic school and life schedule.  But dang it, I really wanted to challenge myself, so I said to myself I could figure it out and make it happen.

I asked what coating they had in stock and they mentioned that they were getting in a red wool, and if I was interested they would send it my way.  After looking at, I leaped, even though I wasn't fully convinced that the red would be "classic" red enough.  It definitely didn't look like a yellow-based red (which I usually wear, it suits my warmer complexion), but it didn't look like a blue-red, either, which I know would look horrible on me.

It ended up coming and I fell in love since it was indeed a true red, with no additional tones of blue or yellow.  The color is one of the four universal colors all people can wear, regardless of skin tone.  Looking at that universal color chart, it's true.  I normally can't wear purple, but the one purple on the list is the only shade of purple that doesn't make me look ill.

Deciding on a coat shape and design took me FAR longer than you would think it would.  Especially considering that once I had figured it out, I knew immediately what to do.  I hemmed and hawed over which design I wanted for a week or so.  Did I want a double-breasted trench, did I want a full a-line skirt on the coat, did I want a more modern shape like a cocoon?

It wasn't until I put on my Alabaster Tweed coat from J. Crew that I realized my design was under my nose.  Even though I didn't use a shape or coating like the Alabaster Tweed one, I decided I was being silly not looking through my coat closet for inspiration.  After all, you all here (especially if you have been reading for years), know how much I love my coats.  We may not wear them all the time here, but I adore them all, and wear them every chance I get.

If you have been reading the blog for long enough, you'll know exactly where I went to find my design inspiration, my Sybil coats, and my Bella jackets.  Ever since I started sewing, I knew that one day I would want to try and make my own version of these and get them in my wardrobe, but with my personal measurements and aesthetics leading the way, not one of J. Crew's designers making those choices for me.

And I do fully realize I am being derivative here, but at least my version is a bit different, especially in the lower half of the coat (the Sybil is a more straight up-and-down shape).
 

So I stopped my constant searching through my coat patterns and ebay for the "perfect" coat choice, and decided on the two coat patterns that would come together best to suit me and to realize my vision of the red coat I had in mind.

Vogue 8626 is a pattern I had seen over at Sewing Pattern Review a couple of years ago, and when I saw it, I swooned.  It was so pretty, feminine, and yet regal, at the same time.  And it was out of print.  It took me a few months, but eventually one in my size came up on ebay, and I bought it without hesitation.  The only issue I had with the coat was the design of the collar.  I don't know if you can tell, but when the collar is buttoned, it makes a weird pointy collar jut in one direction, and the asymmetry is too much for my eye, and I knew it would bug me if I made it up that way.

McCall's 7024 is a pattern I had seen when it came out and bought it as soon as possible.  I loved the collar because of how much it reminded me of the Sybil and the Bella.  Really the rest of the jacket is fine, but the collar was what I most wanted.  Though it is designed with a drawstring, I knew I could probably (and eventually) figure out what to do to omit the drawstring and have it properly stand up.

I had to make a muslin to ensure I was using the correct measurements, and thankfully, they were pretty close to right.  I did note that I needed to change up the way the side pleats on the back laid (they favored opening up to the center pleat and it didn't look right on me, so I chose to turn them into box pleats).

I am pleased that Vogue 8626 has cup sizes.  I have a very small bustline, 32B if I am lucky, and I have noticed that any pattern that doesn't have specific cup measurements built in will often manifest themselves in a bit of wrinkling above my chest below my collarbone.  The same thing happens when I wear a bra that is too big (which is a lot of the time, it is really hard to find a 32B bra that doesn't have underwire).  This coat has an A cup bodice, and it is a dream fit up there.  Seriously, hands thrown in the air, waving around, kind of fit.  I know fuller-bust ladies get a lot of attention for having to make FBAs on their clothes, but for those of us who are wee-er up there than average, have to do the same thing if we want a good fit.  People notice it less when things don't fit me properly since it doesn't mean gaping plackets or straining streams, but I get really bothered by those darn wrinkles.

