Friday, June 22, 2012

the summer of the skirt: the pencil skirt

My first foray into the "summer of the skirt" was a class in pattern making and constructing a pencil skirt at Gather Here.  I was pretty pumped to take this class, because I love how pencil skirts look!  So sexy.  And so Mad Men. 
*rant on*
I bought a cheap-o pencil skirt at the J Crew outlet in March and I love the fabric but I don't love the fit.  Like nearly every other skirt in my closet, it just doesn't fit right.  There are 35 million female body shapes out there, yet clothing retailers offer just 10 or so sizes (size 0 - 14 or higher if you're plus sized and lucky).  There's no way that each garment is going to fit each body type.  And this bugs me.  I hate trying stuff on and struggling with how clothes are "supposed" to fit - and I don't even wear an unusual size!  It's just that my size has nuances that the standard sizes don't incorporate. 
*rant off*

Anyway, I was excited to learn how to draft a pattern that would actually Fit My Body.  I picked a navy blue fabric that I felt was French-ish and loved.  Here's how it came out:
I'm no Joan Holloway but cute, right?  I love it!  But . . .  you probably can't tell, but there is extra fabric on the hips, making it slightly baggier than I felt a fitted pencil skirt should be.  I hate it when skirts have extra fabric in the hips!  It makes me feel dowdy and dumpy and like my hips are wider than they actually are.  So, with a little help from my mom, I took in about an inch from each side seam, and voila! Sexy Pencil Skirt.


I am very happy with this skirt.  I'm not huge on wearing super-tight clothing.  This skirt isn't super-tight, it's just supper fitted.  To my body.  How can you not feel confident when you're wearing something that you made and that actually fits well?

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