Refashioning: Fashion Forward Korean Style 2fer Shirt

Several years ago, back in my South Korea days, I bought this awesome shirt in the subway.

I love how it melds the collared shirt with the off-shoulder jersey look. It's like party meets business in a really really unique and cool way.

A little detail. I like that the business shirt is only attached to the jersey by the sleeves and the armpit/shoulder hem. That way it can move more naturally, unlike those hideous V-neck sweaters that have a collared shirt collar sewn in at the neck, cuffs at wrists, and tails at bottom hem. Those shirts always look fake and horrible. I will say...with that elastic at the bottom, this shirt is no joke. Like...it begs real dedication because it's not easy getting in and out.

Here is a western-style shirt that my mother-in-law gave me recently. I really like the hexagonal red pearl buttons, growth stripes, and the back yoke. I wanted to turn this shirt into a shirt like the one above.

First I folded the western shirt in half and the Korean shirt in half on top of it and folded the sleeves of the Korean shirt in so I could cut around the bodice of the western shirt, using the Korean shirt as a guide.

Then, I did the same thing with the sleeves.

Next, I did the same thing with some red jersey.

. . .And the sleeves.

[Picture missing] The first thing I did sewing-wise was to sew the top and bottom seams of the jersey sleeves. I took a picture, but it didn't transfer, so you will just have to take my word for it.

Next, I sewed the neckline of the red jersey on the front and back of the bodice. (The hem in question is to the left in this picture.)

Next (and after the next two or three steps, I realized I should have done this part after them in sequence, but oh well), I pinned all the pieces together and sewed the sleeves onto the bodice.

Then I sewed down the side seams of the bodice of the western shirt.

Then I sewed down the sleeves.

Then, I sewed down the bodice of the jersey. (After this is where I should have attached the sleeves, because I ended up having to take out some of the seam in order to sew the bodices and down the sleeves...Anyways, if you were wanting to do this, I would advice doing them in the suggested order and not the order I did it. Otherwise, forget I said anything!)

Then I stuffed the jersey up into  the collar so I could quickly sew around the bottom edge of the collared shirt. Typically, I would have folded this edge under instead of sewing it, but this was easier, and since you will never see it, it doesn't matter how it looks.

Then, I folded the bottom edge up about 3/4 of an inch and added elastic through the waistband I'd created. You might notice that I kept the shirt open instead of sewing the bottom hem closed. This is to help getting in and out.

The last step was to hem the jersey and I was done! It took about 3 and a half hours total.

The back is my favorite part.

The End!

Chanel Inspired - Patent Leather Skirt

I have been reading many many fashion magazines lately. I know. . .I should read books. . .Anyways, Chanel and other designers keep making these unlikely full leather skirts for fall. We are all used to leather making a nice pencil skirt, and then there were those A-line skirts that Gap kept selling during the 90s. Nowadays, it seems that designers are adding even more volume into leather--even making ball gowns with the stuff! That seems absurd, but it got me to wondering if I needed one. Not a ball gown. A skirt.

I had a piece of black patent leather from which I used a portion to accent on The Lady Grantham Dress, astute readers will remember. Anyways, seeing Chanel's new looks for fall, I got inspired to copy the silhouette and maybe I jump on the fashion train this fall too. . .but for no money. . .

Okay so see how that white is peeking out the bottom of the one on the left? I could only wear that with certain things, but I did like the white on the black. Also, the silhouette is a little obnoxious for every day--sticking out that far, I mean.

This is a better picture of a full leather skirt (the one on the far right). 

(These pictures are from the September 2013 edition of W magazine, by the way.)

This is what I came up with. It's a little toned down from the fullness of the skirts above (because there is such a thing as princessing people to death). I used the quilted white jersey (from this dress I made earlier) as the waist/hip band to help elongate my torso and minimize my hips. Also, the skirt comes down to almost the top of my knee so it's work appropriate. I didn't bother with a zipper because the jersey is stretchy enough to pull on and off.

I really like this sweater with it. Hard and soft. Notice my nod to Chanel again with the metal surrounded pearl buttons. 

I'm suuuuch a poser!