A new season
September stumbled in, we had a couple of chilly days and the leaves started turning amber. The Autumn fashion began to creep up on us, appearing in the shop windows and I couldn’t stop scrolling online for the new season’s styles. I was dreaming of jumpers and jackets, whilst the weather jumped around; cold mornings that turned into baking hot afternoons.
I got myself into a bit of a creative spin and felt the need to make an entire new wardrobe for the cold weather. I’m never short of ideas but having too many all at once can be just as stifling as having none at all. I had to switch to ‘organisation’ mode – something that doesn’t come naturally to me – and make a list of everything I planned on creating. Going through my stash of photos and fabrics and switching my imagination from summer to winter; I have so many wools, checks, tartans and plaids in beautiful autumnal shades. I narrowed my list of projects to three, to get me started, making a mood board of all the things I’d collected, to gather my thoughts and pull focus.
–The first, a pair of tailored trousers. If you follow me on Instagram, you will know how disastrously wrong my VikiSews Hilary trousers went. I don’t like to give up, but I had no other choice. I will be coming back to tailored trousers again soon. I have already bought another pattern and some beautiful fabric. Watch this space!
–The second, an autumn/winter dress. I have been looking through all my old family photos, of course, because where all my best ideas begin. I came across a snap of my Great Nanny Violet with a group of men and women who worked in the fields with her. Her father, Eli is standing behind her. The workwear and the idea of wearing a layer to protect your clothes really intrigued me. I will be chatting about this photo in a moment.
–The third, a blouse. To go with the tailored trousers or under the dress. To create a little capsule wardrobe for the season. I can also wear it with jeans or under a knitted sleeveless jumper. I have beautiful photos of my Nanny in a couple of different blouses and we all know she loved a collar. So I am really looking forward to getting stuck into this.
INSPIRATION
It wasn’t just one image that stood out for me this time, it was a small heap of photos that for different reasons grabbed my attention. Not the sort of images you might instantly recognise as ‘fashion’, but for some reason, they really got me thinking. Picking parts from each image and creating something to suit my style for this season, like putting puzzle pieces together. Fashion comes bubbling up from all sorts of places, workwear has always been a source of inspiration to designers. Take Levi or Chanel for example. They based their entire brands on reinventing utilitarian garments and the materials they are made from and made it luxury, Haute Couture even – ingenious!
The first image, as mentioned previously and shown above (top left corner), is of my Great Nanny Violet with a group of people she worked with on a local farm. Her father, Eli is the man with the impressive moustache standing behind her. The women all wear pinafores or aprons over their dresses and the men have waistcoats. I was instantly drawn to the waistcoat shape, the ‘V’ neck and buttoned up centre fronts. A little bit of smart tailoring in the middle of a muddy field. The well worn, creased and comfy cloth that has moulded itself around their movements while they work.
I sent this photo to my family group chat to draw out all the stories that have been told and the conversation didn’t disappoint. In my world, I can turn any photo into a nostalgic dreamy land. The reality is that these people worked bloody hard from sunrise to sunset and they did so for very little. As a very young boy, my Grandad Joe used to get up early with his mum and head to the fields before school. They’d spread soot from the local chimney sweep on the fields as it is high in nitrates. I just did a quick Google search, spreading ash also means the soil needs less watering and deters slugs and snails. Considering the fields my grandad, his mum and her dad worked in grew vegetables and flowers, I’d say that’s pretty useful. There’s no guessing why wearing an extra layer to protect their clothes was so important, handling soot and ash isn’t exactly a clean job! I remember my grandad telling me that he’d walk the fields before school picking stones out of the soil too. Back breaking work from such a young age. Not even I can romanticise this.
My Grandad Joe loved colour, he wore bright shirts, drove bright cars and loved colourful décor. His style was over the top and loud. He ate sweets like rationing had just ended and never said no to ice cream. Those dark, dreary, cold days must have haunted him for an entire lifetime. I remember him telling us that growing up, his home was damp and dark. The walls were lined with linoleum instead of wallpaper because it was just too wet to do anything else. His street of tiny terraced houses shared an outside tap and outside loos. Life was tough and he worked hard to get himself out of this kind of poverty.
He nearly fell over in disgust when I told him I’d picked out a grey kitchen for my new home. Why would I pick grey when there’s an entire rainbow to choose from?! He approved in the end, because he said it looked more like a light blue. Thank goodness! A few years after my Nan had passed away and she was no longer around to reign in his taste, his ‘style’ really came into it’s own. He chain sawed his sofa, took it to the tip and bought 6 reclining chairs, the kind with built in heaters that massage you…and swivel. He would spin from TV to the sweetie jar to his heart’s content. He replaced my Nan’s choice of pastel floral curtains with a pair that were bright purple, did I mention the 6 reclining chairs were dark green leather? What a combo! He also painted his garden fence cornflower blue. Not subtle and never boring, that pretty much sums up my Grandad. His personality was as bright as his home interior choices and we loved him for it.
