My favourite things to wear in this world are various shades of cream or white and denim. I think it is a given that most brides would be less than impressed with anyone turning up dressed in white lace to their big day and equally underwhelmed at my appearing in a pair of jeans. This conundrum tends to leave me feeling pretty uninspired when it comes to picking out wedding ensembles. Last weekend I had two weddings to attend and for the first time ever had absolutely no trouble designing and making what I wanted to wear! Hooray for me, hehe! There was a bit of a theme, however and both outfits did end up being cream lace and mint green.
So I thought I would begin by sharing my favourite outfit of the two with you. An ivory guipure lace skirt and a mint green silk crepe boyfriend shirt.
The shirt I won’t go into too much detail on as it is just another colour-way of my silk boyfriend shirt that I posted about here. I will say how much I LOVE the colour of this minty green silk from Beckford silks however- they call it duck egg and I suppose that is actually a better description. It is on the border line between blue and green and lovely and soft and muted. I can also tell you that this one came together much quicker than the last one and that I did not use any interfacing at all and I far prefer the finish without.
Oh, I also lost one of my skinny placket pieces between cutting out and sewing up and had thrown out my scraps(doh!) so I had to improvise with a piece of very similar coloured lining from my stash. Considering these sleeves are destined to spend their lives rolled up I am sure this isn’t going to be too much of a problem but you can kind of see it below.
The skirt I drafted from my block and I eliminated the darts by removing the dart allowance at the side seams (minus a bit as this is accepted protocol when it comes to moving dart allowance into seams). I did this because the lace is way to bulky and thick to handle darts nicely, plus it is nicer not to break up the pattern on the lace. Other than that minor change it is literally just my block shortened a bit with facing at the waist, which is essentially the most basic shaped skirt there is. I backed the lace with some ivory wool, and hemmed it that so that the scalloped edge of the lace extended below it slightly. I lined it with my favourite lining from Truro fabrics.
This is one of the comfiest outfits ever, silk boyfriend shirts are pretty much like wearing the best pyjamas in the world and the lace of the skirt is so soft. I paired the outfit with my nude wedges from Dune and my Cambridge satchel also in a creamy nude colour because I wanted understated accessories.
I think these are two of my favourite makes to date and I am pleased that I will be able to pair them up with different things too 🙂 Do you ever have problems choosing or making outfits for weddings?
Thanks for reading!
60 responses to “Wedding season part 1 : Lace skirt & silk blouse”
Love, love, love it!! Which one of the silks did you use?
I’ve got 3weddings I’ve got to make for, no idea what yet! Xx
Thanks Olivia! I used the medium weight crepe in duck egg 🙂 Good luck with your wedding makes!x
Such a lovely outfit. I love your watch, where is it from?
Faye
I’d love to know about your watch too – I’m looking for one just like it! I love the shirt and skirt too, I am obsessed with mint and lace!
Bryony
Thanks Faye and Bryony, my watch is Kate Spade and I got it here: http://www.shopbop.com/tiny-metro-watch-kate-spade/vp/v=1/1527033171.htm?folderID=2534374302179240&fm=other-shopbysize-viewall&colorId=19550
Gorgeous outfit! Those colours are perfect together. I love the way the skirt shell is lower than the backing, it really shows off the fabulous detail of that lace.
Ah thanks so much 🙂
WOW. the whole shebang, just scrumptious.
Ah thankyou! 🙂
Wow! What a great outfit! I love love love the silk buttondown… I need to try one, but I’m terrified of doing all that topstitching in shifty silk! Well done!
Do it- it’s worth the effort, literally the comfiest ‘smart’ item of clothing you will ever wear! 🙂
Such a lovely shirt – it looks really comfortable and stylish at the same time. The skirt is beautiful – I like the scalloped edge of the lace. Such beautiful colours that work so well with your skin tone and hair. I love pastels on you ; )
AH thank you Caroline 🙂
Gorgeous ensemble, and entirely wedding appropriate 🙂
Thank you!! 🙂
I love the drape on the shirt and what a gorgeous colour. Hoorah for duck eggs 😉
The skirt is pretty too – I keep thinking I should make a skirt block. Is it difficult? Have you done/will you do a tutorial on that?
Oh no it’s not difficult AT ALL- planning on doing a video about making a block from a sloper pattern very soon which makes it super easy peasy! 🙂
Oh, I can’t wait!
Mint is my favourite colour, it looks so clean and fresh. I have just made the Anna dress, (by hand London) for a wedding in navy blue silk and am desperately trying to finish a white linen jacket to go over it. The wedding is next Saturday!
I was at beckford silk yesterday rooting around the remnants table!
Aw I am envious- really need to take a trip to Beckford Silk at some point! Your outfit sounds gorgeous! Did you finish your jacket in time?
Yay, got the whole outfit finished. I think you had the right idea though. Not sure how often I can wear a silk dress, but you can wear your shirt in lots of different ways. Next up is a silk sorbeto and some silk pyjama trousers courtesy of Tilly and the buttons book.
That top stitching is the neatest thing I’ve ever seen!
