RTW won’t kill me

Last week Summer turned into Autumn. That’s about two months sooner than last year. So naturally I wasn’t ready.

After complaining about my wardrobe all Summer I finally decided to clean out my closet. I put away every single piece of clothing that doesn’t fit me anymore so it would be easier to see what I was left to work with.

The stats:

1 sweater
12 cardigans
1 faux lambskin vest
2 blazers
3 blouses
1 shirt
2 shirt tunics
6 dresses
1 pair of corduroy trousers
1 pair of corduroy leggings
1 pair of printed leggings
2 bodysuits with print
1 tanktop with print

If you look at my separates I have a problem to say the least 🙂 Apart from cardigans, my separates are non-existent.

This is the part were the ability to sew and my stash were actually stopping me from fixing this. Being able to sew and having a vast stash made me feel guilty each time I thought about RTW shopping. But I didn’t have the time or the right stash to fix it.

After I saw what I was left with last night, I decided that enough was enough and that I just needed to go shopping.

I knew what I wanted since I’ve been preparing on a Pinterest Board for a month. I looked around online to see which stores carried the style I was looking for and this morning I went shopping… Alone… No baby.

My tips for shopping RTW when you don’t like shopping but you really have to:

– research in advance which type of clothes and silhouettes you want
– make sure you are not rushed and not distracted
– start at the front and look, calmly, at the entire selection
– pick what you like but be honest about your size
– try everything on and try to mirror yourself from a few feet away

Whenever I went shopping these past few months I did the exact opposite of all these things and left the store each time feeling miserable.
This time I left feeling happy with what I got and I can’t wait to start making new outfits.

This is what I got:

I went for very drapy shirts which cover my bottom and are loose but not shapeless. I also went for (very) stretchy pants and high waisted skinny jeans. I opted for solids and neutral prints. I got it all for less than 200€, so I don’t feel too guilty.

I’m glad I went shopping because now I can go back to sewing stuff I like instead of stuff I need!

Edit: Once again I wasn’t completely honest with myself about my size. I bought 3 pairs of really stretchy skinny twill pants. I wanted a print, a back pair and a coloured pair. I went a for blue and white print, army green (dark olive) and black. Because they ran out of the black ones in size 42, I sized up to a size 44. Believe me, it hurt to pick the largest size available, but if they were too big, I could always take them in. The 42 fit me but as always they seemed to be creeping down during the day. Hoisting up my pants every 5 seconds was not what I had in mind. I thought it was due to my high hipbones… Until I put on the black size 44 today… They were perfect! Once again, I had let myself to believe that my body was the problem and I’d have to live with it. They fit fine elsewhere, so why weren’t they staying up… Because they were a size too small!! So I’m returning the printed and green pair and swapping it for a bigger size. F*ck the bigger size, I wanna be comfy!

My #Augusttribute

The sewcialist theme for this month is August Tribute (am I the only one who thinks of the Hunger Games when hearing the word Tribute?)

So let me tell you about my inspiration!

Although you wouldn’t say so based on the stuff I sew, there is one sewcialist I have the sewing hots for (is that even a thing?)

Can you guess who? I’ll give you 4 clues…
1. She sews a lot of pretty dresses!
2. She obviously likes slouchy boots.
3. She owns SO.MANY cardigans.
4. We speak the same language!

Do you know who it is?

That’s right! It’s Inge from Ingemaakt!

Serious girl-crush! A few years ago all I wore were dresses/skirts and slouchy boots and cardigans! I have recently rediscovered some of my old dresses and even if they’re a bit short/tight now, I made me feel like me again. I have no idea why I stopped wearing dresses with cardigans and boots but I think for the most part because fitting woven dresses SCARES THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF ME… Or that is up until now. Recently I’ve started noticing my fit issues (it only took me two years) and I’m confident that with some patience I could totally get those dresses to fit me. Patience being the operate word here. Sewing used to be about getting something new, fast… I didn’t really bother with finishes and because I mostly sew knits, fitting was reduced to a bare minimum.

To put my words into action I’ve bought two new patterns. The Camí dress by Pauline Alice and the Edith Blouse/Dress by Maria Denmark. And yes, both were inspired by Inge!

Apart from wanting to steal ever outfit she has ever modeled, I think she’s genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve met online and I’m looking forward to meeting her in real life one day!

If you don’t know who Inge is, hop over to her blog or start by admiring some of her outfits right here (yes, I copied the pics from her blog, but I don’t think she’ll mind)

Camí love!

Edith love!

I told her she could send the entire outfit my way… Too bad she really liked it!