Nan and Grandad, bringing the sunshine to their camping holiday.
THE SILhOUETTE
I’m an old spirit at heart, but the 1930’s/1940’s farm labourer doesn’t exactly scream fashion. So I’m stealing the ‘V’ neck and the buttoned front of the waistcoats, I’m using the pinafore idea and layering clothing on top of clothing but the silhouette needs to suit my body and my style.
I have been sifting through images of my Nan and I’m really drawn to her 1960’s mini skirts and dresses. We have a very similar body shape and what suits her, suits me too. The photo of my nan with her mum (below, left) shows her wearing a teal mini dress with a Peter Pan collar and matching cuffs. I think she might have been pregnant with my Auntie Julie as you can see a little bump. Her typical 60’s hair makes me want a drastic change but historically, having a fringe cut in makes me cry with regret. Lesson learned.
I’ve also been heavily influenced (thank you algorithm) by an influx of Parisian fashion accounts on Instagram, especially @aliaslouiseblog . The tones, textures and shapes that are trending right now are vintage inspired and match a lot of the fabrics I have in my cupboard. The mini skirts and dresses in plaid or tartan wools, the camel coats, blouses, the tights and boots…a perfect recipe for a beautiful autumnal capsule wardrobe.
I want the items I make to sit happily amongst the clothes I already own and love wearing. I have an old pair of Zara tan, suede boots that I haven’t worn for years and I’m dying to get them out again. I’d already started to picture the pinafore mini dress as an outfit. I just needed to find the right fabric.
THE FABRIC
I have an abundance of woollen fabrics, all different weights, textures and colours. Some more suited for heavy coats or maybe a skirt, but there was one that really stood out. It seemed the obvious choice for this dress; the houndstooth wool. It still had the original packaging stapled to it, saying it was ‘skirt length’. A little worrying as I was planning a dress, but the width was good and it was long enough to take me from shoulder to hem. So I decided to go for it. The weave has black, white, brown and navy running through it, perfect for accessorising! I raided my nan’s old tin of buttons and had so many to choose from. I needed enough to fit the length of the dress, I tried out each set to see what size and colour would look best. I chose the big, tortoise shell style. I instantly could visualise the end result and couldn’t wait to get started. I’m sure every time I look in this tin, new buttons appear.
The Pattern
I couldn’t find an existing pattern close enough to the design I had imagined, so I drew out the shape I had in my head. I am challenging myself with every new project and decided it was time to un-roll my pattern blocks that have been stuffed away since I graduated in 2012. The smell of them sends shivers down my spine, remembering all the late nights, the deadlines and the sheer panic. I no longer fear failure and I won’t make any progress if I don’t jump straight in! (A little pep talk I keep giving myself). I watched a couple of YouTube videos until I had jogged my memory enough to get started. I didn’t just want to copy the block, I wanted to manipulate and play around with it to make my brain work a little harder. So…I removed the darts and added in some princess seams, front and back. Plus a button placket.
I made a toile out of a curtain lining to check everything fitted perfectly. And it did!! All I had left to do was make the facing pieces. Here I am (above, video) pinned into the toile dress. I moved around, made sure the length was good and that I could sit comfortably. This is the sort of madness I get up to at 10pm on any given week night. The photo below shows the pattern laid out on the fabric.
The amount of fabric was just enough, JUST! (See the photo above on the right). I didn’t have enough for the side seams to be pattern matched, or the facing, but the more visible seams were. I chose to hem the arm holes because I didn’t have enough for binding, this was probably a better option anyway as the fabric is quite chunky when layered. I think the finish around the arm hole is neater this way. I’m really happy with how the dress has turned out, it fits like a dream and goes with my old tan boots!
The Finished Dress
This dress really makes me smile; it’s my design from start to finish. I’ve used good quality fabric that my Great Aunt had kept for years, I then saved it for at least another 15 years and I think I’ve done it proud, I hope you agree. I feel a sense of responsibility when working with vintage fabric, it can’t be wasted, you only have one shot because once it’s gone, it’s gone. I think I’ve pulled it off and I know my Nan would have loved to have added it to her own wardrobe.
Songs for the spooky season
Autumn songs that got me in the mood for Halloween, rainy days and walking on crunchy leaves.
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One response to “Put Your Pinny On”
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