Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Autumn & Winter apparel

I so appreciated Laura's post on feminine winter wear! If you have time, you would probably enjoy it as well, not to mention get a few inspiring ideas of her skirt sketches! I'd like to make myself a tiered skirt like her drawing. Can anybody recommend a good pattern for one?

I thought I'd come over to my sewing blog to ask:

What do you ladies enjoy wearing during the winter while attempting to be feminine and warm at the same time?

Here at our house, we girls will often wear corduroy or denim jumpers/skirts just because of their thickness and ability to keep one warm. We will wear lighter apparel, but then we will usually wear something on underneath such as sweatpants to keep our legs warm. We often wear sweaters too. Speaking of which, I have found some really nice ones at Kohl's and Christopher & Banks (my favorite place to shop for clothes after fabric shopping) this year. Since where we live, we can have up to 6 months of cool weather and having a nice sweater is, well, just nice. =)

Edited to add: You also might have fun seeing Janna's blog for some feminine hairstyles! She has one up, and I think will be putting more up sometime.

15 comments:

Sarah said...

Wool is nice for keeping warm. I like it because you can get it in very light weights that drape and hang prettily but it still is very warm. I am not a big fan of bulky, thick clothing because I don't find it too feminine or attractive (at least on me!) so wool is a great option! For outside wear I have a long vintage-style coat I love (carmel colored lined with peachy-pink satin) and my kinsale cloak can go over everything and still be fluttery and feminine too.

Michelle said...

For me, I wear alot of denim prairie skirts and in the colder months, wear a simple muslin petticoat underneath. Its amazing how well it insulates (especially since I loathe tights or nylons)
For an easy tiered skirt, there's a simple formula I found in a recent Threads article. Each tier should be one inch longer than the one above it so base your measurments for the tiers on that, taking into consideration the total length you want it. For the individual strips, measure your hip, and add roughly 10 inches. Then the tier below it is that width + 1/2 that width. The tier below that one uses the same formula. Does that make sense? I'll try to find the article later and copy down the actual "math" if what I'm saying doesn't make sense.
I actually made a real cute summer skirt this way using plain white muslin and pretty crinkly gauze on top. I added a wide eyelet lace to the underlay so it peeks below the gauze. Turned out really nice.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I have a weird question. Do you ever sell the dresses that you make like the ones modeled after 19th century dresses or like the one you made for you sister? I was wondering b/c we have a homeschool co-op and alot of us high school girls want to put on a scene from Little Woman and I have no idea where we would get comstumes. If you could email me back at: livielulabelle92@aim.com or just leave a comment back to me on your blog and I'll check back. Thanks. Olivia

Anonymous said...

Hi!
Olivia again I meant costumes not comstumes! :-D

Rachel said...

I like to wear heavier skirts (denims, knits) with a slip. Leggings are nice if you're going to be outside for any amount of time. My favorite winter casual skirt is a straight button-front denim fully lined with flannel from Eddie Bauer. :) Heavier jumpers are good too, but I don't like too much bulk.

For shirts/sweaters, I have one corduroy shirt that I really like. If you're wearing button-down shirts a sleeveless/short sleeved shirt underneath can help with warmth. I also wear a lot of sweaters with either t-shirts, turtlenecks, or whatever else works underneath depending on weather.

Sarah, you wear a cloak for winter? :) I have one for my Colonial Living History events and have thought about wearing it for regular...

Cheri said...

I didn't expect to receive so many replies! =) Thankyou to you all!

Sarah,

I had never thought of wool! What a terrific idea! As much as I love the warm of corduroy, it isn't to difficult to look "bulky" in it when made in certains styles. That's one thing I certainly don't need more of! ::winks::

I'd love to see pictures of your coat and cloak! They sound like they'd be fun to wear!

Michelle,

What you wrote makes total sense, and sounds very easy to assemble too. My sister has found several denim ones that are tiered at the thrift store that I just love. =) Thankyou for your help!

Oliva,

Are you looking for dresses in ladies sizes or girls sizes? I am in the middle of making a dress in that same pattern that I had made for my youngest sister, but in a girls size 12.

Have you tried looking on ebay for Civil War era costumes?

