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Sewing Chatter: Do you ever sew for glamour?
I’ll wear a nightie a few times a year, usually only when summer is at its hottest. And by nightie, I mean something vaguely breezy with spaghetti straps. Otherwise, you’ll find me in sweats and an old concert tee. For some reason, I’ve shied away from the traditional idea of glamour in my wardrobe, because it doesn’t fit the style I wear outside the house.
After reading Sarai’s recent musings on “Hidden Glamour” with regard to loungewear, I’ve started eyeing different fabrics while I’m shopping, for garments I’ll sew to feel a bit of glamour while I’m at home.
What about you? What kind of loungewear do you wear? Do you ever sew garments just to add a bit of glamour to your wardrobe?
Comments
Mags
February 9, 2016 #
All my sewing, ALL OF IT, is for glamour (and period authenticity). I’m an incredibly dramatic, vain creature, and I’m totally ok with that.
Meg
February 9, 2016 #
Love it. Can I borrow a bit of your mindset? :)
Din
February 9, 2016 #
Since the life I lead in my head (bias cut silk gowns, tufted chaise lounges and marabou slippers) was in direct conflict with my real life (random cotton t-shirts and footie socks), I recently started making glamourous loungewear a priority . I promised myself that I would not buy any more “functional” (read: plain or unattractive) clothes to wear around my home and started looking for beautiful fabrics to sew with. Now I’m transitioning to my new wardrobe and having a great time doing it!
Meg
February 9, 2016 #
That sounds like a great plan!
kalimak
February 10, 2016 #
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I think you are right: we tend to neglect the things we wear around the house, thinking mostly about how we’ll wear them out in time and what we might spill, etc. rather than thinking about how wearing nicer — but still comfortable — clothes around the house might just make us feel better. It might help us refocus from what we might spill on ourselves to enjoying the fabrics and finish.
Gretchen Potts
February 9, 2016 #
Sewing for glamour was the only reason I learned to sew. Making prom dresses, and then evening gowns (that I never wore), then one million pretty dresses with no occasion to wear them. My closet was full of them. Then……I learned how to sew knits and my whole reason for sewing changed. Now I make hoodie dresses that I wear every day, my own t-shirts, skirts & leggings! My friends beg me for my hoodie dresses! All my bike racing and nordic skiing friends are always asking me where I get my awesome lycra tights. And they should, because they are mega-glam! Eye catching fashionable AND one of a kind garment. I blaze the trails both on bikes and skis while I set the bar on glamorous everyday clothes.
Meg
February 9, 2016 #
I’d love to see some of your mega-glam tights!
Gretchen Potts
February 10, 2016 #
I’ll work on getting some decent images for you!
Gretchen Potts
February 10, 2016 #
Here is a link to some of my MegaGlam tights! You have to scroll down to the second set of images. https://sizemode.wordpress.com/2016/02/11/winter-hibernation-projects/
Meg
February 11, 2016 #
So rad! I hadn’t heard of The Fabric Fairy for lycra. Thanks for the tip!
Beth
February 10, 2016 #
I’d love to see that hoodie dress pattern!
Gretchen Potts
February 10, 2016 #
Here is a link to a photo of one I made from vintage Ponte. The pattern is a mix up of a raglan sleeve shirt and a maxi skirt. The pockets are self drafted. https://sizemode.wordpress.com/#jp-carousel-406
Susannah
February 10, 2016 #
I love your dress! Beautiful job.
Sheila
February 10, 2016 #
Wow! Love your dress. It looks so comfy and very stylish!
Debbie T
February 10, 2016 #
I sure would love to get that pattern too!
Gretchen Potts
February 10, 2016 #
I wish I had an actual pattern for it. Its a bit of a frankenpattern. I used the Greenstyle Centerfield Raglan & hood add on. Then used a generic A-line skirt pattern. To mash it into a dress, I found the natural waist on the shirt and put the skirt pattern on top of it so that is where it begins to flare. I generally measure ~ 34-36″ from the neck to the bottom of the dress which gives you plenty of length to work with. I drafted the waist band and pockets separately. Its a quick sew if you omit the waist and/or pockets.
