Halloween Outfit - Butterick 5247

Happy Halloween! I knew this Butterick 5247 chain mail-like dress would come in handy some day. During the past few days, I was busy getting the kids' costumes ready for tonight. My daughter asked me this afternoon what costume I would be wearing. I hadn't thought about a costume for myself but she was really insisting that I 'make' one. I rummaged through my wardrobe and found this chain mail-like dress that I made last year. I wore it on top of a grey long sleeves t-shirt, a pair of self-made Polartec black pants, a thrifted belt and my knee high boots. I also made a cardboard sword with aluminum foil. I braided one side of my hair and voila! I'm a female warrior!

My daughter seemed genuinely impressed with this outfit that she said she wanted to be a female warrior tonight too! Sorry, there was just no time to make a new costume for her. But she said that next year she would definitely want to be a female warrior with a sword and a shield. We shall see. She changes her mind about her attire constantly. I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to be something completely different a year from now!

Day 7 - Self-challenge: Long skirt outfits

I hadn't worn a long skirt in the last 2 days since there was howling wind and pouring rain (remnant of Hurricane Patricia). Although there were intermittent showers today, I thought the weather was well enough to finally wear my long skirt outfits. I chose this red wool gored skirt (Simplicity 5914) that I hadn't blogged about, and wore it with a casual black t-shirt, a rarely worn thrifted beaded cardigan and my rain boots (for the rain puddles):

(Unfortunately I didn't have time to take the photo until dusk today. The quality of the photo is drastically worse.)

I have thoroughly enjoyed this long skirt outfit challenge. It was great to trot out the long skirts that I rarely had a chance to wear. I feel that I have utilized my wardrobe better and the cost per wear for each clothing item is better than before. Here is a summary of my 7 day Long skirt outfits challenge:

Now what other self-challenges should I set next? Do you have any clothing self-challenges as well?

Day 6 - Self-challenge: Long skirt outfits

Yes I'm trotting this item out again! I wore this thrifted wool blend lurex sweater skirt in my last self-challenge: Daytime glitter and glam as well. It is indeed a long skirt isn't it? This time I'm wearing this with a self-made wool blend sweater knit cowlneck tunic and black boots:

Tomorrow will be the last day of my self-challenge. I'm really having fun with this!

Day 5 - Self-challenge: Long skirt oufits

Today I brought out this dark green wool blend skirt (Simplicity 8850) that I made a while back but forgot to blog about it. I used the same pattern as the wool burgundy skirt that I wore earlier this week because I thought the skirt shape was suitable for my body shape. I used a medium wool coating fabric that I had used for my much-loved winter coat as well as my hubby's winter coat. I wore this skirt today with a wool blend teal cardigan, a self-made scarf, a black belt and black boots:

This is the first time I had worn this skirt out because I was waiting to get some inspirations to embellish this skirt. I think it looks okay without any embellishments but I'm still hoping to embellish it in the future.

Tomorrow is the 2nd last day of my Long skirt outfit challenge. Looking forward to it!

Day 4 - Self-challenge: Long skirt outfits

Today I wore this houndstooth skirt (McCall's 4593) that I made a while back. Again, I think I wore it less than 5 times since I made it. How terrible! Anyway, it saw daylight today with my trusty refashioned denim shirt, self-made red scarf, thrifted belt and black boots:

I am enjoying giving my rarely worn skirts some daylight! There are more long skirts hidden in my closet ready to see the light of day for the rest of this challenge.

Day 1, 2, 3 of my Self-challenge: Long skirt outfits

I have been wearing long skirts outfits for the last 3 days but I just hadn't have time to blog about it yet. So here they are:

Day 1: 
I wore this newly made square fringed plaid skirt that I made this week with a thrifted black leather jacket and a self-made scarf.

Day 2:
I chose this burgundy wool skirt (Simplicity 8850) that I made a few years ago. It was one of my favourite skirts but I hadn't worn it for a while. I'm happy to have worn this again with a thrifted blue plaid skirt, thrifted brown leather jacket and thrifted brown boots.

Day 3:
This time I worn a self-drafted a-line brown stretch velvet skirt that I made before the kids were born (a long time ago!!). I wore it often a few years ago but had neglected it in recent years. I wore this with a thrifted refashioned men's wool sweater, a thrifted purple scarf and thrifted leather boots.

(I guess I have to clean the camera lens again!)

I am happy with this challenge so far. I hope it doesn't start snowing before this challenge is finished!

On another note - I'm trying to remember to take my blog photos during the day in natural daylight. I think it shows the texture and the colours of the fabrics much better than indoor lighting. The problem is that I'm usually very busy during the day that I only remember to take the photo at the end of the day with poor lighting.