This doesn't mean I am going to take on the challenge of the small bust adjustment every time I sew anything for my top half, but for tailored garments I darn well will.  It is worth the effort!

BTW, the belt above is called a Martingale belt.  I always just called it a "half-belt at the back," but now that I know what they are called, I am gonna throw that term around like it's hot.  LOL.

So the collar, the most important portion of my coat in realizing my vision...turns out the McCall's 7024 is a great dupe for the Sybil coat.  It is nearly the same.  The Bella is a bit off, as the Bella collar sits on a faux collar stand.  The way I made it stand just so was to interface the non-pleated side with fusible hair canvas on the bias (wanted it on the bias so it would be more easily molded when I was steaming it, on the straight grain I would have had a few more struggles to shape it since the straight grain prevents any stretching).

The buttons.  Well, it turns out that even though I had chosen a near match for the Sybil coat (they seriously are the same buttons as the ones on my other coats, but red), I wanted to use a flatter, variegated reddish button instead.  Now it fully is a coat that is "inspired by" but not a samesy copy.

Now that I have published this post I can actually start wearing the coat out and incorporating it into my ootd postings here and at Instagram.  Yes!  (I have to wait until the post publishes over there before I publish here.)

I know that some of you might have questions, so if you do, I encourage them.  Maybe some of you can even make your own versions of the Sybil/Bella?  I would love to see some more of these out there in the world of sewing.  :-)

OOTDs: School Style September and Early October.

Quick reminder: Boden's big mid-season sale ends tonight. The details about the sale are in the original post here with updated information in the latest BWRR.

The extra 20% off Boden's spring 2015 preview ends on the 15th.  I have plans to do a picks post tomorrow or Wednesday.

Onto the latest teacher outfits.  :-)  Note, unless I have something to mention outside of the teaching arena (after school and with family and friends), there won't be any anecdotes of the day in the teaching ootd posts. 

Day: Thursday, September 3, 2015.

Where:  First Day of Teaching and a baseball game.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) I have made this skirt for myself before in a pretty blue and brown and white floral (last time I wore it and the original sewing review), so I expected this version would be a slam dunk fit-wise.  (It was!)  I love the stretch cotton sateen, it's even from Joann's, which if you are a sewer, usually indicates a fabric that may not be up to snuff.  This one is...so pretty and looks like it will last a while.

Outfit Details: Skirt, handmade (Vogue 8916); Top, J. Crew; Shoes, A2 by Aerosoles; Shorts (from last photo), Boden; Necklace, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: I was so stinking tired after school that day that I was *this* close to skipping out on the game.  I probably should have, I actually closed my eyes a few times while watching the game, and considering I normally can't sleep anyplace other than a quiet, dark room in my bed, I nearly fell asleep in those hard chairs in the bright baseball lights.  Yow.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, September 10, 2015.

Where:  Teaching and church.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I felt fine, but I was worn out from the day before, so the tiniest bit of irritation felt enhanced.  This time it was the dress being just a skitch too tight on the upper hip.  Since the dress is made of a cotton, it stretched out and was fine an hour after putting it on, but still.  Boo.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden; Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Thursday, September 17, 2015.

Where:  Teaching.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Well this *dress* keeps getting shorter, but I am thinking I was more daring with my skirt length before I was teaching at the Catholic school.  You really do need to have the skirts as long as the knee (or right there close to it), unless you are wearing it with leggings.  So leggings it was!  The whole outfit is wonderfully, deliciously comfortable. And it's a pretty print, so yay!

Outfit Details:  Dress, J. Crew Factory; Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Target.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, September 18, 2015.

Where:  Teaching, Church, and CW's birthday dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)

Outfit Details:  Dress, Ideology (from Macy's a gazillion years ago); Shoes, Cole Haan (similar here at amazon.com); Necklace, Tiffany's; Sunglasses, Target.

Anecdote of the Day:  CW's middle name is in honor our great grandmother (many greats added to it, of course) who had an apple variety in Minnesota named after her by my great grandfather (many greats there, too).  CW's favorite color is pink.  It was also her birthday that day, so wearing a pink, apple printed dress seemed especially appropriate.  I also love that I looked like Ms. Frizzle.  (#msfrizzleforever)

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Thursday, October 8, 2015.

