Wardrobe sewing: The winter work 6pac demonstrating unusual virtue

I think a lot about  my wardrobe. I find this an engaging pastime. Unfortunately, most of the thinking seems to avoid the fact that I spend a considerable part of my time at work, which necessitates trousers. I have not yet overcome my aversion to sewing trousers. Thank goodness, I can force myself to sew them by joining in a sewing project. (I assure you, buying them would be more work, and with no chance of success, but still, wasting valuable sewing time on trousers is deadening to the sewing enthusiasm)

To entice myself to sew dull work clothes, I started with my fabulous-almost-a-disaster winter coat.  I told myself in October last year, when I finished it just in time for warm weather,(as one does when the sewing ambition outstrips the available sewing opportunities), that I would definitely wear-it-all-the-time in order to distribute the cost of the fabric over many occasions of use. This is how I manage to convince myself that pricey designer Winter fabric fits into my tightwad fiscally responsible life in the subtropics.
Unusual virtue 1.
Completing the entire project

I report success. Not only have I actually (although belatedly) completed a dull work 6 pac mostly according to my plan, I wore the coat nearly every work day for 2 months (assisted by a particularly cold Winter), on my pleasant, short but sometimes frosty walk there, because these 3!! pairs of trousers all co-ordinate quite nicely with it. (Sewing trousers is the second unusual virtue - I can't bear to write a post solely about the trousers so they are previously unblogged -2 Burda Style 04-2009-118 variations, one self drafted and all tropical or lightweight wool, all lined with cotton batiste).

technical drawing from burdastyle.com.fr

 You can probably see that my personalised versions are rather different, I don't do cuffs, and the zip is on the side (blue pair) or at the back (grey pair).


 I do admit that the third pair, grey, has been languishing in a partially sewn manner on my sewing table for at least 2 months and has not actually been worn with the winter coat- yet. I wore them today though.

Fortunately, you can't see any of the blouses when I wear the coat, so I didn't have to think hard about that element of co-ordination. Blouse 1 here, Blouse 2 here and 3 here, Burda Style (when it was BWOF) 01-2008-106/7
(I have also worn the coat quite often over my lone pair of denim trousers in my soccer mum role). I am loving having a knit coat that bears no relation to polar fleece other than its flexibility.

Unusual virtue 2.
Stash and scrapbusting
The blue and grey trousers are not my usual colours, but I am quite happy with them for work clothes with some warmer shades in the blouses to prevent a terrible sallow appearance from scaring off all my clients. As I have purchased a few fabric bundles (see fiscally responsible self reporting above - it takes creative self accounting to convince oneself that purchasing a fabric bundle is really saving money, but I am quite accomplished at this aspect of fiscal irresponsibility), there are beautiful quality fabrics in my stash that are not necessarily perfectly suited to me, and I don't want to palm them all off on my long suffering daughters. All the fabrics used in this wardrobe (cough, except the fabric of the coat) are from 2010 or earlier stash - or are remnants from other projects.

Unusual virtue 3.
Wardrobe culling
I actually threw out one dismally faded pair of trousers and  one pair with unfortunate signs of insect affection. I don't think I've ever thrown out a pair of trousers that  fit me and had mostly intact fabric/hardware before. This unfortunate tendency to retain clothing has led to occasions of unsuitable scruffiness in the past. I now only have respectable and presentable work trousers in my wardrobe - not even an laundry emergency pair lurking in the top of the cupboard.( I may regret this)

 Unusual virtue 4.
Thinking about the accessories. As my (inside whilst at work) work wardrobe is invariably a pair of trousers and a blouse, my opportunities to accessorise are limited.
I made an accessory. This is a leather version of the Hot Patterns Nombad Hobo Bag. My accessory mostly co-ordinates with my new work wardrobe. This is much smarter looking than taking one's lunch to work in a supermarket bag. I also already have work shoes to co-ordinate with the trousers (one pair black, one pair dark brown). There will be no new trousers languishing in the wardrobe because I don't have the right shoes.I may be learning something from all these wardrobe planning threads after all.


