Tuesday, June 16, 2009

On Reliving the 80's - Strapless Jersey Jumpsuit

In the 80's I was a kid living in a communist country, so no, sort of the cold war, I did not get to experience that decade. My husband still finds it perplexing that I do not recognize bands/tunes/movies from that era, and I understand how a Westerner would find it difficult to comprehend what it was behind the Berlin wall, from a cultural perspective, that is. What I do remember though is the AWFUL hair and I hope that trend never gets resurrected.
Anyway, perhaps because I never got to truly experinece the 80's, I am now transfixed with some of the trends that reinterpret that decade, namely jumpsuits. If you think that it is hard to find RTW that fits, then it is three times that hard to find a fitting jumpsuit. Luckily, I can sew.
I was trying to find a photo of my inspiration piece and the website I saw it at is sold out, hence no photo. You can still see it here http://www.intermixonline.com/product/designers/helmut+lang/strapless+jersey+jumpsuit.do?sortby=ourPicks but the photographs really did not capture the details. What you won't see in the photos is a pretty cool drapey "Pattern Magic"-type design feature in the back. I have no ides how it was done and did not try to replicate it since it would have only been distinguishable if the piece was worn unbelted, which I did not intend to do.
The drafting was not hard, particularly since I have already drafted a jumpsuit couple of weeks before. The fullness at the chest and the length of the rise needed the most work/decisions. Once the pattern was made, the sewing part was a breeze, it took me couple of hours from cutting all the way through having it compeltely done.
I made it from a rayon jersey I got in the fall from EOS.

More photos:
(btw, it is very hard to photogrpah black, especially when you are doing it yourself, so pls excuse the not so great quality of the photos. I wanted to wait to DH who has aprofessional camera, but he is here only during the weekends and the weekends have been lacking sun recently.)



Closer-ups:

Notes on design features & construction:
  • strapless, pull-on style
  • pleated front and back
  • a pleat at the side seam overlapping from front to back
  • 1.5" elastic sewn to top and then turned under
  • reinforced front and back crotch
I am very happy with the was it turned out. It is actually better than I thought it would be! In summation - I LOVE it and hope to wear it a lot this summer!

9 comments:

Erica Bunker said...

What a great trendy jumpsuit!

Ann Made Studio said...

Your jumpsuit looks wonderful. You did a great job. I like how you made the pants,very nice style!

Jenny said...

I love it! Even though you were inspired by the 80's, this jumpsuit is totally wearable today. You look great! Love the shoes!

Meg said...

Add sleeves and make it in royal blue, and you have the very jumpsuit I wore to nightclubs in the 80s. I remember I bought it at Neiman Marcus.

gwensews said...

You wear a jumpsuit well. I love the pleats. Very pretty.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

I'm not sold on jumpsuits for someone my height, but it looks great on you!

Marita said...

WOW!!!!!

Cennetta said...

Bravo! This is an attractive jumpsuit and is right on with the current fashion trend. The pleated bodice is especially nice and different.

Tany said...

Fantastic job! You've made the most amazing jumpsuit ever! WOW!