I was having a read of this month’s Vogue and it struck me how many looks (with a bit of imagination!) could be recreated on a budget. I’m in no way trivialising the craftsmanship that goes in to creating these fashion images; for me, walking around the designer floors at Liberty and Selfridges is like visiting an art gallery, but part of the brilliance of sewing is the ability to see a look, adapt it and recreate your own version. You may have seen on my Instagram stories some gorgeous fashion ads that I suggested sewing patterns for to recreate your own versions, so I thought I’d take it one step further and focus on New York Fashion Week which came to a close yesterday…
This beautiful look from Oscar de la Renta could be recreated with a pair of Nina Lee Portobello trousers, a Stella Raglan Shirt from Named Clothing and a chunky knit jumper:
This clashing print loveliness from Michael Kors could be interpreted with a Simple Sew Pussy Bow Dress and the recently released Rumana Coat from By Hand London:
How about a Sies Marjan-inspired Kielo wrap dress from Named? Look at those colours….
Or a Burda wrap skirt take on Sally Lapointe’s sequinned beauty:
I was also inspired by this Calvin Klein dress to make a scallop-edge Simplicity 1325 and Narciso Rodriguez’s bright coat makes me want to make a really bold cocoon coat that came free with the first issue of Lisa Comfort magazine!
…and last but not least, it’s not a style I’m normally drawn to as it does me no favours, but this Calvin Klein dress is so much like a pattern from 1980 that my Nan gave me in with a whole bag of sewing patterns from the 60s through to the 80s. It also reminds me of the Nina Lee Bloomsbury blouse, maybe a dress hack of it?
If I’ve missed any patterns from indie designers that would work to recreate any looks then please leave a comment, or let me know if there were any designers or outfits that really caught your eye. I’ll just leave you with this stunner from Diane Von Furstenburg…
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