I was a little worried about about putting together a back to work wardrobe. I try to pull myself together every day, but I knew I needed to pull it all together a little better and sharper if I was walking into an office. Even though the office is full of fabric swatches, sample sewers, and garment patterns.
Where to start?
Well, there was something I figured out in my first meeting with my boss, the designer. She likes black. And gray. A LOT. She wears it every day and you know what? She makes it look great. I love black again (well, I always have.) This made it easy for me. In my mind, a few well chosen black or blackish pieces could go a long way. Hello J. Crew cords in dark steel gray. And American Apparel black turtlenecks. And J Crew favorite tees (which we all know are the best colors out there...I chose steel gray, a dark grayish blue, a pale gray heather, and white). I was able to pull together some really workable outfits for not too much money.
But I like to have a little color somewhere, even if its subtle... a ring, something in my hair, a little something. I fell hard for a J Crew pea green scarf that would have been perfect, but I didn't want to pay $45 for it. I remembered the post Steph did on 3191 about making a scarf and went to Joann's looking for homespun cloth. A lot of the plaids weren't what I was looking for, but this blue/army green/brown one was really pretty, so I bought a yard of it. I cut it in half lengthwise down the middle, sewed the 2 long pieces together on one of the short ends (I did a french seam so there would be no raw edges), then did a small double turned hem on each of the long sides, stopping 1 1/2" from each end. I frayed the edges of each of the short ends about 1 1/2" up.
Done. A scarf for $4.00 (love those Joann's coupons) in less than 30 minutes.
I wear it wrapped several times around my neck, tied it in a double knot. I don't like scarves that hang down because they get in my way and this is not bulky around my neck at all. I am planning to make a white/black/gray one next. I often wear a basic steel gray cotton tunic I made using Simplicity pattern #2725- their website isn't loading for me. (Remember when I was looking for a tunic? This is the one.) Zipper up the back, sleeveless, looks great over every tee I have, and works when I need to pull on my favorite black cardigan over it. Basic, and it works with so many things.
So, I'm getting a handle on my wardrobe. I love that these days you can totally get away with wearing the same great pieces a little more often. Earlier days in the apparel industry, I felt a lot more pressure to constantly update my wardrobe, but not so much now. I'm still struggling to find the perfect pair of wingtip shoes. Black, of course.
I have a purple scarf coming from Martha's new collection. To add to my collection of scarves from her. Soooo easy to wear.
One more thing I also wanted to mention is that my beloved Boomerang audio for kids now has a free downloadable episode on the website. Yes, its free. Really. Go grab it and share it with your kids this weekend. Sit under a quilt and gather round the Ipod. Spend some time listening to it together. We do and I really love these episodes as much as the kids do. We are in the process of tweaking the website and adding some new fun things, so I will let you know when that's done.
Have a lovely weekend!
