A DIY Fall 2015 Fashion Hack | The Sleeveless Coat!

This is a time when procrastination worked in my favor!  I've have two giant, industrial size garbage bags full of clothes that I've been tossing in there for almost a year and have yet to drop them off.  Which is actually a good thing.  Every so often, I'll see something and think, "I have one of those!" Then I remember it's in one of those bags and thank the Heavenly Father that my lazy behind still have them sitting in a corner of my bedroom.  

I sleeveless coat, long vest, gillet or whatever name you choose to call it, is still a great way to update your fall wardrobe.  Some even question if this garment is practical?  It's about as practical as a fleece or puffy vest that's commonly worn during cooler temps... this one is just way more polished!  So, case closed on that...

I decided to upcycle a RTW Louben coat that I've had for years.  It's a leftover from my days of corporate dressing.  There were pants, a skirt and even a sheath dress that I had with this look, that have long ago been donated.  But the coat was the only piece I kept.  It's a beautiful marsala 100% virgin wool with perfect tailoring.  The shape was perfect for a sleeveless coat.  Here's how I created mine:

Instead of cutting the sleeves off, I carefully removed them with a seam ripper to preserve the seam allowances.  I noticed that most of the seam allowances on here are 3/8" in some places and 1/2" in others.  These are 1/2".  

I created bias facings from the discarded sleeve and hand sewed them down.

I love the way it turned out.

In the process, I scored awesome uncovered shoulder pads, sleeve heads and 6 beautiful 5/8" buttons.  These shoulder pads and sleeve heads will probably be going into the coat I'm working on.

And it also has beautiful center back vent!

And it was a perfect game day look to cheer on the Alabama Crimson Tide!  Roll Tide, Roll!

Styling tip: I wore mine with my McCall's 6991 silk crepe de chine top and my Jalie 2908 flared jeans.