I have created that dress shirt/jacket tutorial and I decided to use it for revamping some of my own shirts.
I have had this too large, and shapeless shirt in the most beautiful shade of purple for some time.
I knew that I would make something special out of it. I had contemplated making it into a vest or a short sleeved shirt to wear as a light over jacket but came to the conclusion that that was quite boring.
When I returned from my visit to the USA I had a number of tie dyed treasures from Carol Kinney in my luggage. I remembered that there were some dark purple pieces there and I fished this one out.
Perfect for some accent pieces for the shirt design that I had envisioned. Short flounced cuffs to begin. Just a gentle touch of color. The tie dyed cotton is a lighter weight than the shirt so it is perfect for a soft flouncy accent.
I removed the original collar and used it as a pattern to draft a collar from the tie dyed fabric. Constructed the collar and reattached it to the shirt.
I love it. I wanted the overall purple look to stay but wanted to create some embellishments for it.
I could have hemmed it at the bottom at this stage and had a nice short over shirt/jacket.
I am trying to get out of my box and be a bit more avant garde. I am petite and don't like for my clothes to be too busy as I find that visually overpowering. When I design for other people I have no problem going wild but for my own personal wear I am a bit more conservative.
I decided to get out of my comfort zone and do something a little different.
I added a double peplum at the bottom of the shirt. A smaller tie dyed one on top, that was all the fabric that I had left and I used the rest of the shirt that I had cut of at the beginning to create the second longer under peplum.
I am envisioning creating a 3/4 legth duster using longer peplums for my next project. For that, a shirt won't suffice so I will have to look for a matching sheet in my stash as of course I will not buy any new fabric.
I love the way that this turned out. Just enough avant garde for me. I can envision wearing it over a black silk tank top and a black maxi skirt or black palazzo pants. No jewelry necessary as this shirt/jacket is enough of a statement piece for me, thanks to Carol Kinney and High Hopes and Dyes for the beautiful tye dies.
