This is summer me.

by

This outfit feels like a tiny personal triumph, so there are two quick things I want to tell you about it:

1) I’ve wandered onto the warm side of the color wheel for the first time in years, and it feels surprisingly great. This is the plum-colored tee I scored at Elizabeth Suzann’s sample sale in December (from their erstwhile Alabama Chanin collab), paired with this weekend’s rendition of my go-to modified Robbie Pants, this time in “Pomelo” linen from Merchant & Mills. I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten a pomelo so can’t say for sure how accurate it is, but I would have named this color after an heirloom tomato — it’s exactly that sort of barely pinkish red. Together, these garments are the accomplishment of a goal: a summer-appropriate outfit that feels like me. In fact, I don’t remember the last time an outfit made me feel this satisfied. (And yet I couldn’t be bothered to do better than a mirror selfie!)

2) I’ve gone up one size in the pants. All of the canvas and denim versions I’ve made were size Small (with some very slight tweaks), based on my wish for there to be as little gathering as possible at the elastic waist. So I chose the size that would just barely slip on over my hips with the elastic fully stretched. After I made them in linen for the first time, by contrast, I was vaguely wishing the fabric had more of an opportunity to swish and drape. This red pair is a Medium and I am in absolute love with the fit. There’s not a huge difference in the sizing, but just enough to transform the way they feel and move.

I might be getting this summer dressing thing figured out. Only took me six summers …

p.s. One of the things I’m loving about making these pants out of assorted 60″-wide linens is they take less than a yard and a half of fabric!

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PREVIOUSLY in Finished Objects: Linen pants! Plus Fen tunic, take two

22 thoughts on “This is summer me.”

  1. I love your colour sense, though I have a childhood aversion to maroon. Don’t tell me it’s burgundy, which I often wear. But I adore the pants and the Pomelo. Every time I go on the MM website, I visit Pomelo. Fabulous success. A loose dress in the Pomelo would just be the final polish.

    • That’s funny — to me, maroon and burgundy are the same (and I share your childhood aversion). I was skeptical of this color when I saw it on their site, but in person it does lean just blue enough to warrant its name, plum. A warning about the pomelo, though, at least on my computer M&M’s photo looks nothing like the real color. And I’ve been burned by their color names and photos before. I highly recommend getting swatches from them. They’re pretty subtle colors and on-screen photos will never be right. But pomelo is a great color, and I’m glad I have enough left for at least a little top of some kind.

  4. These colours look great on you! I’ve never really thought of. myself as a “red” kind of person, but someone put a pair of red frames on me, and they really worked. I like your colour explorations.

    • I always love a spot of unexpected red — like glasses or shoes or an accessory — but haven’t worn a red garment in like 20 years. The last thing I can think of is a beloved pair of rusty red corduroy wide-leg utility-style pants when I lived in SF. The Grace Pullover pics have me remembering those fondly and wanting to replace them!

  6. Oh I do love that Pomelo linen. I have so much fabric at the moment that I can’t justify a purchase, but I can make a trip to Merchant and Mills my treat for sewing it all up!
    Love your summer look. Very “secret pyjamas” whilst looking very chic at the same time!

  7. This post has inspired me to drag out my ancient sewing machine (a relic from my 1970’s era high school home-ec class!) and give the Robbie pants a try. I’m curious to know if you printed the pattern yourself, or did you take it to a professional printer?

    I always look forward to reading your blog. Thank you!

    • I send PDF patterns to Kinko’s to be printed on their big printer. It’s simple and comes back on nice thick paper that stores well rolled up, etc. And since I tend to make the same patterns over and over and over, the extra 10 bucks or whatever makes sense.

  8. These colors are stunning on you. Can’t wait to see if/how this color evolution appears in your knitting!

      • A while back you did highlight (was it in an « Elsewhere » post ?) a red and cream Scandinavian sweater … wouldn’t it be glorious with that shade of pants ?

  9. This looks great on you and I can tell that it feels good on you too. Did it take forever for fabric to come from England?

    • Not at all — they use DHL and it comes in 2 or 3 days. But it’s not cheap, so you do have to factor that into the real cost of the yardage, and it makes ordering more than one thing more cost-effective. If you have a fabric store that stocks their stuff, that can be a better option sometimes.

  10. I’ve eaten quite a few pomelos. They’re like really big grapefruit and have either yellow or pink flesh. Definitely not tomato red! Lovely colour on you anyway.

    • Louise is right! I have picked pomelos right off the tree and while they may be yellow or pink inside, and sometimes spelled pummelo instead, none of them looked like that shade of linen! I do think these colours look great on you though! Good choices!

      I do wonder how you wear such high necked things in the South in the summer time? I grew up in a Virginia and lived in NC and KY and could never manage anything other than a v-neck, wide neck or boat neck in the heat of the summer. Even the crew necks did me in!

      • It’s just a little loose funnel sort of thing. And while I wouldn’t wear it in high summer if I were going to be outside, it’s kind of great in the a/c.

  11. Boy, do I get this! Each spring I am armed to the teeth with ideas, patterns and fabric and barely achieve one piece sewn! More successful this summer and hoping for some Fall success as well. Keep up your beautiful work!

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