Me to a Tee--Signature Style Week

I promise, after today I will dive back into the stuff I've been making for the kids!  It's the last week of Project Sewn, the sewing challenge for women's clothing, and I really wanted to participate in this one.  The theme this week is Signature Style.  Here's the link to the contest--voting starts on Friday 5/31.

SO here it is.  The Shirt.  This may be the only style of shirt I ever wear again.  Well, no--I would get bored eventually.  But it is my staple.  This one is my second version (well, third, if you count the ready-to-wear shirt that I based it on, which has been my favorite for years,) and I have a third (fourth?) in the works.  Here's the first version I made, if you're interested.

Yes, that is a glass of rosé in my hand.  If you're wondering why I look so relaxed, it's because this was taken while I was on retreat with my book club.  Aaaahhhhhh!

Here's what I love about it:

A comfy tee that doesn't look like you're trying too hard
Flattering fit (longer length, defined waist that hits just in the right spot, wide neckline and gathered cap sleeves)
Awesome fabric (seriously lovely feel to this sweet printed knit from Girl Charlee, and on SALE! Booya.)
Binding fabric upcycled from an old tee of my grandpa's
Self-drafted pattern (I should definitely do a tutorial on this one.  A few simple tweaks to a basic tee.)

And the back

My style has changed in the last few years, since becoming a stay-at-home mom.  I have always been interested in fashion and looking current, albeit on a budget, and with comfort being important as well.  But after leaving teaching high school to be with my kids full time, it was harder to prioritize what I was wearing--not only because I wasn't interacting with many people, but also because babies are so hard on their mom's wardrobes.  I have known how to sew for a long time (I taught Drama which meant that much of the time, I WAS the costume department), and started sewing for my daughter a few months after she was born, but didn't take on sewing for myself until more recently.  And now that I am getting more and more confident with it, I love that when I get the urge to go shopping, I can instead SEW something new for myself.  Not only is it (usually) better on the budget, but I feel so proud of the item and love wearing it and showing it off to friends.  What, you like this top?  Oh yeah, I MADE it!  (Except it's usually more like, "Hey!  Look at this top I made!  Isn't it great?")

Gathered cap sleeves and slight gathering at the center of the neckline

This top in particular is great for my life right now, because of what I mentioned earlier--it doesn't look like I'm trying too hard.  I feel like I have a balance I want to strike in my stay-at-home-mom wardrobe.  I DO care what I look like, but I STILL mostly am interacting with my kids during the day.  They are three and five now, so not as hard on my clothes as when they were babies/toddlers, but they still also mostly don't care what I wear.  I feel weird about getting "dressed up" to be a stay-at-home mom.  So I love shirts like this, that allow me to feel pretty and somewhat stylish (especially when paired with skinny jeans or a coordinating printed skirt--that I MADE--with POCKETS) while still being able to throw it in the wash at the end of the day without worrying about it.  And without the other moms at the park wondering why I'm so dressed up.

Oh there we go--NOW that looks like me. 

To really make this into my signature style, I paired it with this skirt I made a while back.  It's the Milkmaid Skirt from Crafterhours, and it's my perfect skirt much like this top is my perfect top.  And what makes this look even more signature (besides the wrinkles) is that it was already in my wardrobe.  I thought about making a new skirt to be part of this "Signature Look," but really what I would want to wear with this top most is THIS SKIRT--elastic waist, pockets, a great gray/blue railroad stripe that coordinates well with the print of the tee and only cost $1.50 a yard--so what better way to be true to myself and keep the look on a budget than to use the skirt that I already have, rather than recreating something similar?

So there you have it.  That link for voting, again, is here at Project Sewn.  Vote, or just have fun checking out some other great bloggers' signature styles!