Monday Outfit: Pink + Grey

Good morning! Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on the 100 Dresses post — I hope you had a fantastic weekend! I had such a fun-filled one of swimming with M and K, lunch at a friend’s cozy home and a movie night with M. The thought of swimming in January would normally make me shudder, but the pool was heated to something like 90 degrees so it was quite pleasant…

Let’s talk about this week’s Monday outfit, shall we? One of my utmost favorite color combinations is mustard + grey, but pink + grey is high up on the list as well. Much of last week was full of sunshine and clear skies and seemed deceptively spring-like, so maybe that’s why I’ve had a hankering for some floral in my sewing. This pretty Kokka linen/cotton print fit the bill, and I love how it’s feminine yet bold and graphic at the same time. It’s also been a while since I added a scarf to an outfit, and this one had the perfect combination of grey and pink in its dusty rose hue (and I adore that black edge!).

When K saw the dress, she said, “Oooooh, it’s so beautiful!” Now that’s the kind of response I like to hear. She said she feels like a flower in it, and I can see where she’s coming from. She was a bit concerned about wearing it when it actually is spring because “bees might attack the flowers”. Hmmm.

There’s also an architectural element to it with those sleeves – kind of evocative of something from Star Wars or Star Trek too (Yoda ears? Is that what it’s making me think of?)…but maybe I’m over-analyzing things.

The pattern is from the always delightful Happy Homemade Volume 2. It’s the same dress as the blue one on the cover. This one got a little wrinkly in the back…

It may have looked spring-like, but there was a bite in the air last week and I’m finding that K just doesn’t have enough warm clothes. So I made a trench coat out of a nice thick wool (I’m also working on some sweaters for her). The only beef I have with Japanese coat patterns is that they never include a lining. I suppose I could have easily added one for this coat but I wanted it to be roomy enough to accommodate lots of layering underneath. She tends to discard her outerwear quickly, even in sub-zero weather (not that it gets that cold here in Seattle, but it feels like it to wimps like me). Even while trying to take these photos, she kept wanting to take the coat off.

I also made the coat so big because K seems to be going through a major growth spurt and I didn’t want her to outgrow this one too quickly. It’s rather fabulous, don’t you think? I love the tucks and the overall design. And that wool was on ridiculous sale ($10/yd!) so it ended up being fashionable and economical. The pattern is from here.

I should point out that K does most of the styling herself. She was very particular about which tights and socks to wear and spent forever setting up those little suitcases and her scarf. Up there she’s unhappy that I started snapping before she was done making the paper egg on the plate look just right. My little budding stylist…

This week, I have some fun posts planned with Valentine’s Day in mind! This outfit falls within the general theme too, no?