There’s a new lad in our department. When my colleague asked who he was someone said ‘you know, the one with the silk shirts’. I thought it was interesting that someone’s identity could be summed up by their signature shirt and I found myself a little envious – what piece of clothing would colleagues and acquaintances recognise as defining my personality?
I don’t mean to sound like I ripped him off, but when I saw this silky rodeo print fabric in Abakhan I thought about Nathan and I was sold on the idea of making my own office-friendly silk shirt. Something that would shout class and style without people having to even know my name.
This fabric was an off cut from the stash bins downstairs in Manchester Abakhan. I think there was just over a meter of the fabric left, about 120cm if I remember right which instantly removed the potential for long sleeves. Having only tired Version D of the McCalls M7472 shirt but there being an overwhelming 6 options in the pattern, and after the success of my dotty shirt and doggy shirt I thought it would be a good choice to make the short sleeved version.
I downsized the pattern by tracing off the next size down (10 instead of 12) and obviously substituted the long sleeve pattern piece for the short. I was really excited about the shape of the raglan sleeves and even more excited that they meant no need to faff with pleats of cuffs or buttons! The hem is turned up and eased before the side seams are sewn so they fit really neatly inside the armhole.
Although version B just uses the collar stand and not the collar piece on the pattern packet I decided adding the full collar would help it look a little bit more work friendly, plus I still absolutely adore the squared off collar points on this! I ended up interfacing the lower collar instead of the upper collar when I realised I liked the print on the uninterfaced piece better as it just looked more flowing and consistent with the way the design fell on the rest of the shirt. There was such little fabric to play with when cutting out that I couldn’t really afford for pattern placement to be my number 1 priority.
The fabric behaved so well that for once doing buttonholes didn’t make me burst a blood vessel. I chose quite subtle buttons that sat flat on the button band so were easy to position. I chose gold to compliment the metallic style imagery in the print and to of course add that extra level of regality to my new identity.
The length of the shirt means I can tuck it into my lower slung work trousers, adding a whole new world of getting-dressed options.
But don't be fooled, this shirt has a diversity to it that means I can get away with it when I'm at my desk, when I'm working from home, when I'm out on a date OR when I'm out playing band, and that's exactly why I think this shirt was so successful in describing who I am at just a glance. The chain and buckle print is STRONG, the silky fabric so feminine. What a modern day woman I am.
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Location: Heeley People's Park
Currently listening to: Marigold, Flamingods