Final Fall/Winter 2012-2013 Office Wardrobe Update

i'm going to lay the whole fall/winter wardrobe challenge to rest today so that i can move on to what i want to put together for spring, as of next week. seeing as i was busy job-hunting, writing up "25 days of etsy christmas", redecorating three rooms in my flat (pictures of that are forthcoming) and working on the new shop, i didn't really give myself time to sew until now. that said, i did scour thrift stores and go through every piece of clothing i own (no small feat, i'll have you know!) and i did put together twelve basic, occasionally interchangeable outfits that are great for the office and that work for fall and winter. i've put together a few collages to give you the gist of these and, although the brands vary from those that i found and own (a lot of my pieces are vintage and i prefer lancome, dior and sometimes mac, when it comes to make-up), you'll get the idea!

i must say that the following h & m trousers were really well priced and are ridiculously comfortable.

i was so happy when i found a similar pencil skirt in this exact shade of purple, in verdun, secondhand, for $5!

my glasses have more of a cat-eye shape and, after buying a pair of cole haan chelsea boots online only to discover that they are too narrow for me, i came across a great pair of baxter boots at last year's swap team exchange. you can see them here.

even though i am a white girl with some arabic blood and probably shouldn't wear yellow, i can't seem to stay completely away. for a more casual work look, i've put together an outfit resembling this one and i like to wear it with a good 'ol fashioned french twist or by styling my hair with a slight, 60's bump at the crown, pinning up the side and letting the rest of it down and slightly curled at the ends. 

although i do my best to jazz up my office wardrobe, i'm usually seen wearing this combo or something quite like it:

a friend of mine bought this betty page clothing dress, never wore it and sold it to me for $20. i wear it with neutral panty hose or stocking and burgundy, suede mary janes that i also got from this friend but at a clothing swap. 

i was also lucky enough to come across a lovely, burgundy, a-line dress with leather pocket trim from lord & taylor. i bought it at my favourite verdun thrift store for $7 but most of their house brand dresses are between $110 and $300 so i'm quite pleased! i won't be able to shoot in natural light until next week-end and i can't find an image of the dress online so it'll have to have its own post, sometime soon!

this is the last time i'll be referring to this particular wardrobe, as i'll be focusing on the spring fashions i want and/or have, as of next week. the timing is great, too, because i go back to working nine-to-five in an office, tomorrow morning. 

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Wardrobe Challenge Update: Fabric Store Mini-Haul

thanks to my holiday gift guide, my current hunt for employment, the process of redecorating three rooms in my flat and a side-project i'm working on, i'm a little behind on my wardrobe challenge. i'll probably end up with four dresses, 3 skirts, 4 pairs of pants and few blouses and tops. hrm. well, that's not so bad, given that i started when it was already autumn... right, then!

i'm not really into the madness that is black friday and i already look forward to no longer having to hear about it for about eleven months so, instead of going to fabricville today, waiting in line for hours, having to be crowded by the woman who wants to get a hold of my fabric roll next, etc., i went out to the one in lasalle yesterday evening, when they were offering up great discounts, anyway. all vogue patterns were $5.99, burda were 25% off and, as usual, i found some fabric in the discount section, this time for only $3/meter. 

i already have all the skirt patterns i need and i can draft my own patterns if i want anymore so, as far as bottoms go, i've moved on to pants. i keep finding the same, matronly, wide-legged polyester pant in thrift stores and so i'm going to make my own. do i think making pants is a huge pain? yes! but it'll be worth it. check out the patterns i scored for this purpose:

i can't wait to rock the shorter version this spring, with a nice pair of loafers or ballet flats. they'll also look great with my chucks. in the meantime, style b will be perfect. i have two tuxedo jackets that need partners in crime, anyway. 

and, speaking of tuxedo jackets needing matching bottoms, i love these pants! they will look great with so many things i already own and i can wear them to an office, for sure. i won't make the jacket, seeing as three tuxedo jackets is a bit overkill for me and, unless i find a designer one on sale, my ben sherman one is perfect. 

the third and last pants pattern i purchased was the vogie 8859. i have a pair that is similar to these now and i know that i love the fit. 

it's so important for women to wear pants that fit and that compliment our bodies. the wide-legged trouser mom wears is not okay, especially if you're short and curvy, like i am. wide-legged only really works when they're high-waisted and have a 1940's or 1950's design to them. 

i have to admit that flipping through the vogue pattern catalog left me feeling a tad disappointed and the feeling only lifted one i started searching through burda's selection. this has never happened before but, for some reason, i feel like most of vogue's new collection is dated and drab and features over-rouched, ill-fitting garments. a look at the vintage section is always nice but, seeing as i already own most of the ones in this season's catalog, i decided to go with on of the few dress patterns i like from their newer ones, the vogue 8825:

this sleeve always draws attention away from the upper arm and accentuates small wrists, a great combination for my shape. the waistline is also flattering and, although it can easily be changed, i love this length because it hugs my curves but shows off my calves. thanks to this image, i want to make it in green, too!

and here is the houndstooth fabric i found for $3.00 CAD per meter. i bought four meters so i can make a pencil skirt and some pants like the ones in the first pattern. if i don't make the pants, i will use it to line a warm, winter coat. 

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