Working Girl

By Julianne Hazelhurst

Congratulations, you landed a new job! Now your only problem is what to wear to make a great impression. If your professional wardrobe needs an update but the thought of shopping for boring, overpriced black polyester suits makes you itch, consider a budgetfriendly alternative: Sew yourself a collection of work-appropriate interchangeable separates. Start with SEVEN key pieces to build from. Then mix and match with several purchased basics and voila–endless options!

BY SHOPPING AND SEWING SMART, it's easy to make a professional wardrobe without breaking the bank. Sewing your own work apparel not only saves you money, it also allows you to control the garments' fit and express your personal style. Create the wardrobe components from coordinated fabrics to lend versatility to your selection. Then add inexpensive layering pieces in one or two dark neutral colors, such as charcoal gray or chocolate brown, to expand your options even more.

Serious Shopping
Visit your favorite stores and boutiques and try on anything that catches your eye. While you can always refer the old stand-bys in your closet for inspiration, make time for a style-shopping research trip to check out what's en vogue.

Decide which styles look best on you and which garments you feel the most comfortable in. Think about fit, silhouette, details, fabric and color. Take notes if you need to.

Watch for in–store and online sales to acquire the patterns, fabric and notions that you'll need. Give yourself plenty of time to shop around and catch good sales. Subscribe to the e-mail lists of your favorite stores to find out about upcoming discounts and to receive online coupons.

Thrift and outlet fabric stores often have patterns, fabric and notions at great prices. Salvaging zippers, buttons and fabric from thrift store garments is environmentally friendly and a major cost-saver.

To get more bang for your buck, look for patterns that include several coordinating garments, such as a skirt, pants, jacket and blouse. Or choose a few patterns that have complementary variations of one piece.

Select patterns for garments that you'll want to wear often and sew again, always keeping in mind what you learned while style shopping.

Make a Plan
For your core wardrobe, begin with a blazer, two blouses, three bottoms (skirts, pants or capris) and a dress. Choose pieces that are in season and plan to add others later.

Refer to the suggested fabrics on each pattern envelope and also to the fabric notes you made while style shopping. You'll need three to four coordinating fabrics that you can mix and match to create cohesive outfits.

When choosing fabric, think about the colors you liked best while style shopping. It's best to select a colorful solid, a neutral solid and two coordinating prints or textures.Watch for sales and look for quality, reasonably-priced fabric that you'll feel comfortable wearing and caring for.

Determine a couple of dark neutral colors that will work with your chosen fabrics. Watch for sales on basic, off-the-rack knit layering items, such as camisoles and lightweight sweaters, in these colors. These pieces will complement your sewn garments and multiply your possible combinations.

Sketch It Out
Sketching is an important step in creating your wardrobe because it allows you to make design decisions before cutting into your fabric. Don't worry about making your sketches perfect or even artistic.The sketch is much more useful if it's true to your body type.

Find or take a picture of yourself in which you can see your silhouette clearly. Position a piece of tracing paper over the photo.Trace your body's outline with a black marker.This tracing becomes your sketch template.

Each time you sketch a new outfit, position a new sheet of paper over the template and trace your body shape lightly in pencil.

Using the drawings on the pattern envelope as a guide, lightly draw the clothes on your traced body shape.

Consult your style-shopping notes for length, design line, detail and embellishment ideas to suit your style and body type. Experiment by adding or subtracting these elements on your sketch. Look to online tutorials, books and past Sew News issues for inspiration. If you're uncomfortable with altering the original pattern, add personality with machine embroidery, trim and other embellishments.

If you're not happy with your sketch, recycle it and start a new one. It's much easier (and cheaper) to scrap an unsuccessful sketch than an unsuccessful garment.

Color your final sketches according to your fabric choices. Label the sketch with pattern numbers and any additional notes.Attach matching fabric swatches to the sketch so that all of your information is in one place.

Make it Work
The professional wardrobe featured in this article is comprised of seven core pieces: one jacket, two blouses, two skirts, one capri and one dress.Three fabrics were used to create coordinating looks: a solid woven fabric in rosy shade of pink, a brown multicolored tweed, a pink tweed and neutral cream-colored raw silk.

Complementary basic ready-to wear items in chocolate brown were thrown in the mix for further versatility and style. In total, the pieces in this wardrobe can be mixed and matched to create over 20 different looks. Another frugal way to add a contemporary look to your wardrobe is to play with inexpensive, trendy accessories.

It's a fun and cheap way to participate in trends without breaking the bank on something that's destined to go out of style in a few months. Tie your looks together with funky jewelry, belts, headbands and tights.

Go Pro
A professional wardrobe requires professional fit and finishing. 7 As you sew your wardrobe, try on the garments frequently or use a dress form in your size to ensure a tailored, flattering fit. 7 Consult your sketches often to make sure that the garments are turning out how you imagined. 7 Finish all seams with a serger or zigzag stitch. For a ready-to-wear touch, add topstitching where appropriate. Use a blindstitch on hems for extra sophistication. 7 Press the seams as you sew so that the garment falls correctly on your body. 7 Replace standard zippers with invisible zippers.

The Pieces: Dress (Simplicity 3964 View A): The cream silk dress features floral embroidery in rose thread. The armholes are finished with a binding that adds enough width at the shoulder to be work-appropriate. The jacket can be layered over the dress for a more conservative look.

Capris (Simplicity 4047 View C): To customize this pattern, the leg shape was widened and flared. For extra ease and to tie the capris in with the jacket, a stripe of the rose fabric was inserted down the outseam.

Jacket (Simplicity 3962 View B): This jacket has a contemporary silhouette and the added bonus of bust cup adjustment directions included with the pattern. To customize the design, the collar is from View A and the sleeves have been shortened to ¾ length. The back ties were converted to tie in a flirty front bow for a feminine touch.

Blouse 1 (Simplicity 3964 View B): This blouse was created from the cream silk. Its overall length was shortened to hit above the hip and the lower elasticized hem was eliminated. The sleeves were shortened to ½ length. The gold embroidery design adds interest and coordinates with the gold flecks in the tweed fabric. Add a cool belt or sash at the waist to cinch in the shape.

Skirt 1 (Simplicity 3962 View E): This pink tweed skirt has a pretty, feminine shape and length that complements the other garments in the collection, so the pattern was not altered.

Blouse 2 (Simplicity 4047 View B): This blouse has a glamorous fitted waistline. It was created in the cream raw silk to match back to the various bottoms.

Skirt 2 (Simplicity 4026 View E): This pattern includes several versatile skirt variations. The skirt was made from the brown multicolor tweed fabric and the lower band was eliminated for a slightly shorter, more flattering length. The standard zipper was replaced with an invisible zipper for a less conspicuous, more ready-to-wear finish.