5 Things That Are Inspiring Me Now Part 2

Sometime last Autumn, I wrote about ‘5 things that are inspiring me now’ and I’ve decided to drop one of these posts in occasionally to share what’s interesting and inspirational to me at the time. I personally love to be inspired by others…to see what interests people or gets their creativity going and to soak up their enthusiasm….I hope you feel the same 🙂 Maybe something in this post will inspire you too.

1. Colour

First up is colour. I know, I know…sounds a bit generalised, doesn’t it? But hear me out 🙂

The catalyst for this interest is two-fold really (more on the second part shortly), but the main one has been a challenge on Instagram headed up by @katiekortmanart called #sewhappycolor. Each week throughout the month of March has been colour themed, going from red and pink, though orange/yellow, green and blue/purple. Katie is an artist as well as a sewer and she created lots of informative Stories on Instagram explaining all about colour theory including complementary and analogous colour schemes. Everyone was encouraged to try out different combinations that were new to them by styling items from their wardrobes in new and colourful ways. I had an afternoon free and photographed a few new-to-me combos and thoroughly enjoyed it. Here are some pics for you.

I’ve been totally fired up by the whole challenge and I’m inspired to keep trying different colours together, however, I think something was already starting to shift a bit inside me even before the challenge (this is the second part)…I’m not sure whether you remember, but in a blog post I wrote last Autumn, I was talking about wanting to simplify things in my wardrobe by adding more neutrals and less colour so that styling decisions were easier. Well, whilst I do still love my creams and light greys, I can’t help but think that my need for simplifying things was triggered by the awful worry and stress about my dad. Although I’m still grieving, the constant worry about him and also how mum was so stressed by the situation has subsided and been replaced by a different outlook and different feelings. I’m sure this is reflected in my craving for colour and boldness right now…

Moving forward, I’ll be combining colours and wardrobe items in a more colourful way and also making a few bolder pieces, so stay tuned…

2. Dresses

Next up in my inspiration is dresses. I’ve always been a die-hard separates gal and that won’t be changing anytime soon, but lately, I’m being drawn a bit more to dresses. My favourite silhouette is a fairly straight or slightly fitted shift style which finishes just above the knee..and preferably with some interesting detail/feature or colour blocking. I’m not that keen on wrap dresses, shirtdresses or anything remotely vintagey or with a full skirt….just not my style.

The latest runway show by Elie Saab piqued my interest lately…I love the dresses with the asymmetric ruffles…so unusual! Take a look for yourself. And here are a couple of images from my style Pinterest page that appeal to me as well. Love that Burda colour-blocked dress. And the green/blue Chloe dress is gorgeous!

3. Linen

So tell me…Were you inspired by the GBSB (Great British Sewing Bee) episode all about linen and cotton? Me too! I want all.the.linen. I just have to make myself a linen dress and some wide-leg linen pants. I know it creases, but you can get a linen and cotton blend which won’t crease quite as much as 100% Linen. And linen sews up so beautifully and easily. Linen also takes colour well so you can find so many beautiful shades in it. I bought some Clarks sandals last week (see pic below) and for someone who has never worn yellow now I really fancy some yellow-toned fabric (who is this person I’ve become??) and I just happen to have found these two beauties from Ditto Fabrics and Fabric Godmother. And for those of you who might be thinking about sustainability, linen is a really good sustainable fabric choice because it’s organic, doesn’t require pesticides to grow and is biodegradable and recyclable.

4. Long Over Lean

Fourth on my list is the long layered over lean look. I’ve seen quite a few long duster cardigans and coats worn over slim pants or jeans and I’m rather liking it, but I was particularly smitten by this outfit worn by the very stylish and quite eclectic dresser Suzanne Dekyvere on Instagram. Can you imagine that over-tunic in some gorgeous linen? Mmmmm…

In the meantime, though I have a lovely teal rib knit with a slight sparkle that I got from Clothspot and I intend to make a long duster cardigan with it. Great as a throw-on for cooler Spring and Summer days eh?

5. Stash/Scrapbusting And Mixed Textures

Finally on my list of inspiring things is the idea of mixing fabrics together to use up scraps and chunks of fabric too small for whole garments. This inspiration came about from an image I saw on (yup, you guessed it!)…Pinterest (why yes, now that you ask…I am a bit obsessed with Pinterest, lol! Why not give me a follow on there? ). It’s a lovely top made of several different fabrics and it started me off down a rabbit hole that I didn’t surface from for quite some time. I ended up collecting some more images to share with you here (see below). I love how different textures can really play off one another. You can create lovely interest either in bright colours, or monochrome and different textures could play a big part too. I feel like grabbing all of my offcuts and dumping them in a pile to see which ones would work together. Obviously, you need to think a bit about fabric content etc. and I wouldn’t necessarily mix wovens with knits unless the knit was a very stable one, but it could be a lot of fun to make something truly unique and creative to wear…

Well, I hope you enjoyed a look at what’s inspiring me lately and perhaps you feel inspired too. Or how about sharing what’s making you feel creative in the comments below? I’d love to know.

Thanks for reading, take care and see you soon.

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