I know, I know... when it comes to clothes, the general consensus seems to be that "comfortable" and "stylish" are mutually exclusive. It's like that conversation in When Harry Met Sally:
Jess: So you're saying she's not that attractive.
Harry: No, I told you she is attractive.
Jess: Yeah but you also said she has a good personality.
Harry: She has a good personality.
[Jess stops walking, turns to Harry, raises his arms in the air]
Harry: What?
Jess: When someone's not that attractive, they're always described as having a good personality.
Harry: Look, if you had asked me what does she look like and I said, she has a good personality, that means she's not attractive. But just because I happen to mention that she has a good personality, she could be either. She could be attractive with a good personality, or not attractive with a good personality.
Jess: So which one is she?
Harry: Attractive.
Jess: But not beautiful, right
Okay, the brilliant wit of Billy Crystal aside, I have to respectfully disagree with the comfortable /=/ stylish thing. I know I'm more of a craft blogger than a style blogger, but while I may not be a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, I do actually pride myself on knowing when I look good, when I look passable, and when I'm an embarrassment. The thing is... I just don't always care. However, I think this skirt is pretty damn cute. And comfortable. At the same time!
So yes, I'll confess: it's made out of flannel. Flannel shirting, not pajama flannel. (I'll further confess I don't actually know what the difference is, but that's what the tags said and I'm sticking to it.) More stylish folks than me may be laughing at me through their screens, but seriously dude... don't knock it 'til you've tried it. And don't worry... I'm not expecting this to be evening wear. Just something comfy besides bermuda shorts to wear on a lazy sunday.
I thought the fabric had a sort of denim-appeal so I did some contrast topstitching in navy and used a navy and brass zipper, although I thoroughly botched the insertion. I'm not sure where I went wrong (perhaps just the bulk of the fabric threw me) but one side sits noticeably higher than the other! Oh well, no big deal.
My previous Crescent (View B) was graded from an 8 at the hips to a 10 at the waist, with 1" removed from the top. I still felt this sat a little too high for my taste, so this time around (View A) I graded from an 8 at the hips to a 12 at the waist. This added about an inch around the waist (not the full 1.5" the pattern would have you believe, because I've also removed that inch from the top, so it's not fully graded out to the 12). It's perfection. Serious perfection. I couldn't ask for it to fit any more comfortably. It actually doesn't really sit much further down, it's just a more correct grade for the slope of my hip and so it just sits more smoothly.
Anyway, I love it. But in case I haven't sold my more stylish readers, let my try to convince you with my best snugbug impression (Patty always sells it, doesn't she?):
OH! And in other news, I hit a major blogging milestone the other day: I was recognized by a reader/fellow sewist! Commenter Alice spotted me out at the Fabricana Canada Day sale! Thanks Alice, you made my day! (Alice doesn't yet have a blog, but she tells me she's working on it. Keep your eye on the comments for a linky, as I made her promise to share the address once she's started one. How's that for peer pressure? LOL.)
I love the color on this one! I'm not a fashionista either, but I do love making things that are comfy and happy. I'm actually working on view C of the Crescent now. Yours came out great. Oh, and nice "Patty" :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to see yours! I love this pattern, but I think 2 is enough for now. I'll have to put it away until I wear these out! Time to move on to dresses...
ReplyDeleteStumbled across your blog via A Fashionable Stitch, and I love this skirt! It's super cute! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through Burda. I just love your skirt and think it's a brilliant idea to make it in this material!
ReplyDeleteTerrific job! Excellent work and utterly stylish. You know, I still like the slightly higher fit, but it's great that you can rock both. And fantastic on being recognized out in the world. I've been blogging for years and that's never yet happened to me :-)
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that it looks better a tad higher, so hopefully one day I'll get more comfortable wearing skirts that way!
ReplyDelete@agoodwardrobe - thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI think this might be my favourite Crescent skirt yet. I think it's the perfect balance of comfy and stylish, and I love where it sits and the proportions of the lowered yoke. Good job! :)
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with comfy and in this case it look gorgeous too.
ReplyDeleteLove this version of the crescent skirt! I think I prefer it in solid than in print. and the topstitching is exceptional1
ReplyDeleteand I'm still struggling with a blog name. my best girlfriend jokingly came up with "that's sew alice!" have also been thinking 'sew swish'. really, i just need to sit down with a pen and paper for an hour and write out every pun i can think of.
=) So glad I made your day - rather than being "commenter Alice spotted me at fabricana and it completely creeped me out!"
@Tanit-Isis - wow, thank you! I do have to say, while I wish I could rock the higher waisted look more easily, I do think this particular design lends itself very well to being lowered. Probably because it doesn't have a thicker waistband that's supposed to sit on an even part of your body, but immediately curves down over your hips? Anyway, I'm super happy with it!
ReplyDelete@Suzy - thanks so much :)
@Alice - hah, I always start with the puns as well! It's harder with Sewing because "sew" and "so" are swapped so commonly that there isn't a lot left to choose from! I'm sure you'll think of something you like! You could use my trick of borrowing from another language, lol. Or whip out a rhyming dictionary... can you tell I've done this numerous times before? :) (I'm going to be willing to wager that you're sick to death of Alice in Wonderland comparisons? Because if not, there's a wealth of potential there!)
Hey! I just found your blog through Burda Style! Look forward to reading through it. Congrats on the skirt -- it looks so comfy. And cute. :o)
ReplyDelete@Adrienne - hey, thank you! And I LOVE your blog, so great! :D
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing your skirt on BurdaStyle, I jumped over here to read more about it. Great job! I am putting this type of skirt on my list of things to sew since I already have the Crescent skirt pattern. And, it looks like you're also signed up for the Lonsdale Sew-Along. I'll be there, too. Congrats again.
ReplyDeleteOh you should, it's such a great pattern. Fun yet straightforward. I actually received the Lonsdale pattern in the mail today so I'm starting my muslin tonight! We'll see... I'm rather busty so it's possible I'll get derailed with fitting. But the sewalong is happening right at a very busy time for me (leadup to my wedding!) so I wanted to get a head start!
ReplyDeleteComfy IS the new Cute! Fashionista! Love this post and a gal who can tell a good story, Thanks for the read!
ReplyDeleteI love that you made a crescent skirt out of flannel shirting! I want one exactly like this now. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous! And it looks super comfortable. I want to make my own, now!
ReplyDeletegorgeous job, katy and congrats on the burda spotlight!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDelete