Monday, December 28, 2009

What the well-dressed man wore for Christmas

So Christmas this year was pretty quiet. We drove to NJ to spend the day with Mario's family and be generally loved and overfed (or are they the same thing?)

Maybe he was a little overdressed, but since the jacket was finished, there was no way, come hell, high water or blizzard conditions, that he was getting out of the house without wearing it.

Of course, thankfully, there was no way he wanted to leave the house without wearing it, either.

His aunt Cathy came to dinner this year since her son and his family were out of town. She spent 30 years working in a clothing factory - assembly line stuff, mostly. She made lining sleeves for 10 years. 10 years. Jeez. She made shirt collars. She made cuffs. One after another.

She said that she never actually made a whole shirt, start to finish, unless she was sewing at home for her husband and son, who never wore purchased shirts while they lived under her roof.

When Mario told her that I made the jacket, she made him take it off right there and spread it out on the table. I was really glad at that point how much care I put into it, because his aunt is one of those older ladies who take pride in pointing out what's wrong with everything these days.

I like her though. I like her a lot. Especially when when she couldn't find anything wrong with it, though she did say it would have looked good with suede elbow patches. Thanks, give him ideas.

Now that the jacket is done, and almost more difficult, the review is done (and edited, and edited again), I'm back to working on something for me. It feels good.

I started cutting out fabric for my next me-project while I was working on his jacket. I'm using the plaid boucle I bought in Florence, and a pattern from the best BWOF ever - August 2006. It's actually almost done at this point, all I have left to do is bag the lining and do the finish work.

Why is it so much more complicated to make menswear? Our stuff has interfacing. It has linings. It has darts and buttons and buttonholes. My jacket even has a separating zipper. And it's a whiz, compared to the Beast.

I also fell off the fabric wagon just a little bit today - Fabric.com has some really great knits right now, in lots of happy prints for dresses in 2010. So I bought 11 yards. So what? I sewed a LOT this year.

Next up, I'll try to do a year in review, with numbers and statistics and pictures and all that fun stuff. Or a review of the Florentine jacket, whichever gets finished first.

16 comments:

SEWN said...

Wow! That is totally a jacket that Michael from LFN would wear. Mario looks really proud wearing his jacket. Great job! You must really feel a sense of accomplishment. I especially love the the pocket treatment. Are those buttons or snaps?

Michelle said...

Fantastic jacket!! It looks wonderful, such a great fit, too.

Skitzo Leezra Studio said...

That is one good lookin' man.
The jacket's not half bad, either.

Lori said...

You did an amazing job with the jacket, very impressive. I bought some of those knits from fabric.com, too!

Elaray said...

Absolutely fantastic! This has got to be one of the highlights of 2009!

Lisette M said...

Fantastic!!

Ann Made Studio said...

His jacket looks wonderful. It really fits him perfectly, you did a fantastic job :)

Kathleen C. said...

Many congratulations on a project well done!!! I know how much work goes into a tailored jacket, and this one is very impressive.

Andrea said...

That jacket looks amazing on Mario and he wears it well. LOVE IT!!!!! I also feel proud that I was there when you purchased the lining. =)

Cisa said...

Love the jacket! Bravo for being brave enough to finish it!

Bunny said...
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gwensews said...

Your guy looks very dapper in his jacket. I applaud you!

meredithp said...

Great jacket! And glad it passed the aunt/garment worker nuclear inspection :-) Whew! You must feel wonderful!

kbenco said...

Utterly fabulous jacket. I bet the auntie was truly impressed.
So what did you wear?

Vicki said...

Mario looks so handsome in his jacket! You did such a great job.

AllisonC said...

Amazing job and it passed the auntie test on the inside too! You should be really proud of what you achieved.