Where:  Teaching.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Lands' End really has something special with this ponte sheath dress. So much so that I plan on going back for another version of it soon.  I wish it was a touch longer, but Lands' End lengthens their torsos on their dresses in the longs, so I can't purchase the long without it being too long in the bodice.  Sigh.  I am fine with it where it ends but would add an inch in an ideal world.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Lands' End; Shoes, Boden; Cardigan, Anthropologie; Sunglasses, Target.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, October 9, 2015.

Where:  Teaching and church.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Well I caved on this year's version of the Casual Weekend Dress.  I love last year's so much, and I love this green polka dot print (I have a long dress from Boden in this exact print from 2006!), I knew I would love this dress.  I do!  It is super cute, and the pockets are fab, of course.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden (here on clearance); Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, Stella and Dot; Cardigan, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Target.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

I hope you have a great night!  :-) Thanks for reading!  I am glad I am back with something other than Boden sales alerts for once.  LOL.

Made by Me File: The Burda Magazine and the Anthropologie Jacquard.

I know most of you who read this blog read it because you just love clothing, and more than likely most of you are fans of the same brands I am, Boden, J. Crew, J. Crew Factory, Zara, Madewell, and Anthropologie.

(I do know some of you are here for the sewing, too, but that bit of my audience is much wee-er, so I try to keep the "style" element in these sewing posts as much as I can.)

Anyhow, I know some of you eagle-eyed fans of Anthropologie will IMMEDIATELY be able to recognize that this crop top and full skirt combo is made from a jacquard fabric that Anthropologie used in its Iremel skirt, which is from November 2013.  I cannot believe my luck.  With the actual Lilly Pulitzer fabric for this make a few months ago to this one, I feel like I have scored fabric gold, and both times by total accident.  :-)

Before I knew I had stumbled upon that fabric from that skirt by Anthropologie*, I had it in my mind to make up a crop top/full skirt combo after the success of the crop top/full skirt combo I made for my birthday.  So I told Fabric Mart they could send me this fabric if they wanted and I would make it work.

*You all are gonna laugh, but I discovered the skirt from Anthro by randomness, I was sitting around waiting for something, and I decided to paw through my old catalogs sitting nearby.  I opened up the November 2013 catalog and was all, "what the wha, is that the fabric?" I couldn't believe it!

I figured that because Burda magazine does the best job in staying on trend while also having the best drafting, I would do well to choose two patterns from their magazines I have been holding onto, but not tracing.  (Tracing their patterns are a bit of a pain, to be honest, but worth it in the end.)

The crop top from their February 2015 (02 2015 #127) seemed to be a very good version of a crop top, and with some work, I could make it work on my more "mature" self.  (I lived as a teenager in the early 90s, and yes, I wore crop tops back then, lol, so I figure I should only repeat it in small and more modest doses.)  The full skirt from their October 2010 (10 2010 #117) seemed a good fit for my full skirt requirement, but even though I thought I would be able to just sew it up as the pattern is, I realized fairly quickly that this fabric and that pattern wouldn't work as is, so I had to make some changes there, too.  Oh, well, I am not one to step back from small defeats, so I figured all of it out, with only a tiny bit of cursing.

When I showed my husband the nearly finished project, but before I had ironed the fabric in the skirt into submission, he was all, "why in the world would you want a skirt that big?"  He didn't have a word to say about the top, so apparently a bit of tummy skin is okay in his book.  Ha.