Rachel,

Do you find that leggings work just as good as sweatpants? As I told Sarah in my reply above, I don't like any extra bulk either and don't really like looking a size or two larger than what I am when wearing them. =)

GLM said...

I wear lot´s of wool too. Woolen sweaters with cotton blouses underneath them. Woolen and corduroy skirts. And cotton thights.
On this site you can find nice looking (in my eyes :) ) feminine clothing: http://www.collegestyle.nl/collectie.php?pagina_id=2&p=s&page=3
It is in dutch, but the pictures are nice.

Laura said...

Cheri, thanks for linking to my post! :) I do have a tiered skirt pattern that I like; it is McCall's 5109. It has a drawstring waistband but I just used plain elastic when I made it up in cotton gauze. I think it would be super easy to play with the lengths of the tiers to get it to look the way you want. I was thinking about trying it in a fine-wale corduroy. The original skirt that inspired me was from Victoria magazine, and it was made of different (but coordinating) plaids on each tier -- so pretty! I'm going to keep an eye out for plaid shirtings or other fabrics that might work to recreate it. :)

Also, I do have one pair of Maggie's Organic cotton tights, and they are very warm, though they aren't quite long enough to be entirely comfortable. Since I'm rather tall, I'm sure it wouldn't be a widespread problem, though.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cheri,
Thanks for responding. I don't think we will be able to pull it off right now, but maybe in the future. Thanks for your time though! Olivia

Rachel said...

Cheri, I haven't worn sweatpants under a skirt very much; I don't care for the bulk. So I can't really tell you how they compare with leggings. Leggings have worked well for me, though if I were going to be sledding for a long period of time (with a skirt on) I'd probably go with two layers (leggings and sweatpants?) and still come in soaked from the waist down. :)

Erin said...

I sometimes wear sweat pants under skirts, but mainly only around the house. I wear leggings quite a bit under long skirts in winter, like Rachel. I suggest trying a few different brands/styles to find ones you like. Some can get a bit staticy and cause the skirt to do this weird wrap around the leg thing that is not a good look :)

Anonymous said...

I was just thinking of posting this very same thing! I've only been wearing dresses a couple of months so I haven't gone through the winter yet... I found some silk capri thermals from l.l.bean that are for wearing under skirts. My cousin said that silk thermals are very warm, so I'm looking forward to trying them as it is getting a bit chilly!

Sara, exactly how tall are you?? I also have Maggie's Organic Tights and they are SO warm! I am 5 feet almost 9 inches and wear the large, (even though I could gain about 50+ lbs with all the extra stretch ;).

How fun to have a cloak! That would be so much fun to wear! I've been wondering what to do about coats as I just have a ski jacket... and it looks a little funny with my skirts!! I am hoping that I'll be able to get the "classic wool blend polo coat" also from l.l.bean, but it's a little pricy, or is it?? Well, sorry for rambling! I love sitting at the feet of you who have worn dresses for so long and learning what is best to do!! Thank you all!!

Blessings,
Alex

Cheri said...

GLM,

Thanks for sharing that link! The clothing would have a neat old-fashioned/retro look. =)

Laura,

Thanks for sharing that pattern number! I'll have to write that down to keep in mind the next time JoAnn's have McCall patterns on sale.

The skirt you mentioned sounds very intriguing! If you recreate it, you must post pictures! =)

Erin,

Thanks for sharing. Are there any certain brands that you find you like best?

Alex,

I have one basic winter coat that I wear quite a bit during the winter that I found ages ago at JC Penny's I think, and while it isn't anything charming, it works. =) A couple years ago I did buy a black dressy coat for church or special occasions that would have a "classy" look combined with dresses/skirts.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Cheri! Thanks for the link to my "hair-doing" post. :) At least one commenter said they found me through the link on your blog.
Winter Wear... What a fun topic! I have a lovely navy blue wool skirt that I wear mainly to town on cold days like today. Merino wool sweaters are nice, too. If it's really chilly, I'd pull on a pair of white long underwear, and pull my stockings up over the legs--no one's the wiser. ;o) When we go Christmas caroling next month, I'll definitely want to wear my long underwear. Now I've got to find a pair of light, feminine winter boots to keep my feet warm.

Erin said...

Re what brands legging I use, I'm not sure if America would have the same barnds as Australia but I get the thick ones from Target (department store) and also Supre.