February 13, 2017

The Flecked Tweed










The flecked tweed sounds a bit like the title to a mystery story doesn't it? Like a short story in an old newspaper. Well in this case the flecked tweed is the most lovely vintage fabric that I found on Etsy and snagged to make a winter worthy pencil skirt.

I am always on the look out for flecked fabrics, especially when they are particularly pronounced like the "atomic fleck" 1950's varieties. This tweed is a nice blend of tan and green but with dozens of colors of fleck in light blue, rusty brown, yellow, light green, and even a few berry purple. I just love this fabric! It wasn't the most fun to work with being on the thicker side, and of course I had to line the skirt and I am always loath to do linings, but it all worked out in the end. I am even pretty proud of this skirt as the vent in the back turned out very nicely and the fit is spot on. I paired it with a black slash neck top (yep, more slash neck tops, I got a few you see!) and my Banana Republic trench as though it was sunny and quite warm for winter the wind was quite chilly! I found that this black colorway of the slash neck top fit better than the last one I wore (the light brown) and had less excess around the waist even though both are a size large, further confirming my suspicion that these vary a bit even within one size. Other accessories included orangy-brown (I believe they call this shade apple juice?) plastic brooch and earrings, and leopard print pony hair shoes.

This skirt is the second project I've finished this year! Just crazy, I have so much sewing to catch up on eeek! The to do list goes on and on, you know what I mean?

Top: Vivien of Holloway
Skirt: Made by me
Trenchcoat & Shoes: Banana Republic
Jewelry, Glove, & Handbag: Vintage
Tights: Amazon
Scarf: Souvenir from Ireland

15 comments:

  1. Killer look! So cool and classic, and the leopard heels inject a little bit of sassiness into it. I've been eyeballing those slash neck Vivien of Holloway tops for a while now, I hope they get more sizes in stock soon.

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    1. Thank you Jessica! The stock situation with these tops is a nightmare for US customers really, they never seem to have more than one color of top in all sizes at a time so you have to place several orders (with international shipping!) if you want more than one. Of course my favorite solution to this issue would be to just live in London and shop in person ;)

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  2. Really nice fleck tweed, perfect choice for a pencil skirt! I keep on nearly buying another slash neck...

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    1. Thanks Porcelina! It was a bit of a pain working with a thicker fabric but I think it was worth it in the end :)

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  3. You can't beat a good tweed - and that is a good tweed! I too have been tempted by the slash-neck tops. They look very practical.

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  4. That's exactly the sort of outfit I wore when i was really into the late 50s, except my fleck tweed pencil skirt was also from VoH. I always wore it with my black slash neck top, so this outfit felt so familiar to me. The skirt fits you perfectly! xx

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    1. Thank you Cate! It's a pretty fail safe outfit, good for days when you don't want to think ;)

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  5. I'm also a fan of the fleck. It subtly adds a lot to a garment, and allows the wearer to play with more colors for other garments and accessories.

    Also, that trench coat is fabulous! Banana Republic has made some spectacular stuff over the years! But I wish they would return to their work of the 80s. That stuff was so wonderful, as it harked back to the 20s, 30s, and 40s safari chic stuff.

    xoxo
    -Janey

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    1. Thanks Janey! I too really wish Banana Republic would bring back more of their safari style, I got a good tan safari button down shirt there a few years ago (when I was working there part time) and I'd love more things like that!

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  6. what a magic look!...what a nice poses of You!...the skirt is cool...cheers!

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  7. That last shot in particular is just stunning! You look so chic!

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  8. The flecked tweed is lovely, it has made a great skirt. I like it paired with the slash neck top and those fab shoes!

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