The top is a bit longer than the pattern called for in the initial draft.  I chose to lengthen it, not because it was a petite pattern and it was too short, but because I needed the extra bit of length if I had any hope in wearing it out more than for this set of photos.  In my life, too much skin is too much, and I can't get away with it.  I am petite from shoulder to my upper hip (I measure the same as someone who is around 5'3.5" there, even though I am 5'8" tall), so technically the proportions of the pattern are perfect on me.  I didn't make my adjustment on the pattern from anywhere but the hem since I love having a top where the shoulder seam to the bustline is the right length.  That normally never happens, and I usually get a weird bit of bunching there because it is too long.  I also love that the bust dart was pointing at my bust instead of somewhere else.  So the only way I could lengthen this pattern was to add at the hem so I could keep the integrity of the petite sizing as original as possible.  It did the trick and I was happy to see that it gave me a crop that was showing a bit of the belly without being too risky for my lifestyle.

I also chose to close up the back with a button closure instead of just having it hang open with a single closure at the top of the back.  Again, I want to wear this more than just once!  I drafted a facing that was incorporated into the pattern, so I just had to fold it over at the drafted fold line, press and sew in my buttonholes and buttons.  Because this fabric is so thick and tightly woven, I didn't even need any interfacing at the buttonholes, they sewed in very nicely and look quite well done (I am not usually so successful with buttonholes). 

I would say I spent the most of my time focused on the pattern layout on the fabric in order to get the lines/medallions to line up properly.  You can't take a bold striped jacquard like this and half finish the job...it would be very obvious that the lines are off and all the time and effort to sew up this pretty fabric would be somewhat in vain, since even non-seamstress eyes can see when tailoring is done shoddily.  So I would say 25% of my sewing time on this project was even before any of the sewing actually got started!  

The skirt, as drafted, had so much fabric used that I would have had to use four full yards of fabric to get this skirt made.  Come on!  That's Civil War era skirt sized.  The jacquard would have been too stiff and heavy to do that, and since I am not looking to create a look for a runway, I knew I would have to take those proportions down a notch (although in a lightweight cotton voile that much fabric and drape would look super pretty).  I took out something like fourteen full inches from this skirt's pattern (I just folded over my traced pattern paper) to still end up with a very large, very full, deeply pleated and gathered skirt.  I definitely made the right call to do that!

Amazingly enough, even with all that fabric, it isn't that heavy.  It was a bit of a bear to sew up, especially when hemming (more awkward, but still).  I am pleased, though, that it is as flowy as it looks in the photo.

The pockets are fab.  They sit precisely at the right place and fit a cellphone, no problem.  And because the skirt is so full, you wouldn't know the pocket holds a cellphone!

As much as I dig the crop top and full skirt look, especially since it is a bit different from my usual "look," I have to say the pieces separately work nicely with other pieces in my closet, like above with my J. Crew tee, Nine West wedges, and Target necklace.  This is actually a look I could wear to go to church or teach in, so that's a bit thrilling.  I don't think I can get away with the top at either place I just mentioned, but with a cami and a high-waisted pair of trousers, it would look pretty darling at a playdate or dinner out with friends.

Okay, that's it for now. 

I wrote a ton about the sewing and the history of crop tops/full skirts in fashion here at this Fabric Mart blog post.

I also wrote up a review of the construction of the crop top here at Pattern Review.

Thanks for coming by and looking at my latest make!

OOTDs: Made by Me May. So Far.

I already posted one photo from May, in which I wore a handmade item, here at this post.  Then the crazy came, in the form of a fever that lasted four days (me, up to 103!), a Communion suit that needed completing, and a pair of dresses I needed to sew up for a post at Fabric Mart.

I still wore "me made" items, I just didn't get around to posting them here until today.  So below are a couple weeks worth of ootds all featuring handmade items.  (For more on Me Made May*, check out this blog post.)

*Ugh, hate the term "me made." It goes against every fiber of my Language Arts teaching degree.  Sigh.  I do like the idea behind it, though.  Wish it was called "made by me" May.

I didn't photograph everything with my nice camera, but I usually tried to capture all outfits here at Instagram, so there are probably a few there that you won't see here.

Okay, here goes, and in order of date worn...

Day: Saturday, May 2, 2015.

Where:  A Bar Mitzvah and a Communion Retreat.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This dress is so wonderful, I am glad I spent the time working on it last year to exactly fit my shape.  The cotton sateen has a touch of stretch and it is lined in a stretch silky knitted material.  It's like heaven in the form of a dress.  :-)

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using Burda 7137); Necklace and shoes, J. Crew.

