Till Victory

Fashion newsflash: are the big cities the happening places where new trends emerge? Not necessarily. The creative deviants who inform fashion and cultural developments are creating and deviating in unlikely corners of the planet. 

The look for S/S13

 Observe the sock and sandal combo in this picture (left). An emerging look for the debonair gentleman who values comfort as much as looking stylish, it accommodates the busy man who hasn't time to ratch through the laundry pile to find a matching pair of socks. It has been reported in The Guardian as a key component for Spring/Summer 2013 menswear collections.

These were spotted in rural Southern Scotland at a garden "event". I am also aware of a surfer on the East Lothian coast who has been in the vanguard of this look for many years, and he may be heartened to know that soon those who previously scoffed at his choice will be rushing out to remedy this fashion oversight. 

This month's distractions/excuses not to sew have been the Olympics, visitors, domestic chores (as ever) and intermittent garden events (rare sightings of sun). The Olympics have been exciting and I've been intrigued by sports I didn't even know I was interested in. It's amazing how much effort people put in for such a fleeting opportunity to prove the level of their ability at their particular discipline. In sartorial terms, I have concluded that yellow is not a forgiving colour for lycra, especially for the men.  

Vogue 1051 - view A (right)

So I've been putting off making these trousers (see right) for months now, and with good reasons. It's years since I made a pair of trousers and over the past few months I've been repeatedly faced with the fact that I am no longer a classic Vogue shape, and probably should cut my own blocks (a bodice one at least). It's unlikely to happen any time soon!

Back to the trousers then... I tried view A from Vogue 1051 in a medium weight denim. This was a fairly easy pattern and I especially enjoyed making the pockets. 
I've not done anything like that before so it was a good challenge and I think the pockets turned out quite well. I used a red lining which you can't see, but I know it's there. My notebook came in very handy to get the right settings for denim (previous project) for the overlocker - saved a bit of time and thread.

Pocket detail

Might replace this with picture taken in natural light without snazzy carpet...

However, the trousers don't much resemble the garment worn by the slinky glamourpuss on the pattern envelope. I made a size 12, and they made my arse look like it needed its own postcode. There was a lot of fabric in the legs, particularly from hip to knee. I made some adjustments to the crotch to remove excess fabric which has slightly improved the look of them. On the model, the trousers look like hipsters;  these sit quite high on the waist for me, but then I don't have model proportions. I'm still not sure about the hem length, I might shorten them a little. I'll probably come back to this pattern now it's been amended. I think I've made some kind of progress lately, but still have a long way to go...  

Vogue 8701 Jacket

It's well past past my deadline. Now I really need to be cracking on with something for Kath's wedding.I do have a pattern that I'm not fully settled on but it doesn't look too difficult. My alternative is to sort out the trousers pattern I've just been using and pair it with this jacket. A bit difficult to see beyond the loud check fabric. I'm not in love with it though, so I will keep looking for jackets that are not too complicated. Suggestions are welcome!  

Going by the past seven months, it's unlikely I'll get something wearable for this wedding within a month. At the very least, I'm going to dedicate what's left of August and September to it. Kath is coming down so we can fit her for her wedding outfit. She'll have lots of ideas and plans, and positive sewing energy. I'm hopeful that should help get me inspired too.