Unusual virtue 5.

Cutting my losses when the inner layer cardigan did not look good with a collared shirt and trousers. - Formerly, I would have made a different cardigan, or different tops, or gone off on a tangent to force the cardigan into the 6pac. Instead, I worked out that I did not really need it to complete the wardrobe for my needs, and kept to the core plan of trousers and shirts for work with something to wear as an outer layer for commuting. I virtuously made a third pair of trousers to make sure it really was a 6 pack. See my halo?. I have left the inner cardigan in the "wardrobe" shot because it will remind me not to make it again in a work colour.

Unusual virtue 6
Not starting a new project in the middle of the schedule. Unfortunately this is a very unusual virtue for me, I failed to display this virtue.
I was very distracted by the Vivienne Files posts about a starting from scratch wardrobe, and the discussion concerning this that started in July. I feel it is an unusual virtue to have restrained myself from instantly starting a 4 piece collection in the same colours that I would never wear for work anyway. However, I did make the blue trousers without any pockets, belt loops or details, to make them unnoticeable, as the Vivienne Files suggest, and unfortunately, I find them not only boring, but impractical.
The other pairs of trousers have at least one pocket for my phone, which sometimes needs to be on my person whilst both hands (and shoulders) are free. This is how I did it.  I think my  pleasure in wearing hand made clothing is more "non boring basics" as described in Imogen Lamport's post here.

To reward myself for all this virtue I am planning a lovely virtual shopping trip with some vivid prints- or maybe I should put in some more work on that formal dress.

Here is the walking to work look, which I probably should not admit to, as I allow my hair to dry on the way there.... I promise it looks OK by the time I get there (you can see why I wear a hat in the top photo ;)

Self drafted trousers Mark 1

I have always scoffed at articles that say things like "trace off your best fitting RTW trousers" because no RTW trousers have fit me since I was 13 years old.
However, I am still wearing to work a pair of RTW trousers that I bought in January 2008. These required 2.5 hours of alterations (which I didn't get around to until 2010) and started me on the decision to never buy trousers again, but actually are clearly  not so bad (considering that I loathe sewing trousers for myself) - once altered, that is. I really like the wide side buttoning yoke, which I keep looking for in my Burda magazines, but have not come across yet, so I had to eat my words and trace over my RTW trousers to try to replicate them (unsurprisingly, despite being an iron-like poly blend, they are finally getting a bit worse for wear.

Ta-DA
Clearly that is not me in those trousers. I cunningly cut them out from some truly ancient fabric (purchased under duress (that would be me under duress) from a fierce elderly lady of my acquaintance who knows both that I sew and that I am incapable of saying no) that was full of moth holes. (Lincraft brand wool - that shows you how old it must be!)
The cutting out involved careful moth hole avoidance, and did not allow very large seam allowances. The trousers fit me quite well considering these limitations, but did not exactly allow room for anything so inelegant as the physical demands of my job, so I remade them for someone more slender. They do not fit perfectly, but neither of us care very much. They Will Do (clinical wardrobe requirements for Uni are now up to 3 days a week, and one of the tutors does not approve of skirts for some strange reason)

The recipient did not like the waistband buttoning near the side seam, so I shortened it, but she wanted the buttons left for decoration. OK, anything really, to get these out of my sewing room. I was pleased that I had cut them extra long and was still able to do a blind hem.
The trousers are lined with imperial batiste, and fortuitously, co-ordinate beautifully with her previous work wardrobes.
I have cut out a new pair for myself from non-motheaten fabric with bigger seam allowances :).

Stashbusting statistics, approximately 2m of 30 + year old wool fabric (guestimate, I've had it for about 5 years) and 2.5 m of cotton batiste} No scraps other than those in the bin, yay!