Another Self-challenge: Long skirt outfits

Yes, I'm doing another self-challenge. This time I want to do a Long Skirt outfits challenge. I have a number of Fall/Winter long skirts that I don't wear much. The reason is a practical one: it snows here in winter and long skirts do not fare well in knee deep snow. Short skirts or dresses with warm leggings and knee high boots are much more practical in the winter for me. So the only suitable time to wear these Fall/Winter weight long skirts are in the Fall just before the snow starts falling.

I'm excited to start this 7 day Long skirt challenge!

October MAGAM garment done! A Braveheart Plaid skirt

I have had this square skirt in my head for a long time before I actually did it. As expected, it was quite easy and quite to make (even with the lining). However, the fringes took a while to  do. All I did was to sew a tight zig-zag about 2cm away from the hem and the picked the cross-grain threads away along the hem to make the fringed hem. I used a 2 inch wide black elastic band as the waist band instead of a set in waistband. It's very comfortable to wear except all that fabric makes the gathered waist quite bulky. The only way to wear this skirt without it looking too bulky is to wear a thick black belt with a black cardigan on top.

When I unveiled the skirt to my hubby, he laughed and asked if I was going to a Braveheart cosplay! Hahahaha! I don't care. I am happy that I 'busted' a big piece of fabric stash for this project. I will wear it out tomorrow and see if people will look at me in a funny way.

I think I should clean the camera lens. It's so blurry!

So what do you think? Is it too Braveheart/costumy?  Or is it too late-90's looking?

Day 7 - Self-challenge: Daytime glitter and glam

This is the last day of this self-challenge. It was really cold this morning with frost on the ground. I chose this self-stitched antique gold brocade gored skirt for today. It's a skirt that I wore quite frequently a few years ago but has since been much neglected:

I wore this with a teal wool blend cardigan, denim shirt, black tights and brown tall boots:

So that's it for my 7 day self-challenge. Here is a summary of the outfits:

I am quite happy to have gone through this challenge. Some of my never-worn or rarely worn clothes have finally seen daylight! The outfits in general were a bit more dressy than I usually would have worn but not overtly so. I'm going to have to remember to wear these slightly 'glam' pieces out once in a while.

Okay! What other self-challenge should I try next? Do you set yourself some outfit challenges as well?

Day 6 - Self-challenge: Daytime glitter and glam

I have a few faux fur clothing items and I wear some of them quite often during Fall/Winter. However, this faux fur bolero jacket that I made had never been worn by me (I think my mom wore it once to someone's wedding). It looks like it's meant for special occasion (especially with the rhinestone button) but that occasion hasn't happened for me yet:

It's a beautifully soft fur and it's quite warm. So I decided to wear it today with a thrifted refashioned men's wool sweater, a self-stitched pair of charcoal jeggings and thrifted ankle boots:

I think it looks okay. I'm just happy to have finally worn something glam that I made after it had been sitting in the wardrobe for so long!

Day 5 - Self-challenge: Daytime glitter and glam

For today I chose this wool lurex sweater skirt that I thrifted a few years ago. I think I wore it twice which again is a crime! ;-) The lurex instantly says festive and the high wool content and sweater knit makes it warm and comfy to wear.

So I added a thrifted and refashioned merino wool tunic, a thrifted casual belt and brown boots for daytime wear:

I think this will be good for my Christmas roadtrip this year. It's 'casually-glam'. I will have to remember to pack this outfit. Let's see what outfit I'll come up with for tomorrow!

Day 4 - Self-challenge: Daytime glitter and glam

I made this Chainmail-like knit dress with buckle detail last year and I had only worn it once! Sacrilege! :-) It needed to see some daylight!

 I decided to wear it today with a thrifted long black cardigan, thrifted belt, black tights and thrifted ankle boots:

I like how the buckle and the glittery knit fabric was peeking out from the otherwise all black ensemble. Fun! It's a very comfy dress. I really should wear it more often.

Looking forward to tomorrow's outfit!

Day 3 - Self-Challenge: Daytime Glitter and Glam

Today I decided to wear some brocade for daytime. I chose this antique gold brocade dress that I made (New look 6752). I think I wore this less than a handful of times since I made it a few years ago. It's time for the dress to see some daylight:

I added a denim shirt, a thrifted skinny belt and brown boots for this daytime look:

I'm glad to have trotted this old dress out again! It's actually not too difficult to wear these more dressy garments during the day. I just have to put a little more thought into the outfit. Looking forward to tomorrow's outfit!

Day 2 - Self-Challenge: Daytime Glitter and Glam

For day 2 of the challenge, I chose this XL white brocade pants that I altered/refashioned last year:

I think I have worn it less than 5 times in the last year. Why? I thought it was too dressy for everyday wear. Well, I don't care anymore! ;-) I wore it today with a dark denim jacket, a thrifted grey t-shirt, and thrifted black ankle boots. I think it definitely doesn't look as dressy anymore. In fact, it just looks like a regular pair of white jeans:

Looking forward to tomorrow's daytime glam outfit!

