Wardrobe Pie

I decided to do myself a 'Wardrobe Pie' this is basically a pie chart showing what sort of things you spend you time on, and therefore what sort of fraction of your wardrobe should be each type of clothing.

I decided that I needed
V smart work (tailored suits) - 1/8
Smart work (tailored co-ordinates) - 3/8
Casual Work (Fridays) -1/8
Casual home - 1/8
V Casual home - 1/8
Beachwear (vacation) - 1/16
Dressy (special occasions) - 1/16

Then if I allowed myself 2 outfits for each 1/16 (this was so I can have 1 summer dressy and 1 winter dressy) I would end up with 32 outfits.

I've started putting it all together in a spreadsheet, and I think I might start hanging stuff as outfits including shoes and jewellery as I seem to wear a few things over and over and look very samey.

Bag options

Which bag is best?

Left
Top 1. beaded cushion cover
Middle 2. curved leather
Bottom 3. Rectangular leather

Right
Top 4. Navy and ivory
Middle 5. Emerald clutch
Bottom 6. Nubby silk with simple bead trim

Another option

I suppose I could wear this blouse and skirt (I have altered them to fit me now) since they match the hat very well.

Wedding outfit

This is what I think I will wear for my cousin's wedding at the end of May.

What shape is this face?

What shape is this face?

Silhouette Ideas for Wedding Outfit

None of these are really wearable as they mostly have big pins in the back as they are too large or are too heavy for summer wear but it gives some ideas of colours etc being combined together.

Possible turquoise fabrics

Possible turquoise fabrics
The one on the right is the slubbed turquoise.
Top left is a plain polyester in medium weight
and bottom left is a drapey viscose mix, ideal for a skirt

Wedding Hat

My swatches

Click on each picture to see it full size.

CMB Draping Session

Hiya, I had a lovely time at my session. Here's the lowdown.

First of all she explained the 6 main types used now by CMB - Deep, light, Cool, Warm, Soft, Clear.

we both agreed that the two most likely were Soft and Clear. She draped me using the typing collars (these have several of the colours from that type) as a broad indicator. She had me down as a clear from this but agreed it wasn't completely obvious.

She tested me in whites and that showed that soft white was better than pure white, and also tested me in pink and peach, this was pretty obvious even to me that I have a warm skintone. She also did a test to decide if my third characteristic was light or deep, it wasn't that obvious to me but she declared light - I think due to my pale skintone.

She then showed me neutrals and a few colours - which were right and which were wrong (contrasting the clear with the soft). On this it wasn't always completely obvious to me at least, though some them were.

When she was showing the neutrals, we agreed that the black brown was particularly good, this is a colour I have been instinctively picking for 15 years or so, and is the dark base colour in my hair. She laughed, and showed me that this was considered a Clear colour. I've been calling it chocolate brown, but its the colour of dark chocolate (not milk chocolate)

Next she did the makeup - porcelain light foundation, teal eye pencil, champagne, cocoa, aqua and peppermint eyeshadow, natural lip pencil and soft warm pink lipstick (breeze). And blush in candy and salmon for contour. then a touch of bronzing powder. This does look different than I would normally do, and DH described it as light and fresh when I got home.

After this she draped me in all the colours from the colours which she had down as clear, then the clear and warm and then the light and warm, and noted down both good combinations and generally good colours.
She included some light colours I would not normally choose to wear but she explained I could wear these with my darker neutrals to create contrast, which was the main thing I need to do always. Some of the strong clear colours I can wear alone.

She marked the colours she thought particularly good and talked to me a little about her hazel eyed sister who is 'just a clear' and the sorts of combinations she chose to wear.

At my request she did drape me in some of the warm colours and the reds from the warm palette were very good - red orange and another I don't recall. I don't have swatches for these though as they are on the Warm cards which I don't have.

She did say that the Clear and Warm people don't tend to look as highly contrasting as the Cool and Clear people because the warmth has a slight softening affect. I do have black in my palette, but it isn't starred as good, and I wasn't to wear any of the dark colours right by my face, only as a jacket/necklace to contrast with the other colours.

Then I got to pick a lipstick to take home and marked on my swatches the great colours, and ticked on a chart the makeup shades she had used on me.

We went well over time as I asked a lot of questions, which I did feel bad about once I saw the time when I got in the car....

My verdict
It is different than I expected. There are some colours in there I know and love and have been wearing for a while, but there are also some which surprised me like Lapis, Cornflower and Taupe.

Is she right? I suppose only testing it will tell - we always knew I wasn't an Autumn in the classic sense and the main Clear palette has a lot of colours which are neither obviously warm nor cool.

Progress so far

These are the garments made so far

• Simplicity 4125 wrap shirt in green/rust/brown print
• New Look 6177 panelled skirt in green/rust/brown/print
• Simplicity 5099 knit top in brown/orange/coral print (extra)
• Loes Hinse 5007 Gore Skirt in dark brown
• Simplicity 4699 pants in dark brown denim
• Simplicity 4699 top in dark brown slinky knit
• New Look 6943 waistcoat in rust wool (extra)

Partly made

• Simplicity 4699 pants in dark brown self stripe suiting
• Butterick 4295 skirt in brown with gold/cream/orange stripes (extra)
• Simplicity 4699 top in peach slinky knit

Still to come

• Simplicity 4699 jacket/coat in burnt orange embellished cord
• Simplicity 4699 rust cropped pants (extra)
• New Look 6252 wrapover orange crinkle blouse
• New Look 6513 fitted blouse in cream broderie anglaise (eyelet)
• New Look 6513 fitted blouse in orange stripe

Green Wool Jacket with toning pants

Here's the green wool jacket worn with new toning dark pants.
I'm calling the pants khaki, but the label says chocolate as the colour, either way as soon as I saw them in the store they were in my basket.
My picture is quite poor quality but I think the colour of the pants is picked up enough in the tweed of the jacket.
I have a salmon pink blouse with the collar out which I think stops it being too heavy around the face/neck.

Light brown pants

I dare say these light brown checked pants are going too. I have pants which match the brown jacket but are too large on the waist, I shall alter them to fit, and wear them instead.

OK so I am NOT going to buy any more light coloured checked pants alright!

Plum Thursday

Lady in pink

Hmmmm, good, bad or just alright?

Simplicity 5099 Top in Floral Knit

This Floral Knit top is made from a Viscose knit remnant from Bedford Fabrics in St Helens, Merseyside, UK and cost me 50p. I started this top for the Pattern Review Contest, '1 pattern Multi Looks' but it turned into a UFO. I used the pattern Simplicity 5099 which is for a woven top. I have since lost weight and of course this is a knit not a woven so I shaped the side seams a little taking them in by 1 to 2 inches at different points. I still think the top is a little loose, but I will hold off any more alterations until I've put it through the washer as viscose tends to shrink a little on washing.

Bold, wild and free

Long top with jeans

My going round the pubs in Liverpool outfit

Various skirt lengths

For some bizarre reason I own 5 brown skirts, in varying styles and sizes, some are pinned at the back with giant bag closures for these shots. I've also pulled hems up to see what shorter skirts look like.
left to right (and top to bottom) they are
1 Cord with front seam
2 Stretch skirt pulled up to below knee
3 Long flared cotton skirt
4 Straight skirt with deep front split
5 Straight skirt with front seam
6 Stretch skirt on calf length
7 Cord skirt pulled up to above knee straight skirt
8 Cord skirt pulled up to below knee A line skirt.

Outline Pics