Tuesday 3 February 2009

Wardrobe planning

I've been reading a bit about wardrobe planning (and related things) recently, because I am basically a bit rubbish at clothes. I've been on sick leave since August and am hopefully going to go back to work this month, so I will need to actually look like a proper sensible person three days a week. More or less.

One thing these articles/books always recommend is to go through your clothes and see what you already have. I was a bit cynical, feeling fairly sure I have nothing decent, but it turns out I have the following good things for work purposes:

Monsoon suit (from ebay) in a nice burgundy-and-cream smallish houndstooth check. The skirt's a bit small but the jacket's fine and will go with other things.

Burgundy wool skirt (ebay again - Betty Jackson Studio seems to be the brand, no idea who that is) made from interesting felted knit stuff, with unfinished edges and visible seaming detail. Nice a-line shape, with an elasticated waist that doesn't look elasticated. This is handy, as it actually fits without having to be held up with a belt.

Navy short sleeved jumper with white narrow stripe around neckline and sleeve edges. Not sure if this will go with the burgundy, but I'm planning to make at least one more skirt, possibly beige if I can find some substantial beige wool fabric...

Acid green cardi with 3/4 sleeves and nice buttons. I really want a vibrant blue skirt or dress and a good white tshirt to go with this, though it will also go nicely with the navy dress I've just bought fabric for.

Dusky pink top from Bravissimo - bit low cut, and I may need to consider wearing something underneath it, but it goes nicely with the burgundy things.

Navy-based print top with cream and red flowers and tiny amounts of a green which nearly matches the cardi (but is a bit more subdued) which makes them look fab together.

I think I need to figure out what colour would be best for a skirt to go with the two navyish tops, navy is probably a bad choice as it's v hard to match one navy to another, beige would be nice but a bit impractical. Does burgundy work with navy?

Went to Goldhawk Road today and got 2m of navy wool crepe for £6 total, yay! Will be making a sheath dress or possibly a slightly flared skirted dress. Luckily I found the navy zip I bought last year and had lost in Stuff Soup. I haven't had a chance to sew up my dress from last week, but I've cut it out in a fairly simple pullover style and have the sewing machine all set up to sew, now all I have to do is Get Brave and actually start stitching...

ETA I have sewn up the dress. The hem is a bit rough and ready, but this is mostly because I am planning to shorten it when the weather gets a little less yucky, as mid-calf isn't really an ideal length, but I'll take any extra insulation I can get at this time of year... Went with a slightly cowlish necklinewhich I *think* looks ok, and because it's only slight it shouldn't interfere with wearing the dress over tops and such.

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