Riding high on the success of my nani IRO Mountain View dress, I threw myself into an idea I had for another gorgeous piece of nani IRO I got from Miss Matatabi. Yes, that is an exposed zipper. And no, it did not go well. In fact, I can’t even show you close-ups because pretty much everything went wrong with this top. This is, I believe, what is called a botch job.

But first, is this not the most soothing, neutralicious palette? I just can’t get enough of it. It’s called Water Window Wata Gauze and the soft washes of color lull me into a sense of meditative calm. Which is a good thing since the sewing was anything but calming.

I’m not sure why it went so south. It’s not like I haven’t made the Wiksten in a double gauze before. I love that navy top and wear it constantly. Yes, the wata gauze is definitely finicky and getting nice and even stitches was pretty challenging. That in and of itself wouldn’t bother me since I recently did a recon at a high end boutique to check out the sewing quality of clothes I could only fantasize about buying and you know what? The stitches were not perfect. There were crooked seams. Crooked! For a $200 tank top.

Surprisingly, the exposed zipper turned out to be the least problematic part. I was inspired by a racerback knit tank top that I have with a decorative yet functional exposed zipper and thought this light grey zip would add a little zing to the top. Convinced I was being clever by gathering the pieces above and below the zipper, I didn’t account for the neckline so it’s curved out like a half bowl, sure to tempt little kids to throw objects in there.

It’s a hot mess. The thing is, I kind of love it. Uneven shoulder widths and all. This is the type of fabric I want to live in during the summer months and I intend to do so. I figure it’ll shrink a bit in the wash so the neckline won’t be so wonky and really, after meticulously studying a ton of boutique clothing and getting a lot of “May I help you, ma’am?” paired with suspicious looks several times over, I’ve come to the conclusion that everything can be considered a design element. Gaping back necklines are fashion forward and hems should flounce for maximum stylishness (think peplum). It’s all good and the key is to wear it with confidence.

So this isn’t officially part of the nani IRO tour, but I did want to share this lovely fabric with you. It looks like Frances is all out of stock in this particular color way, but I see some others here. I have my eye on the canvas one with the greys. Wouldn’t that make such a cool jacket?

Please excuse the obvious lack of effort I put into this photoshoot – it was all I could do to put my hair in a bun and I couldn’t even be bothered to put on a swipe of lipgloss. We’re still a little out of sorts from our trip (though it was wonderful! There was biking and swimming and I read an entire book! And bawled my eyes out so my face still looks like a souffle!)…but hope to be back into the swing of things soon-ish.