OWOP - Days 5, 6 and 7

Second half of my week in One Week, One Pattern outfits, and a couple of lessons learned.

Day 5 (daytime): Still sewing lace in the studio...

I wore: Blue cotton shirting swing top, Del Forte jeans.  This is my least favourite of the swing tops, having never been worn since I made it last summer.  There's obviously a reason Dixie recommends only using a knit fabric for this pattern (armholes a little tight as the woven cotton has no stretch) and although I like the floral binding on the neck and cuffs, the blue striped cotton shirting makes me feel like a nurse (not the hot kind!).  Having said all that, I actually enjoyed wearing it more than I thought I would: it was comfortable enough and I liked the alternative-to-a-shirt feel of it.  I reckon I probably would repeat this make in a woven fabric -remembering to make the armholes a little bigger- to wear as a smart shirt-type top.

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Day 5 (evening): A night of Motown classics with The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Crystals live at the o2 Arena baby!!

I wore: Possibly the best outfit I could have put together for such a wonderful night of retro soul!  Stripy swing top, Kung Fu Fighting wiggle skirt, Reiss belt, Agent Provocateur red pompom mules.  Favourite OWOP outfit so far.

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Day 6: Hungover.  SIGNIFICANTLY hungover.  It seems sake, vodka and white rum do not mix well.  Comfort a must today.  

I wore: White viscose jersey swing top with red rose Liberty cotton binding, Uniqlo tartan men's trousers, vintage Budweiser belt, Puma sneakers.  When it comes to dressing down, this is my favourite type of outfit.  Reminds me of being a grungy teenager listening to The Smashing Pumpkins.

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Day 7: Last day of OWOP!  Just as I started this week with the first swing top I'd made, so I ended with the most recent.

I wore: Dusty pink wool jersey swing top, houndstooth pencil skirt - the first of my McCalls's 5081 collection (I feel like I've been discussing this pattern almost as much as the swing top during this OWOP challenge having worn three versions of it this week... Double OWOP cred for me?), French Sole flats.  This is a look I'm really digging.  Typically a late 1950s maternity style, but I think that the elegance of the pencil skirt, softened by the swing top and worn with a simple pair of flats is just perfectly cute and easy, even for my busy day to day life.

One thing that this challenge has brought to my attention is that I'm clearly really into pencil skirts these days!  I began with my one swing top pattern, which given the amount I've made (six) and the incredible versatility of the pattern, was very easy to wear every day for a week.  But as a result of all this thoughtful outfit planning, I've ended up also wearing three of my four McCall's pencil skirts.  What's surprising about this is how easy they are to wear!  I'd always shunned my wiggle skirts by day thinking them far too impractical, saving them only for stylish evening occasions.  But it turns out that wiggle skirts during the day are actually fine, even for running around after a little boy, working in the studio and general errand-running.  

They just make all those things feel that little bit more glamourous.

Thank you Tilly for organising OWOP!  I for one, really enjoy the solidarity that comes with group challenges like this; now who's looking forward to Me-Made-May-'12??