Autumn/Winter wardrobe plan - completed items!

As promised, here are some pictures of the things I've already completed from my Autumn (and Winter) colour plan, which I designed to be a capsule wardrobe of things that match, which should also match stuff I already have and pull into regular use some pieces in my wardrobe that didn't really go with anything.


Pinafore skirt - made by me from a self-drafted pattern
Sweater - knitted by my mum from a 40s pattern
Shoes - Irregular Choice (gift from Aerospace Boyfriend)
Cherry Jewellery - Classic Hardware at Rockers England (gift from Aerospace Boyfriend)


Here's a better view of the skirt fabric and the buttons. It uses black, ruby and teal from my colour plan, along with a neutral brown.


I've now made three of these pinafore skirts - I really want to show you the yellow one I showed a sneak preview of in the post linked above, but the fabric is such a loose weave that I have now ripped the side seam twice, meaning I'm either going to have to wait until I drop a dress size to fix it, or make another one with a slightly larger hip measurement as it obviously can't cope with being pulled tight when I bend over. Curse you, ample derriere!


Everything as before, except boots from Alternative Footwear and skirt made in a black, ruby and white tartan.


Here is the jewellery I already have which fits in with the colour plan, and I can also include all my neutral diamanté and pearl pieces.


These are some lovely new bits which fit in with the scheme - two tropical hairclips made my Miss Tiki, who I met when we both had stalls at the Cheshire Go-Cats Rockabilly Meetup, which was great fun. You can find her trading on facebook here in the Ooh La La vintage swap and sell group, she doesn't have an online store yet but her things are definitely worth seeking out! We swapped for these, she took one of my teardrop shaped fascinators in teal with a cherry and cream orchid decoration.


My little octopus! His name is Osgood, I love him.


Clip - MissTiki
Sweater - Tesco, this is another A/W plan buy, I'll show it you properly when I've finished the skirt it's going to go with!
Red bandana - Rockers England
Navy swallows scarf - Primark, comes in a 2-pack with a cream and brown one with horses on it.


This is the fabric for the next pinafore skirt I'm making, teal with a tiny ticked cream stripe through it. It's more teal than in the picture, my camera/lighting gave it an orange cast for some reason. The butterscotch colour is the lining, another colour from my plan, and the buttons look like little waffles!

The negligent blogger's Autumn colour picks.

It seems I have missed blogging for most of Summer. This is because aerospace boyfriend has been at mine most of the time while he was on his Summer break, so we have mainly been pottering about doing things at home and haven't really had much to report, though I do have a few interesting bits to catch up on.

I've really noticed Autumn closing in this week. I'm not fond of it... we're led to believe it's all apple pies, crunchy leaves and toasty mittens but for those of us living in cities the usual Autumnal experiences entail slipping over into a slurry of brake dust and decomposed vegetation, sweating because it's not quite cold enough for the coat we've put on, and being buffeted by various degrees of pollution-saturated rain and grit-carrying wind.

To distract myself from this depressing prospect, I've decided to delve into the world of fashion and colour. This week is New York Fashion Week, and every year Pantone consult leading designers to determine the colours of the season from their collections. These were their picks for Autumn/Winter 2011.


I can't profess to be too keen on their chosen palette - the last four on the chart are particularly insipid, reminding me of dreary Autumn skies. I much prefer the first section of bright jewel tones and warm, dark colours to fend off the encroaching chill of Winter. Here are my picks for my own wardrobe this season!



I think it's much more sensible to stick to a narrower palette for dressing on a budget, and I've chosen these colours because I've already started to edge towards them in my wardrobe. Here's a sneak preview!





As you can see I'm also favouring tartans at the moment... the yellow stuff is something I've actually already made, but then stupidly ripped, so I'll show you a proper picture as soon as I've redone the seam.

I promise to resume regular blogging now! The next post will be more interesting and less awkwardly written, obviously breaks are not good for me. Love to you all, my faithful readers. xxx