Branching Out

It felt like summer on the day these photos were taken last Saturday.   The usual misty morning steadily gave way to glorious sunshine. Across the nation, people organised impromptu barbecues and made the potentially rash decision to head out without a jacket on.

My husband fancied a trip to the seaside, so we hopped in the car and headed to Porthcawl, a Welsh seaside town that is a mere twenty something miles from us.  It was lovely and warm, and we enjoyed the first ice-cream of the year as we strolled along the promenade.  Blissful!  We then called into a nature reserve on the way home that we'd never been to before.  There is a large pond with groves of these twisty trees at the water's edge.  It would be a great location for a 'tree nymph' photoshoot, with something suitably ethereal.  Instead, I was dressed more appropriately for climbing trees in this casual look.
















Outfit: Vintage Liberty scarf (in hair) from car boot sale, top made by me, Boden Hampshire trousers, Converse daps (gift), Joules bag, sunglasses from vintage fair.  Lipstick is Besame 'Carmine'.

You would be forgiven for thinking the top I'm wearing here is one of the slashneck tops by Vivien of Holloway, which have been selling well and are seen on vintage lovers all over social media.  I have the Forest Green version myself, seen here. With its classic, simple shape, and the ability to be tucked in or left out, I easily could have bought the top in at least three more colours.  At £35 per top, that could have been expensive.  So, I made my own!

The pattern is a modern Prima one.  The sizing was accurate, and the construction was very simple and quick, with no obtuse instructions to baffle me.  I had some of that gorgeous apricot ponte roma leftover from making the Coco funnel-neck top.  I made two alterations, adding little side splits at the hem, and narrowing the neckline slightly to prevent bra-straps showing.  Would I make it again?  I already did - I made a sparkle jersey version too.  Both versions were made last summer, I have not been able to prioritise any sewing since then.  I already have some other fabric choices on my wish list for this pattern for when I can start sewing again.  

Cost: Pattern was 50p from a charity shop, I already had the matching thread, and used 1.1 metres of the Clothspot fabric I had leftover (think it was £8.50 a metre?).  So, pretty reasonable and definitely cheaper than buying more of the VoH ones.

If you can't sew, and you can't stretch to a VoH version, my top tip for creating a slashneck top is to check the jersey tops you already own - sometimes if you wear them backwards, this creates a slash neckline at the front!  You might have to snip out an irritating label, but it really does work in a pinch (I've done this when travelling to make a small clothing collection go further).  You're welcome.

Linking up with: #iwillwearwhatilike, Visible Monday, Passion for Fashion, Fancy Friday