Jamie Beck-Inspired Wardrobe Pieces
I've talked about photographer Jamie Beck a few times here. Whether it's her Isolation Creation or Romanticism ...she's inspired my creativity SO MUCH this year and is one of my favorite people to follow on Instagram. I won't bore you with re-tellings of things I've already said, but long story short, I feel like she has given me this permission to bring a more visually romantic style back to my wardrobe.
I've always been a big fan of dresses (they're just SO much easier to buy for a pear body), but I love how her style leans into this....Renaissance poet/artist vibe? and as a sewist, I find myself frequently considering her clothing and what pieces I can use as inspiration for my own projects. I'm finding that there is a lot of overlap in our personal styles, so today I'm taking you through a few future project planning ideas! I've ordered a few fabrics from fabric.com to create some new pieces—a lot of separates coming, which my wardrobe desperately needs! I tend to go for dresses because you get a whole outfit out of a project, but it's nice to start thinking how I can incorporate more skirts and blouses into my wardrobe. The dresses I tend to make do not have sleeves, so it will be great to get some of those layering pieces into my wardrobe for winter.
So without further ado, here are some current projects on my upcoming to-make list. These are all dupes projects. I'll show you the inspiration, the fabric I'm going to use for recreation, and the patterns I'm planning to use!
1. Behida Dolic suit. This project is soooo my vibe. The suit is stunning, and has this androgynous style that I really love. I bought 3 yards of this gorgeous 100% wool herringbone suiting—enough to make the jacket and the waistcoat. I might regret not buying enough fabric to make matching pants for the full look, but I'll try out the jacket and waistcoat for now! I'm planning on using the Closet Core Jasika Blazer and Vogue 8987 for the waistcoat.
2. Luxe Provence Top + Thierry Colson skirt. I love this entire look. I've already made a dupe of this top using the French Poetry Polaris Top in a white cotton voile and it's SO GOOD. A perfect layering piece under my dresses and great with skirts. Now I need one in black—Black silk chiffon to be more specific. :D To dupe the skirt, I won't be using a pattern. I'm going to cut a half circle skirt, and attach a gathered tier to the bottom of it using black pre-pleated chiffon that I purchased from Mood. I bought the pleated chiffon to make a different skirt, but the leftovers will be the PERFECT amount to make this skirt too.
Luxe Provence Top | silk chiffon | pleated chiffon | Polaris Top
3. Mille Blouse. Give me all of those Renaissance artist clothing pieces. This is so cool. I can totally see this paired with one of my Kami Skirts. For this project, I purchased white poplin— a fabric that will have some structure to it and is said to be great for shirts. It hasn't arrived yet, so I can't vouch for the drape for sure quite yet. I'm hoping it has that structure that I need. For this, I purchased vintage McCalls 7751 to attempt my dupe! Ive not made a shirt before, so I'm looking forward to learning something new.
Inspiration | Fabric | Pattern
4. Mirae Bodysuit. Admittedly, this one is a bit of a trend piece for me. Puff sleeves are very in right now, and I think they are super pretty. I tried to add them on a previous dress project, but I felt like I looked like I was going to a Ren Faire, so I'm giving it another go with a dupe inspired by this Mirae bodysuit. For my dupe, I'm using black stretch velvet. Unfortunately the velvet I bought is 90% polyester because fabric.com doesn't sell the silk velvet in black. (I've been trying to pay more attention to fiber content/quality lately because it leads to more comfortable clothes). For my dupe, I'm going to use Friday Pattern Company's Adrienne Blouse! It's perfect for this project! The Adrienne Blouse is not a body suit, so I'll decide later on if I want to pattern hack and add a bodysuit bottom to it. I've done this before using my Closet Core Nettie Bodysuit pattern with success.
Inspiration | Fabric | Pattern
5. Thierry Colson top. This one has been on my radar for awhile, but I haven't set aside fabric or time to make it yet! I have a few fabrics that I've purchased to make it a few times, but am picking this periwinkle silk organza to show you here! Organza drape is a lot more structured than the silk+cotton voile that the original top uses, but I think it will still create a beautiful piece. This is one that is eluding me a bit in terms of finding a pattern. I have a few vintage options that I've purchased to see if I can hack my way there: M6679, M7577, M3591, M6331 are all pattern options I'm considering!
6. Thierry Colson Dress. SO PRETTY right?! Thierry Colson sells this dress in a variety of fabrics, but I love the check they used. I have a black and white windowpane fabric already for a different project, so I decided to go with a plaid instead for this dress. Took me a bit to find a pattern I could use to hack this one. It has a sleeve detail that I absolutely love which you can see if you click the Inspiration link. I finally decided on the Republique du Chiffon Yolande dress pattern because it's the closest match. It will take a bit of modification, but it's all fairly simple changes to make I think! The fabric I'm using is a rayon challis, which has fluid drape— one of my favorites for dresses.
Inspiration | Fabric | Pattern
That’s it for me today! I do have a few more than what I've shared here, but these are the ones that are most resolved in terms of pattern. Which is your favorite? Do you also enjoy duping ready-to-wear as much as I do?
On an unrelated side note, thank you so much for all of your engagement with Vlogmas, where I post daily life vlogs on YouTube in December.