Fall trend sewing

I have taken some time this year to actually look at the fashion magazines and see what, in the new season styles, I can find for inspiration for my personal sewing. So far I have three groups. Trends I love, trends I will have to think about, and trends that I will definitely pass on.

So here they are:

The passes:

1. Giant heels. Come on. I walk to work, part of the way through some very nice woods that start in the parking lot behind the Mormon temple and end behind the Sisters of Charity mother house (there is a symmetry to this that I haven't figured out but enjoy anyway) but even if I were back at my downtown political job on city streets I still would not wear these stupid shoes. My personal view is that just when women start to settle in comfortably in the world some backlash thing like hobble shoes comes out to set us back. Surely there has to be a way to have style and still think on your feet.

 

The think abouts:

1. Belts. These are everywhere, thinner than last year and applied to blouses, sweaters and cardigans to give them shape, always a good thing. But we all know that you need to have an asset before you draw attention to it, and my waist has long ceased to be that. I will need to do some experimenting with thin belts, looser and maybe bloused to see how it goes. A quiet session in front of a mirror in the department store should help me with this one - but I can tell you my common sense is telling me that they don't make any belts that work with this waistline, but we will see.

2. Tulip skirts. I definitely wore these back in my waistline days and I remember sewing in those soft waistline pleats and the tapered hems. I fully anticipate that these will be stomach exaggerating not stomach disguising, but who knows, I go through life expecting to be pleasantly surprised.

Trends for me:

1. Looks like I have another chance to inject colour into my black/grey wardrobe and purple has grown on me, plus it goes both with black and grey.

2. Cut-on sleeves. Maybe it's the retro in me but I am really pleased to see the return of the cap sleeve and even the dolman. Easy to sew and to my mind cap sleeves add something transeasonal to dresses and tank tops and have the same hip minimizing value as the old shoulder pads without the bulk.

3. Tie collars continue, but have been expanded to include wider rolled collars, particularly in jersey and roll collars that turn into ties. Good for faces and something that I can easily add to my best fitted t-shirt pattern.

4. Big buttons. Love them on twin sets, cardigans and jackets. Every sewer loves buttons and when they are big they can be a real feature. Of course a big button absolutely has to have a bound buttonhole because huge machine done ones just look tacky IMO, and of course I have found a really different way to do them in one of my vintage patterns I want to try. Stay tuned on that one. If this new method works you will hear about it, if it doesn't well you won't.

5. I also really like the big handbags, with less hardware (I may make one this season looking to Hot Patterns for the patterns), tights (see walking to work above, and also the oppression of women and clothing which is my view of pantyhose that doesn't last a day) in grey in particular, and monograms (at last a useful application for my machine's embroidery function).

6. And my personal favourite - vertically colour blocked dresses - I am seeing black with grey inserts there are some really cool versions in this month's Vogue.

7. And anything Michelle Obama wears. I love that woman and I love her clothes. Just everything she has on. A real woman with a real figure and always dressed absolutely perfectly.