Anecdote of the Day:  The Bar Mitzvah was beautiful and I am so glad I was able to make it for at least part of the ceremony to see my friend's son participate in this very special occasion.  I then went to my son's Communion retreat to volunteer, and halfway through, I got very chilled and couldn't bend down without it hurting.  I asked everyone if they were cold too and no one else was.  My spidey sense went crazy and I suspected a fever (both boys had it earlier that week).  Little did I know it would be a four day fever that wouldn't break.  I finally had to go to urgent care on Tuesday.  I didn't have the flu, I didn't have pneumonia, and I didn't have strep.  I just had something.  Ugh.

Instagram here.

Day: Wednesday, May 7, 2015.

Where:  G Street Fabrics and School Pickup.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I feel like such a broken record, but man these handmade dresses are all so easy to wear.  I also really love these new sandals from J. Crew that were kind of a "whim" purchase.  They really are very vibrant in real life and fit well (I did size down to a 9 from my normal 9.5 since I have very narrow feet and I know the 10 would have fallen off of me).

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using Simplicity A1636--may be available at Walmart, too); Malta Crackled Leather Sandals, here at  J. Crew; Cardigan, Boden; Necklace, gift.

Anecdote of the Day:  I went to G Street hoping to buy a bunch of pressing supplies I needed, like a tailor's board or a sleeve roll, but the walls in the notions department were EMPTY.  I am getting really concerned that the beloved G Street is going down, and will soon shutter its doors.  I really really hope not, as much as I love online fabric shops, I adore G Street for his selections of beautiful high end fabrics and its gorgeous selection of notions (normally).  And they have the most amazing vintage buttons for sale.

Instagram here.

Day: Sunday, May 10, 2015.

Where:  Mother's Day and some time with my Grandpa.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  My matchy match dress with my daughter (last worn Easter) was more comfortable this time around.  I have washed it since the last wear, so maybe that is why it is more comfortable.  Hmmm.

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using New Look 6262); Necklace, J. Crew.

Anecdote of the Day:  So my Grandpa came to visit for a few weeks, and on Mother's Day, my dad was part of an "intermission" play at the local community theater.  We went to go see him first (where my Grandpa declared that my dad's performance was far better than the rest of the actors, lol, of course he said that), and then we headed off to a very late lunch.  Just a nice time all around.

Instagram here of Grandpa and me.
Another Instagram here of the kids and me.

Day: Monday, May 11, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This printed linen dress was perfect for the very hot and humid day that Monday was, and I felt exactly right, not too hot, and definitely not too cold. 

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using Vogue 8615); Sandals, Boden; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day:  There isn't much to say other than Kindergarten kids are a whole box of energy.  I stayed on top of the situation, but man, I always sleep well the nights I sub the little ones.

Instagram here.

Day: Tuesday, May 12, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I love this skirt, but I have to say it felt a bit short for wearing that day, though I realize it is fairly modest.  We went to church and I prefer skirts and dresses to hit right at the knee.

Outfit Details:  Skirt, handmade (using Simplicity 1887); Top, J. Crew Factory; Sandals, Saltwater; Sunglasses, Anthropologie; Bag, Hobo, Intl.

Anecdote of the Day:  We had the May procession and living rosary at school that day.  It was awesome.  The Kindergartners even managed to pay attention the whole time!

Instagram here.

Day: Wednesday, May 13, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The voile of the blouse is very soft and feels so nice against the skin.  Love this shirt so much. The Esska sandals are the best, very secure on the foot, and a nice, cushioned footbed.  I wish more American retailers would sell this brand.

Outfit Details:  Shirt, handmade (using vintage Simplicity 9559); Turner Pants, here at J. Crew; Sandals, Esska; Glasses, Madewell.

Anecdote of the Day:  Another day of subbing!  Not much to add to that. :-)

Instagram here.

