Autumn/Winter 13/14

Over the years in which I have been sewing a lot of what I wear, certain rules have emerged. One of them is: No autumn sewing plans or blogging before my summer holiday. More than just a rule, it's a matter of mind-set. Although I would never class myself as a summer-person, I just can't bear the thought of the cold end of the year without having had a chance to celebrate summer...

As a result of the idiosyncrasies of my job (most people get married in summer, with June being the most popular month), I tend to go on holiday rather late in the season. When I left for Austria two weeks ago, stores were already being filled with autumn clothes.
Now that I'm back (after two weeks of hiking, rafting and visiting caves an castles) I feel ready to take a good look at those. And I'm already dreaming of all those things I'd like to make in the months to come.

Let's talk collections first. Strangely, I don't think I've read posts about those on any other sewing blog yet. Apparently, this season hasn't produced a "must copy" item.
I don't always look at the high fashion stuff, but when I do, it's much more often in autumn than in spring (as in autumn collections, which are, of course, actually presented in spring although fashion magazines will only discuss them at the start of the season they are for). I guess that has something to do with my love for tailoring, wool fabrics and rich, dark colours.

I generally prefer to look at collections on paper, in a magazine but this time I went to style.com which makes it easier to share some of the things I like.
I will confess immediately to only looking at a few collections. Just stuff I had read about in a magazine and some brands I often like the look of.

First up: Did you hear about the sort-of tribute collection Christian Lacroix made for the house Schiaparelli? They're going to have another designer do that each season from now on. 
The collection has a lot of the usual suspects: Long-haired fur, lobsters, shocking pink. And yet, it does manage to look like Lacroix and Schiaparelli at the same time. 

This green dress was the only item I really liked.

Then, Dutch Vogue was very positive about Prada. They even drew some sort of comparison to the New Look. Why? I have no idea. If you ask me, the collection is fine but they've done much more striking stuff in recent years. 
There was some inspiration for my own sewing sewing though.

Like these jackets: High neckline separating zipper, and a colour contrast. In the first picture, it looks like patch pockets, in the second one like a wide rib knit band. It's probably the latter, but I like the first idea for green tweed in my stash (I already made a much-worn jacket from it. It's too heavy for a dress or skirt and I don't want re-do the same look in the same fabric). How about moss green tweed with deep yellow pockets? Red or bright turquoise would be nice too, but I don't have wool fabric in those colors in my stash.

And then there was this neckline on a couple of tops and dresses. A boat neck with a center front closure with big buttons. Feminine and tough at the same time. I quite fancy this look for a big-skirted 1950's style dress in a warm winter fabric.

Then, I took a look at Dior. 
Of course, they days of the old master are gone forever...
But I have to say I also kind of miss the spectacle of the Galliano years...


There are some nods to the classic looks of the brand.

I especially like the suit.

But this outfit was part of the same show. I don't really get that. And I personally wasn't a fan of the painted-on shoes (I read the review, I know it was a reference to Warhol).

And then something completely different: I rather like the work of Haider Ackermann. Have done so for a couple of years. 

There's always such strength to his collections. And no matter how much I love skirts, there's something refreshing about a high-fashion collection made up almost entirely of bifurcated outfits.
Of course, most of his looks are quite draped and layered so they have very little in common with my personal esthetic. 

That said, I would wear this outfit. In fact, I've made garment in the past which could add up to a sort of light-version of this look.

And is he doing jumpsuits in different shapes? I can't really tell from the pictures the outfits are pretty cool. 

These were my picks from the AW 13/14 collections so far. They may or may not end up having some impact on my sewing plans for the coming season. Do you ever look at runway collections for sewing inspiration? And which are your favorites?

On to autumn sewing

For the past few days, this has been the view that has greeted me in the morning. Although it's still fairly warm, this is clear sign that summer is ending, I would say.

Time to plan for autumn sewing. As usual, I really want to make use of the fabrics in my stash, I will be making my own patterns and trying to develop some new skills.

All the talk of hard-core tailoring and dressmaking on other blogs, has left me feeling like a bit of an under-achiever recently (althoug, to be fair, I make all my own clothes and rarely spend more than 10 euros on the material for one garment. So it shouldn't be a surprise that I don't always feel like making muslins and mock-ups and I never like basting...). Still, I definately want to make at least one jackets employing old-school tailoring techniques. Just for the experience.

The very thought of winter sewing makes me want to make jackets anyway.

They've never the most worn items in my wardrobe (because 1. not all jackets go

with skirts and 2. they can be too formal for some of my daily activities), but I just love making them. I think jackets or cardigans over colourful short sleeved dresses will be a look I'll try this year. And I bought more purple mystery crepe which I sort of want to make into a New Look suit...

I have been looking at pictures from the A/W 2010 fashion shows for inspiration as well. To me, the extreme shapes of high fashion tend to be a better inspiration than the everywhere-the-same stuff found on every high street. Toning things down and translating styles into wearable garments is something I can do myself.

I'm happy to see that the tapered leg trousers, which I've come to love, will still be an 'in' thing, as will beautifully flowy wide legged styles (like these, from Ann Demeulemeester). And of course, there are the longer and fuller skirts, which I've been loving all this summer.

I still like them, but not as much as I thought I would.

The Louis Vuitton show, which so many sewing bloggers have been raving about, actually looked a bit disappointing to me. Like something about the silhouet wasn't quite right... I prefer Dries van Noten for inspirational dresses for this winter (although, obviously, it's not about loving whole shows for me. it's about inspiring details and twists)

What has really surprise me however, is how much I love colour for this winter. There's always black for winter, and this year is no exception. And I've always loved it and I will probably make more black clothes, even if it's just because it's in my stash and it goes with the clothes I already have. However, out of all the shows I've looked at (I bought a magazine for the overview, looking at everything online would drive me crazy), this is what really got stuck in my mind.

Marni. I'm not loving all the shapes. Not at all. But just look at that colour palette: brown and ocher and red and turquoise. It seems like something which has been growing on me since way before I saw this. I've been looking for ocher and/or mustard coloured fabric since last winter and turquoise was my big colour discovery this summer. It's putting it all together to great effect that really blows my mind. Although it's way out of my comfort zone, I may just try and go for this kind of colour this winter...