Handmade holiday wardrobe: Spring in NYC



So, I recently came back from an amazing eight days in NYC. Whenever I travel I make a real effort to pack as many me made items as possible. I feel it's a great way to test if your items meet the demands of reality and are comfortable and practical as well as being completely awesome looking.
Spring in NYC is much like London- changeable, from cold, to warm, to rain, and in New York even some snow just 10 days before we arrived!
I won't bang on about how incredible New York is, but I fell in love with the city, the food, the art, the buildings, the style, the fact you always felt like you were on a film set- with everything! We stayed with a great couple in Brooklyn and really loved this part of the city, hipster paradise but full of fun vintage and never far from a vegan cafe.

I won't deny it, I spent ages planning what to pack because I love to have a choice in what I wear and hate to be too cold or dresses inappropriately for a situation I find myself in! I used a free app, My Fashion Closet (hate that word) to help me plan what to pack. The screen looks like this:

You flick through your items until you find a combination you like, then click finalise and it makes a little collage for you. It's very simple but I found it really useful when packing to help me work out which items work well together and slim down my packing by removing items which did not make good outfits with the other items I had packed. I find sticking somewhat to a colour pallet helps with this when packing. 
FYI the lady who worked in the met told me my pompom shorts were 'the most joyful thing ever' and asked me who made them- and I said with pride I DID! She had great earrings, plus one style point for me.

I will share with you the DIY items I packed first, then shop bought (it occurs as I blog this that many of these items I have yet to blog, sorry!)

Clockwise from top left: self drafted stripe tunic, Simplicity 1759 red coat, Simplicity 1419 gingham dress, simplicity 1370 houndstooth skirt

Clockwise from top left: stripe tee from a vintage pattern, black Salme 142, Tilly and the Buttons spotty Lilou dress, red patterned skirt simplicity 2215

Clockwise from top left: Simplicity 1370 large houndstooth skirt, Marrimekko skirt dress New Look 6068, simplicty 2444 tartan dress, Simplicity 1370 pompom shorts.

Clockwise from top left: simple yellow knitted scarf with no pattern obs, Tilly and the Buttons floral Lilou dress, New Look 6095 striped shift dress, New Look 6231 blue jeans.

And then the less fun bit, the shop bought clothes! Although to be fair these are mainly boring black jersey layers and cardigans bought throughout the bleak winter for layering under and on top of beautiful handmade dresses for warmth. That, and a lovely faux suade jacket I've had for years and adore for this time of year and two amazing vintage liberty scarves which make all outfits instantly amazing.


So that was what I packed for eight days of fun in NYC!
I will now bore you with some of my lovely pictures. Some have DIY outfits in, some are just cool shots of a beautiful city. Over share warning, in advance.

Overall a pretty inspiring Easter. I always come back from holidays full of ideas ready to stitch, design and create. We are doing some home improvements and making our house a beacon of lovelyness. On top of that I am continuing with my Big Bridesmaids Project and sewing myself some new and very camp clothes for spring- I am in the mood for colour!

That's all for today, thanks for reading and happy sewing x o x o


















 


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