October MAGAM project plan - A Self-drafted Plaid skirt

I have been making garments and accessories with my existing fabric stash for quite a few years now. However, the stash just doesn't look like it's getting significantly smaller. Yes! I have a monster fabric stash!

I have been wanting to make a self-drafted square skirt (a.k.a handkerchief hem skirt) for a while. The idea just has been in my mind for a very long time. I think I'm actually going to do it this month. This is a brief sketch of it:

I have chosen to use this red/black plaid wool blend tweed fabric in my stash. I have previously used it to make a big scarf and a hat (see here).

I plan to make it with an elastic waist. It should be a relatively easy to make skirt. I hope it will turn out well enough for me to wear this Fall/Winter season!

Day 1 - Self-Challenge: Daytime Glitter and Glam

I thrifted this beautiful sequined tank top from my local thrift store a couple of months ago. I hadn't worn it until yesterday:

I decided to wear it with a thrifted blue plaid shirt, thrifted black leggings and black ankle boots to tone it down:

I actually like that the sparkles are peeping out from the casual plaid shirt. It jazzes up the casual outfit just a little bit. Looking forward to another sparkly/glam outfit tomorrow!

A New Self-Challenge: Glitter and Glam for Daytime

I had so much fun with the last self-challenge that I decided to start another self-challenge to 'explore' the rarely visited parts of my wardrobe.

I have lots of glitzy, shiny, glittery, sparkly, self-made clothes, self-refashioned clothes or thrifted clothes that I rarely wear. There just never seemed to be any occasions to wear them. I'm never invited to any weddings, engagement parties, New year's Eve party, etc. So I want to challenge myself in wearing these 'fancy' clothes for daytime. My objective is to wear these clothes in a casual, everyday way.

I'll be starting this 7 day challenge tomorrow. Hopefully it will be more fun than a headache!

Day 5 - Self-Challenge: Summer dresses for Fall

Okay! Last day of my self-challenge. I chose this self-made pink floral knit faux wrap dress that I wore often this past summer:

I topped it with a thrifted and refashioned oatmeal coloured merino wool tunic, beige belt and brown tall boots:

So this is it! I'm quite happy with this little self-challenge. It was great to put more thought into what I'm wearing each day as well as making sure the rarely worn items get worn!

Here is the little summer of the 5 day Summer Dresses for Fall challenge:

Now what other self-challenges should I do?

Day 4 - Self-challenge: Summer dresses for Fall

Today I chose this red floral knit sundress for the challenge. It was from a tried-and-true McCall 5671  pattern:

I wore it with a simple wool blend black cardigan and black tall boots:

It seems like my formula for wearing sleevesless sundresses in the Fall is to wear them with tall boots and wool cardigans.

Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge. Let's see if I can do something more creative with the outfit!

Day 3 - Self-challeng: Summer dresses for Fall

It's been fun with this challenge. Today I chose this thrifted and altered sporty tank dress for my challenge:

And this is how I wore it today:

I wore the ribbed knit tank dress with:
- thrifted tomato red wool blend cardigan/jacket
- black leather tall boots

This was quite an easy outfit to put together. The cardigan itself was a great find at the local thrift store last year. It's comfy to wear and looks a bit dressy. It goes with everything. One could go to the office with this outfit!

Looking forward to tomorrow's challenge!

Day 2 - Self-challeng: Summer dresses for Fall

Today I chose this dress for my challenge - a Cotton voile black and white print dress based on New Look 6615 (seen here):

And this is how I wore it:

 I wore the dress with:
- Teal wool/cotton cardigan
- black slip
- black tights
- thrifted black leather ankle boots

I feel so non-sloppy! Yay! Looking forward to tomorrow's challenge!

Day 1 - Self-Challenge: Summer dresses for Fall/Autumn

Today is the first day of my Self-Challenge: Summer dresses for Fall. I chose this self-refashioned white table cloth dress.

Today I wore this cap sleeves lace dress with:
- Thrifted burgundy Italian Merino wool cardigan
- Thrifted white slip
- Thrifted burgundy tall boots
- brown tights

And on top of all this, I wore my refashioned leather jacket to keep me toasty warm.

So far so good! Looking forward to tomorrow's 'desperate to hang on to summer outfit'!

It's getting cold! Time for a Self-Challenge!

This morning the temperature dropped below 10 Celsius. Really? The day before, it was still hot enough to wear a short sleeves shirt! My kids had their winter coats on this morning. My daughter was fighting me about it but as soon as we left the house, she begged to put the coat on.

I have been busy making plans for my Autumn 2015 wardrobe. There are so many things I want to make and wear with my current stash of fabrics and patterns. However, I thought I would set up a Self-Challenge for the next 5 days until I have finalized what I will be sewing.

The Self-Challenge is to wear summer dresses in cooler temperatures. I will be layering my summer dresses for the next 5 days in my 'desperate final attempt' to hang on to summer! LOL! I think it will be a fun challenge. I will be posting the pictures as the week goes by.