Project Run and Play--Week 6--Signature Look

For more details on how the outfits were made, check out this post.

Before I start the run down of what I made for  Week 6 of Project Run and Play, I thought I'd share my 3 favorite pictures from today's little photo shoot.  It is Fall here in the South and the changing leaves are really going full force right.  I love it!  It's my favorite time of the year!  The above picture is of some of the amazing color out there and these 2 are pictures that I feel capture the souls of my not-so-little girls.  They don't show the outfits off really well, but oh do they give me a glimpse of what is inside of them.

Now on to this weeks challenge--Signature Look

I feel my look, if I had to pick any style for me, would be preppy, with a little country farm girl thrown in.  Nothing fancy, everything comfortable and why not throw in my 2 favorite colors, green and yellow.  That is the original sketch.  The tweed riding jacket is something that is me, but not so much Sophia.  She said she wouldn't wear it hardly at all, so I scrapped it.  Why spend hours making something she isn't going to wear?  Especially, when I had other ideas.

I went with brown corduroy skinny pants, a button up tailor made shirt, sweater vest and light scarf.  Each pattern was self drafted, after studying pants and shirts to figure out how they are made.  For the pants I actually took apart a pair of men's pants that I found at Goodwill.  I couldn't find the type and color of fabric I wanted, so I went there to look.  I picked apart the seams, which really helped me figure out how pants are made.  Then I cut out what I needed, reusing the waistband and tabs, and sewed it all back together.  Each week I challenge myself to try something I've never done or tried before and this week I loaded my plate.  The pants were the first thing I accomplished this week.  It was fun to say I sewed a pair of pants.  For the vest, I just cut the vest shape out of an old sweater of mine and sewed it back up, using the v-neck shape of the sweater.

The shirt was my next big accomplishment.  This was my favorite piece this week.  It's really just a simple button up shirt, that I tailored to fit.  It has a lined back yolk, piping detail around the collar, pocket and yolk and contrasting fabric on the inside of the collar and cuffs, with ribbon accents.  The fabric is an ever so soft remnant I found at the specialty fabric shop in Gettysburg, PA.  All of the little accents and details on this shirt just make me giddy!  I love how it turned out and want one in my size.

In this picture you can see the detail of the fabric better, just a simple green floral and in the one below, you can see the back yolk with piping detail.

 My style would always include a scarf as well.  When I lived in Germany, many years ago, I came to love a good scarf and what it can do to an outfit, yet how practical it was.  Tighten it up if you are cold, loosen it if you are too warm...perfect for the Autumn days here in the South that start out chilly and then by afternoon be 30 degrees warmer.  This gauzy yellow striped scarf is perfect for a little yellow accent, but for the practical side as well.

Oh how I love the colors of Fall!

Sophia wanted to try out Clara's scarf.

My window for taking these pictures was small, so I had to take what I can get.  It was another sunny late afternoon and the sun was a little glaring again.  It was also windy.  Needless to say, most of the pictures with both girls in them did not turn out.  Either one was squinting or had her hair blowing in her face.  Here's the only one that did turn out.

Now for Clara's outfit.  Once again I didn't really plan anything for her, but when she asked for something this week I had a hard time saying no.  I had gathered up a bunch of clothes that I was willing to contribute to the challenge this week and I had plenty of options.  However, hers had to be quick and easy.  The shirt/tunic is simply a shirt of mine.  I cut off the collar and added a casing to run some elastic through, to which I added some green ribbon at the ends to make a bow.  To make the back fit better, I just ran a strip of elastic at the bottom of the yolk and on the shoulders, to give it a gathered effect.  I also cut off the cuffs, opened the seam and added them at the bottom of the now short sleeves.  Pretty simple and it only took an hour.  The belt is just some leftover corduroy from Sophia's pants.

For the leggings, I simply cut the sleeves off of a t-shirt of mine that was too short.  They were the perfect length for her legs.  I added a little in the middle/crotch area, made a casing at the top and ta-da...leggings.  I added a little elastic on the outside of the legs and she picked out little horse buttons, for some visual interest.  Another simple piece that came together rather quickly, but will get a lot of wear under skirts and dresses this winter.

Clara also wanted a scarf, so I knit up a simple one to go with her outfit.  The yarn for the scarf and the horse buttons are the only thing 'new' in this entire outfit.

 And there you have 2 outfits that fit my look of 'Preppy Country'.