Ah thanks Angela- I use a top stitching foot which makes it hard to get wrong 🙂
I love this outfit! You have such a great eye for detail.
Thanks Sharon- love your deer and doe dress!
What a great idea—i have three weddings to attend this summer and I’m just not inspired when looking into the closet at my old standbys. The tailoring on the shirt is fantastic. I’m thinking i could put together a lace skirt w less than a yard..will have to check out remnants at my local fabric shop. Love the whole look…what i would pay for a pair of those shoes (they didn’t last long on the u.s.!). Thanks again for sharing. Kimberly
Ah shame about the shoes Kimberley- they are a great staple! Yep you caould definitely get this skirt out of less than a yard 🙂
Your blouse is so beautifully sewn and the lace skirt is divine! Beautiful outfit!
Thanks Angela!
This is such a gorgeous outfit! That skirt is awesome and I am loving that top, so well made!
Thanks Katie!
Lovely as always. Where do you source your lace from?
Hi Andrea, this lace is from a new website called white tree fabrics 🙂 http://www.whitetreefabrics.com/guipure-tassled-lace-9241.html
WOW Ami this is a perfect outfit, I am loving those colours, so fresh and pretty! I would definately LOVE to see some videos from you about how to draft simple pieces like your skirt and your pretty lace tops from previous blog posts, I have loved your other videos!! Have a great weekend Xxx
Ah thanks so much Emma, I am planning to make some simple pattern drafting videos very soon, really happy to hear you enjoyed the others! 🙂 x
I’m really looking forward to your videos!
I find it so hard to find really nice lace, love yours its so fresh. Your silk shirts looks so perfect!!
aforvogue.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks Anna! 🙂
What a great idea to back the guipure lace with ivory wool. What a stunning skirt, and beautiful with the blouse. This is classic dressing!
Thank you Karen! I had a metre of the ivory wool in my stash and the colour was a good match so it was pretty much chance but I would definitely use it again as it did work nicely! 🙂
Wow! It looks so professional! I would have never guessed it was home sewn. Brava!
Ah thank you so much!
Love the shade you have chosen for this shirt Ami. It’s perfect for you, but he skirt, well it is beautiful. The lace edge makes a perfect hemline and, as always with your garments, the construction is flawless. Ann x
Thanks Ann! 🙂
This whole outfit is so gorgeous, and so you! I’m really intrigued by the fact that you didn’t use interfacing in the shirt – did you find it difficult to work the buttonholes?
Ah thanks Gail! What I actually did to make sure that the buttons and buttonholes didn’t give me a problem was to draft the front plackets with a seam allowance as big as the plackets themselves so that there was 4 layers of silk. It worked as well as interfacing without the bother! I will definitely do it like this from now on 🙂
Makes sense! Thanks! I will try that sometime, because I like my plackets to have a little drape when the fabric is so soft.
Beautiful outfit and colours Ami. Thanks so much on the tips on where to buy quality fabrics as it’s always helpful to get recommendations. I bought some silk from Beckfords following one of your previous posts and am so impressed with the quality and drape – I’d been looking at the duck egg and now it’s settled (although I’m also coveting the crushed pink). A tutorial on drafting simple pieces would be wonderful.
Their colour choice is amazing isn’t it! The duck egg is so easy to wear too- very soft and I can’t really imagine anyone it wouldn’t suit! I have some drafting videos planned! 🙂
Beautiful! I love the colours and style!
Thank you for posting information on interfacing (lack of), fabric, construction, etc. I’m always interested in the details.
Thanks Katalin, and thankss for the feedback- I never know how much info people really want and don’t want to bang on if I’m just sending people to sleep! Hehe!
You seem to have found a good balance! 🙂
Oh, I forgot to ask. How do you care for your silk shirts? Do you wash them at home or have them dry cleaned? Thanks!
I pre-wash the silk before cutting out the shirt using my cold machine wash setting with woolite and some fabric conditioner and then I wash my shirts in the same way. As soon as they finish I hang them up on a coat hanger to dry and then I find that they are barely creased and are really easy to iron. Oh and i turn the steam off on my iron so that there is no fear of nasty brown water spitting out on them 🙂
That lace is gorgeous, and I love it paired with the green/blue. And brilliant to accessorize with the nude shoes/purse. Those shades are perfect for you. I can’t help trying to imagine the lace backed with the green/blue, perhaps in a sleeveless sheath dress, but it wouldn’t be nearly as versatile as separates. You have done a lovely job of it, as always.
Oooo I love that idea Wendy! I am going to have an experiment backing the lace with some coloured fabrics, thank you! 🙂
Hi there,
Wowzers! This is beautiful and and so chic. You’re welcome at any wedding I have! 🙂
Thanks Ami for responding!
Beautiful shirt Ami and the skirt is pretty awesome too. Did you use a particular pattern for the shirt or draft it yourself from a block. If you used a pattern could you share the info, I would be grateful, would love to make one for myself.
Thanks in anticipation.
Linda
These are beautiful! I can’t decide which I love more. 🙂