PsychicSewerKathleen
February 9, 2016 #
I haven’t progressed YET into lingerie but I would say that I do sew for glamour being addicted to silk and lovely soft fabrics like bamboo jersey…linen is pretty nice too :)
Robin
February 9, 2016 #
No glam here, although I do have many glamorous fabrics in my stash. Recently I pulled out a Vietnamese silk and I am trying to make a blouse, but no, I would never bother with lingerie, although I may regret trying the blouse – the stuff is almost impossible to work with, so I am hoping the attempt will at least build character. I am getting better about researching how to work with difficult fabrics, but often default to a certain laziness. Still, cotton voile is just as lovely, in its own way, is it not?
Niamh
February 9, 2016 #
My big sewing goal this year is to nail lingerie and lounge-wear. Soooo, not yet, but I’ll get there in 2016 I hope!
Christina
February 9, 2016 #
I am a work at home single Mom so my everyday wardrobe mostly consists of easy jumpers, denim, and t shirts. I make the extra effort with my underwear to go extra glam and hedonistic and splurge on fabulous laces and silks to make them. It makes me feel pretty even when I am scooping god knows what out of my hair or cleaning up after my boys.
Meg
February 10, 2016 #
Haha, now that is true glamour :)
Pelly
February 10, 2016 #
I love hidden glamour – pretty linings in otherwise plain items of clothing, hemming lace, ribbon waist stays and other internal finishing touches that only I will ever really appreciate. I’m also a big fan of slips – they are quite easy to draft and sew, and are a good place to experiment with “tricky” or expensive fabrics. They make a huge difference to how well some garments fit, and stop my skirts from climbing up my tights, but the real reason I love them is because it gives me great satisfaction to know that, under my denim and fleece, I’m wearing a purple silk petticoat!
Trisha
February 10, 2016 #
I absolutely sew both for glamour and function. Not necessarily in the same garment, though that does happen sometimes- lingerie seems to be the embodiment of both! Everybody needs underclothes ans sleepwear, so they may as well be pretty, right? I’ve found injecting some vintage styles into my wardrobe has upped the glamour factor for me. I started making up some of my Grandmother’s patterns from the 1960s and I feel really pretty wearing them, even the casual cotton blouses, because they’re definitely not a t-shirt! The glamour comes from being handmade, being different, and choosing a special fabric I love, like embroidered voile, or a nice challis, or that incredibly soft jersey in the fabric stash. That, and I’m the kind of gal who wears pearls everywhere! : )
Sarah
February 10, 2016 #
I’m a pretty casual person, so I don’t sew much for glamour for myself. My daughter loves getting glammed up though (she’ll wear a sequin jacket I made her to school on a regular basis), so I’ve been practicing sewing with some more challenging materials on her. Every year I go to a ball for my husband’s work. This year I’m planning on making my own ball gown. I’m also hoping to start making my own undergarments this year. So, maybe I’ll have a bit of glamour in my wardrobe after all by the end of 2016!
Begonia
February 10, 2016 #
It depends on how you define glamour. All sewing is glamorous for me. For instance, I’ve done a lot of sewing for the home – drapes and cushions – which was definitely for glamour.
For myself, I just completed a very quick pair of silky pyjama pants in a beautiful emerald green / turquoise colour. I plan to do more though. It is simple and frankly, those small items cost a fortune.
Meg
February 10, 2016 #
I love the idea of glamour in sewing for the home! Thanks for mentioning this. Now I will look at my me-made pillows and curtains with a new appreciation.
kalimak
February 10, 2016 #
What stuck with me after first reading The Colette Sewing Handbook was the advice to “sew for your life.” I did forget that piece of advice a few times when I decided to sew a cocktail dress on impulse only to realize, while trying on the half-finished garment, that I would never wear it. Cocktail parties are simply not a part of my life.
Now, I don’t see that as a reason to be sad but rather an occasion to think about the challenge to “sew for my life.” And it doesn’t mean my cocktail-party-less life is not fun and I should just wear sweatpants and t-shirts and call it a day. Maybe it means that the place for glamour is somewhere else than on formal occasions that almost never happen.
