In this post we are starting our new feature; the Friday Style Diaries, where we take a deeper look at the me made wardrobe and styling of someone in the sewing community. We are starting this series with the wonderful Leila, from @leila.makes on Instagram. We have set Leila the challenge of sewing up a Friday Pattern, and styling it in a few ways to show how versatile the piece is & how it fits into an already existing wardrobe of beautiful garments!
If you had to use 3 words to define your style, what would they be?
I have a hard time describing my style, maybe because it feels a bit dynamic to me, but I do feel like it is heavily dependent on my lifestyle & environment at the time (I tend to move annually and have gone from being a practicing veterinarian to graduate student to ~funemployed~ all in one year). I recently posted an open question poll on my instagram to see what words come to mind in this lovely sewing community and here are the top 3 words:
I’ve got to say, I LOVE the suggested style words and can confidently say now that I love to play with colors, I absolutely love being bold, but above all I choose comfort along with functionality when it comes to my outfit choices.
Where are you finding inspiration these days? This could be art, movies, music, nature, etc.
I would say I find inspiration from my surroundings and I usually find myself most inspired by nature around me. I try to make an effort to get outside of the city once a week to the surrounding mountains and I am always in awe of the patterns/textures/colors I see in nature then immediately draw a connection to something I’d like to see or make in my clothing & sewing practice.
What Friday Pattern have you chosen to make and why?
I chose to make the Elysian bodysuit, hacked into a top because I feel like it is such a lovely ~elevated~ basic. The curved underbust detail adds such a nice touch to an otherwise simple 3/4 sleeve top.
Talk us through the ways that you have styled your handmade garment:
- Where would you wear these looks? I would wear this while running errands whether that’s grabbing a latte or groceries down the street.
- What is the inspiration behind your styling? I love matching this top with workwear-inspired jeans and bold hoop earrings to give it a bit of a dressed-up/dressed-down look.
- Do you have any tips and tricks for styling? I’m a big believer in starting with the top then creating the outfit from there. I grabbed the jeans next and realized that I wanted a color contrast, so I chose these purple & blue beaded earrings so the outfit had a bit more color variety.
- Where would you wear these looks? I would wear this look to a coffee + craft date. The top has a very subtle patterned texture to it, so I thought it would be fun to wear it with a not-so-subtle patterned pant.
- What is the inspiration behind your styling? This styling is more of the playful “clowncore” variety, mainly because of the barrel-legged polka-dotted pants, but also because of the combination of a soft pastel green-colored top with a bright & bold brown polka-dotted pant.
- Do you have any tips and tricks for styling? Since I am pattern clashing here, I chose simpler gold earrings to compliment this fit instead of adding more colors.
- Where would you wear these looks? I would wear this look to a conference. This top is so easy to dress up & down, so paired with some fancy trousers makes the perfect conference event outfit.
- What is the inspiration behind your styling? I feel like this style is inherently “french chic”, mainly because the pants are designed by a french patternmaker. I love how detailed & unique the waistband is and how it brings more attention to the underbust curve detail of the top.
- Do you have any tips and tricks for styling? With this style, I added a pop of cobalt blue in my earrings (hard to see because of my hair, sorry!), but kept this fit otherwise simple and clean.
- Where would you wear these looks? I would wear this look to the farmers market, this is my ideal weekend outfit!
- What is the inspiration behind your styling? This style is hugely inspired by pattern play - the earring’s squiggled detail, the top with its subtle checkered texture, and the cow print pants - it can feel overwhelming mixing so many patterns & textures together, but sometimes it pays off :)
- Do you have any tips and tricks for styling? When it comes to playing with multiple patterns/textures, my biggest takeaway is just have fun and try not to overthink it. I tend to avoid picturing outfits in my head and just try things on until the outfit feels right.
What is a song that you have on repeat right now?
I usually listen to indie/alternative music, but every once in a while I get a pop song stuck in my head and lately, Olivia Rodrigo’s “get him back!” has been playing on repeat.