Black and White Keeps Me on the Right Track!

On my journey of cultivating a stylish a wardrobe, I feel I am always in need of more and more separates. Not ridiculous wardrobe orphans that stand alone in my closet and will never, ever make friends with the options in there. But amazing basic, fun and stylish pieces that I can mix and match with almost everything I own. And these two pieces are perfect!

I love beautiful button front shirts, especially ones from the brand Equipment. These types of shirts are not only luxurious, but they're extremely versatile. The go with everything in your closet, from dressy to casual. And that's exactly what I wanted.

I reached into my pattern collection and selected (discontinued) Vogue 1462 - DKNY. The lines of this shirt called out for colorblocking. A solid color would be such a waste! I decided to create mine in black and white silk georgette. I used an Egret Silk Georgette and Theory Stretch Black Georgette, both from Mood Fabrics.com. I cut the size 14 for my shirt. The pattern suggested sew-in interfacing and since I was working with silk, I highly agree! The collar, collar band and cuffs are where interfacing is required. I used Silk Organza as my sew-in.

If you've never sewn with silk georgette before, the best way I can describe it as somewhere between silk chiffon and silk crepe de chine. It's one of those luxurious fabrics you simply have to experience. The egret fabric is pretty sheer, so by nature that makes it a "fiddly" fabric to work with. In the past, I've experiment a few ways on the best way to cut this this fabric. And for me, I find cutting the pattern pieces on a single layer with the silk fabric atop an old sheet keeps it from crawling and the fabric on grain.

This shirt has contrasting shoulder yokes. This is a detail I've never added to a button front shirt and it's so unique to me.

The contrasting front is an applique detail, sewn atop of the main fabric. This is where patience comes in handy when working with silk to make sure that this detail was balanced on each side.

The back has contrasting seam detail. Unlike the front, this is an actual stand alone piece.

The front has a mock fly with concealed buttons.

And the sleeves have a contrasting plackets and cuffs.

I'd originally purchased these lovely Iridescent White Buttons. But when I received them, I thought they were too pretty to be concealed. So I only used them in areas where they would actually show.

I used my good 'ol basic buttons that I keep in my stash for the concealed areas.

I wanted to give my shirt a cool and modern match, so I went with a pair of track pants using (OOP) Simplicity 1428. Back in 2014, I made the skirt of this pattern also. This time, I opted for a black bengaline suiting from Joanns. I wanted a casual fabric that would easily go from washer & dryer to wearing. I cut the size 14 and added 3" to the length. I tapered the ankles in too. And to give them that athletic look, I added a white twill 1" trim down the sides.