Day: Thursday, May 14, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) For a dress that didn't take me long to sew up, it sure feels great on, and though fitted, it isn't so skintight as to be innapropriate. The J. Crew Factory version of the Malta Sandals (you saw those in green above) fit exactly like the retail version, nice and fitted in the size down from my normal 9.5.

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using McCall's 6886--you'll notice the photo has the knitted version of my fabric from the Burda dress at the top of the post!); Factory Raffia Boardwalk Sandals, available here at J. Crew Factory.

Anecdote of the Day:  Last day of subbing.  I was glad to have Friday off.

Instagram here.

And for those of you curious, here is a link to my son's Communion suit review (will eventually blog about it here), a link to the Lilly Pulitzer inspired dresses I made for the Fabric Mart blog post (will also include those in an ootd post), and a link to the instagram of today's outfit (which will not be published here).

Hope you all have a great day!

OOTDs: Three Times a Turner Sub!

Day: Friday, April 24, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Art.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Although I had crafted this top to fit me exactly (it was my last entry in the Fabric Mart Fashion Challenge last year), I have gained about three pounds since then, so it was a touch tight through the waistband, but holla, linen is always stretches out by the end of the day, so by noon, I felt fine.  :-)  The pants are awesomely comfortable, which is why I keep praising them to the hills.  I don't think I am the only person who loves the Turner Pant this much, but I *may* just be the most vocal.

Outfit Details:  Top, made using Simplicity 1590; Pants, available still from J. Crew; Shoes, J. Crew.

Anecdote of the Day:  The reason for wearing the top should be obvious, but in case it's not, I wore my hand-painted top so I could use it as a vehicle for discussing the process of creating art.  It actually ended up helping one kid who was stressed out about something not being perfect at the beginning of his hippo art (yep, that's my signed version above, lol).  I told him my top was nowhere near perfect when I started and honestly was far from perfect still, but overall it was a good piece of art.  I think it worked.  He seemed satisfied by his art from there forward.  :-)

Instagram Shot.

Day: Wednesday, April 22, 2015.

Where:  Subbing 4th Grade.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I basically felt like I was wearing pajamas the whole day.  The navy version of the Turner pants (haha, yes, I wore them twice in a week with a wash in between) is a touch tighter than the other colors, but still stupidly comfortable.  The merino wool metallic striped sweater appears that it would be scratchy because of the metallic threads, but the inside is nice and soft.  Very lovely.  I also found the size extra small that I bought to fit well on my frame, but keep in mind I have a very short torso for my height.  For some of you this may be too short.  Hogl is a brand out of Germany, and I had purchased these shoes way back in 2004, when we went there on a spring break.  They are doing well considering their age.  I love this brand and wish they were easier to find in the States.

Outfit Details:  Sweater, a few left at J. Crew; Necklace, J. Crew; Pants, available at J. Crew; Shoes, Hogl.

Anecdote of the Day:  I was supposed to be in the office but at the last minute switched to fourth grade.  I didn't know what the day was going to hold, but apparently there was a big "station" day at the school focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) with an emphasis on CSI kind of work, so I loved it, since as an archaeologist we had to use many of the same techniques that CSI does in its work.  I looked a the clock one minute and it was 1:15, and then LITERALLY five seconds later I looked at it and it was 3:00.  That was easily the best day I have had teaching, ever.  It was fun.

Instagram Shot.

Day: Friday, April 17, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Computer.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I could repeat what I wrote in the above entry.  Gracious.  I am probably boring you now.  But these Turner pants are the black version.  Woo.  Right?  Exciting stuff here, I tell ya.

Outfit Details:  Top, Target; Necklace, Target; Pants, available at J. Crew; Shoes, J. Crew Factory.

Anecdote of the Day:  Rex was out of school for a month when he broke his leg and was wheelchair bound.  Apparently he was missed.  The note above tells what one student felt made them lucky, and one of their "I am lucky" statements was that Rex was back.  I nearly started crying, so sweet.  :-)

Okay, that's it.  Want to point out that I am wearing no Boden in these outfits.  Yes, it is possible.  Haha.

You all have a great night.