So I love the idea of glamorous loungewear. I’m working on the Almada robe right now — in a lovely soft rayon that I was stashing for a future dress. But I think I made the right choice to go for the robe instead. I think a slip might be next on my list. Perhaps Lisbon, or perhaps, if I’m feeling adventurous enough, the Florence slip hack or the Ruby slip…
Sarah Auldredge
February 10, 2016 #
I just started setting time aside to sew my own ‘skivvies’ – and I must say – its such a thrill to create feminine pieces. The process of sewing your own bralette is such a delicate one, along with the light weight fabric and precise cuts to compliment your figure. Its semi-therapeutic! Its one thing to make a sexy number to show another, but its another to make a glamorous lace nighty to read your books in and feel pretty just for yourself.
BCE
February 10, 2016 #
I invested in a floor length cashmere sweater and I love to hang out in it since I live in the cold, snowy east. I have always heard that women in the Middle East who wear Burkas, wear beautiful lounge wear in their homes. It would be so interesting to learn more about this trend.
Gail Ann Thompson
February 10, 2016 #
How can one feel comfortable if one is not groomed and well dressed?
boocat
February 10, 2016 #
I’ve found that it is as easy to be a slob in pretty clothes as it is in dowdy ones.
Lissa Brooks
February 10, 2016 #
This is definitely something I have an issue with and can hopefully remedy with sewing. In my mind, I wear cute, prim little outfits or sleek futuristic-looking athletic wear (odd dichotomy, I know), but the reality is tees and knit pants. I’m a big girl, so my body has definitely never matched my vision. I love comfort and while the athletic gear may work, it’ll never look sleek on me. However, maybe I can find some happy medium via sewing.
Meg
February 10, 2016 #
You brought up why sewing is so great – you can match the ideas you have in your mind with the perfect fit for your own body!
Jane
February 10, 2016 #
I’m heading into my third year of retirement and it would be so easy to fall out of bed and into yoga wear (read: sweats or leggings), and since I do yoga most days, I could even rationalize that choice. I don’t want to be that woman though and so I make undies with lace, wear dresses with petticoats and put on earrings every day. I keep searching for ways to stay current, stylish and elegant even if I never leave home. I’m making lacier yoga pants, lacier sports bras, and more glamorous nighties. This is no time to become complacent in attire! I dress for myself and my husband so I’m working on putting glamour everywhere!
Sheila
February 10, 2016 #
I always wear lingerie at night. I just love it! I’ve only made one for myself and it was your lovely pattern, Savannah, from Seamwork with the French seams! Love it! I made mine just a little longer to make it perfect for me. I have some fabric waiting for me to make a second one. But working on the Phoebe right now, so hopefully I’ll make the other one soon!
TerriSue
February 10, 2016 #
I do not own anything that would be considered slouchy or such. I am 58 years young and have not had a pair of jeans since I was in high school. I do not own a pair of slacks. I wear dresses or skirts. I do not work outside of the home but everyday I put on makeup and dress my hair carefully. My style runs more towards vintage styles as that is what I look best in, channeling the 40’s and 50’s. You will find me wearing hose except for the very hottest days here in Texas. I care about what is under my clothes also. I am never without a slip or petticoat. 35 years ago when we lived in St. Louis we had a foster child. She was a baby. At the time we did not own a washer or drier. I felt then that disposable diapers were terrible for the ecology and still do. We had a diaper service. After a month of delivering diapers to us our diaper man who came mid morning commented to me that it was refreshing to come to our house, as I was always dressed so nice. He said most of the women he delivered to were always in pajamas or sweats. That it was refreshing to see someone looking nice. That really made me think. I had only been married a year but I decided that my husband was not going to see me lose interest in looking nice. When we started our own family I kept right on making the effort everyday. Except immediately after child birth I always was dressed nicely first thing in the morning. It starts the day right. My husband has never had cause to know that I don’t care how I look to him. If you dress like a slob, your life will probably be slovenly. I care about myself more than that.