Making a capsule wardrobe of extraordinarily pretty things

Recently I went to see the film ‘Little Women’ (twice). Have you seen it? It is Greta Gerwig’s new interpretation of the novel and I loved every second of it. In fact I was so enamoured of it that it plunged me into the world I used to inhabit as a teenager of Victorian style fantasy. I always desperately wished that I could wear the clothes of days gone by when women looked like women and wore what I may describe as ‘extraordinarily pretty things’. I remember when we were over in the US a few years ago and we took the kids to Gettysburg. Driving away from it, I saw a shop selling civil war costumes - Scarlett O’hara style for sure. Oh how I wanted a crinoline dress. My husband laughed ‘what on earth would you do with it… wear it do the washing up???’ Of course he is right - I am neither actress or a drama queen. But after seeing ‘Little Women’, I saw lots of ideas that could easily be adapted to today’s wardrobe, which in my case, would absolutely have to include jeans.

When I got home, I read some more about the making of the film, ordered a secondhand copy of Louisa May Alcott’s letters and journals (published in 1896) and discovered that there are wonderful people out there who share my passion for the costumes of another era. When I saw the instagram feed of ‘LittleWomenatelier’ (a russian family making dresses to die for) not only was I smitten, but I realised that there are ways to use the styles of the past and incorporate them into the modern wardrobe. I began to think back to my good intentions of progressing with my novice dressmaking skills and wondered why I was so lazy with it. I think it was just that there was a missing ingredient and now I knew what it was. I needed to find that vintage style in my own way and make things that reflect my love of period costume. I wondered if I could make a capsule wardrobe, starting simply but using my embroidery to make it right for me. I am honestly not really a clothes sort of person (much more of an accessories girl) but I wondered if this was because I am so uninspired by the things I see in the shops. I like the idea of slow sustainable fashion, it should be the way forward today for all of us. Cheap imported clothes don’t really help anyone - they have a carbon footprint that is black as soot even down to the little plastic particles that go out through our washing machines because of the content of the fabrics, let alone the transportation costs and the disappointing lack of durability of a lot of modern garments etc. Making and having a few select pieces that means the wardrobe is uncrowded and can breathe, seems really very appealing to me. So I started with a list. What exactly did I want to be able to make…… and what do you really need to include. Here’s what I came up with (in no particular order):

A pair of pyjamas.

A dressing gown or snuggly top of some sort.

An embroidered camisole

A pin tuck shirt with a grandad collar.

A shirt with a peter pan collar.

A longish ‘A’ line skirt with gross grain border.

A linen jacket with a peplum or flared bottom.

A tunic top.

An apron/pinafore top that would be good in the sewing room.

A long duster coat.

An embroidered scarf.

This list seems pretty comprehensive to me, but rather a lot to tackle. However, with it down on paper, the ideas started to ferment. I decided that I would not exclude modern fabrics, but try to use these in a sympathetic way and would compliment my dressmaking attempts with some knitting attempts too - I think slow fashion is going definitely going to be the word with that! I will use commercial patterns that are easily available for everything and as this is really the time of independent pattern makers, it should be interesting to make my choices. I will also use tips and tricks from the internet and write about these too and add in some vintage style accessories. I really am a novice dressmaker so I thought that I should start with the simpler items and work my way down to something as ambitious as a duster coat.

As it happens, I had already been working on an embroidered scarf. I have made these before, but last autumn, while on a visit to London (and Liberty’s) I did buy a gorgeous piece of fabric with the plan that it would back a new wool scarf. I absolutely love the motifs and colours on this and it matched my piece of burgundy coloured wool fabric perfectly. Both fabrics are cut to 1.5m x 25cm. I mirrored the colours on the print in my thread choices for the embroidery so that it all toned in. The motifs are floral and scattered randomly and I find Japanese embroidery books are a wonderful source of inspiration for a project like this. It is a slow project and has taken me really quite a while and now that it is finished, I feel justified in putting it in my capsule wardrobe. It is quite an expensive project to make too - the wool should be high quality and in order to get one continuous piece, you have to buy 1.5m - however, on the positive side, you can usually get 3 or more scarves out of the piece depending on the width of the fabric. It is a lot of hand work, but it’s very striking and totally unique once it is done and also very hardwearing. A hand embroidered piece like this is dress up or dress down. It looks great with jeans and a pretty white shirt and equally lovely with a smarter outfit. I may keep this in mind when it comes to making the tunic top later on (perhaps I need more of that fabric). Having items to treasure is an important part of creating a capsule wardrobe and it is a good way to kick start my project too.

Accessorising with a piece as lovely as this is fun too. A quick tip to add a touch of vintage to a ready made item is to stitch some cotton lace around the neckline. -It worked a treat on this jumper . I am so lucky too because the lovely mum of a lovely friend of mine, send me the hat and fingerless gloves and they match perfectly - I think I am good to for the weekend now (especially as snow and storms are forecast!).

Before I go though, I am excited to start with some real dressmaking projects. Looking at my list, I felt the apron/pinafore top - a very necessary item for any would be victorian lady, and something that I think I would find useful on an everyday basis with jeans and tees to wear in the sewing room. - seems like the simplest place to start. Check back next time to see how I am doing.