I wanted the same fabric for my Ginger… Too bad she got it in Japan.

love.the.entire.outfit #sigh

Her cardigans match her skirts all.the.time… #jealouslikehell

Also: CLOGS! They are my new shoe crush! #iwantobuyalltheclogs

Do we tend to overthink our wardrobe?

A few months ago I told you about my wardrobe malfunction/identity crisis. While I’ve managed to feel better about myself and my role as a mother (because, seriously, she’s the cutest baby ever) I haven’t lost any weight and my wardrobe is still a mess.

I think the lack of weightloss is due to lack of motivation. Let me explain, I do really want to loose the extra weight but I also really really really really (yes, really) want another baby. Like now! And it seems pointless to loose all the weight now and then just gain it back with my next pregnancy. Because I would have to start over again. And that’s just silly in my book.

These past few weeks I’ve managed to find/make some items that make me feel put together. I feel/look better with better fitting clothes. I’m also making an effort to get properly dressed everyday.

But starting September 1st school starts again and I’ve got no autumn wardrobe. I did the whole Wardrobe Architect thing but to no avail.
I’ve been thinking about what I want and I guess I kind of figured it out but it all gives me a giant headache. It just seems that being able to sew overcomplicates things because I want to sew every single thing myself and I just don’t know where to start so I don’t get started at all.

It all gives me a terrible headache and not a lot of will to sew.

Does the fact that we can sew our own wardrobe make us overthink the entire thing?

BFF Nettie twins!

After I made my two Nettie bodysuits I figured it was time for a Nettie dress. I had just bought this spongy ITY knit on sale (and bought 4 metres) and figured this was the perfect fabric for my new summer dress.

I made sure to carefully cut the pieces so the stripes matched. I even cut the sleeves to match… But I cut the red on top instead of the blue so I didn’t attach them 🙂

I didn’t make any alterations after my previous Nettie, I just graded out to a bigger size in the hips. I used a navy blue ribbing in my stash for the neck and shoulder bands. I initially wanted this to be a maxi dress but it looked like I was eaten alive by the stripes 🙂 So I cut it off midcalf and finished it with a narrow lettuce hem on my serger.
WORKED LIKE A CHARM! Seriously, this dress makes me feel put together! Slip on some heels (and some shapewear – stupid postpartum belly) and I’m good to go!

I made this dress the day before a small scale blogger meet-up and decided to wear it! Before the meet up I met up with my best friend and went window shopping. She noticed that my dress was much like some RTW dresses she liked. But she tried those on and she just didn’t look good.(Totally the dresses’ fault, not hers) They were too tight, too short, too flimsy. So I promised her that next time she came over, I would teach her how to sew one herself!

I broke out all my suitable stash knits for her, but she hesitantly asked if I had any of my striped fabric left 😀 I did, so she made herself a Nettie dress out of the same fabric!

That ofcourse needed pictures!

Side note: Best compliment about this dress was Hanne telling me she thought it was RTW until she saw the perfect stripe matching 😀

I never knew I needed you but now I can’t live without you! Or yes, I made a Nettie!

It took my best friend and a lot of convincing to get me to pose for these pictures but in the end I’d do anything for the sewing community 🙂

I’d been eyeing the Nettie pattern ever since Heather Lou released it, but due to limited funding I held out. Until I swear, it just fell into my inbox! Oh.my.god you guys, sewcialists are so amazing. And especially Hanne who bought this pattern for me as a belated baby gift 🙂 She figured this pattern was just what a new mommy needed and boy, was she right!

I immediately got to it (3 Netties in 3 days) and this seriously sewed up superfast. Apart from the snap placket it was all serger all the way!

Nettie 1:
For my first version I used a floral double knit I had in my stash. I didn’t make any alterations and this is the result:

As you can see I still needed a few modifications:
– The overall thing was a bit too long.
– I needed a swayback adjustment
– I needed a narrow shoulder adjustment

But it was definitely wearable! And it goes so well with all those bright coloured skirts I have in my closet but that just looked to dull with a white top.

Nettie 2:

On my second version I made some alterations:
– I shortened the bodice by 3cm
– I did a 3cm swayback adjustment
– I pinched out the excess on the shoulder which resulted in 1,5cm at the top to nothing at the underarm.

I do think this version fits a lot better 🙂

I have made a Nettie dress as well, but you’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s post to see that one.

All in all, Nettie is a pattern you didn’t know you needed until you have it and then you can’t imagine your life without!

PS Hubby’s comment was hilarious: “Oh, you made a onesie like the baby! But you’ll just wear this around the house right?”