Finished: J. Crew-Style Jacket in Gold

"Sequins, embellishment and overall glam are no longer reserved for nighttime."

—Harper's Bazaar, December 2008

This jacket represents a mix of design inspirations: J. Crew, Milly, Tory Burch, Chanel. Plus I always crave some glitz and sparkle around the holidays.

Here's something I rarely do: Buy fabric without a specific pattern in mind. But I saw this gold checkered cotton ottoman at Paron's when I was shopping with Karen, Elaray, Kisha and Connie and it called to me, saying "Lindsay, you need a little luxe with the jeans you wear to work every day."


I went through my patterns at home and decided on this short jacket from New Look (6619). After some struggles with fit (see Sewing Notes below), this jacket went together fairly quickly and without incident. I wore it to work with jeans and a J. Crew tissue turtleneck, and I got more compliments on it than anything I've made in awhile. And as an added bonus, Paron's gave me what was left on the bolt, so now I have enough left over to make a fabulous pencil skirt—can't you see it with a black cashmere sweater?


Sewing Notes:

• Big dumb mistake that slowed me down: I used an old muslin for this jacket, not remembering that the first jacket was huge on me. So I had to really finesse the side panels and the shoulder area to get a better fit. Lesson learned here—mark your muslins with notes so you don't repeat past mistakes.

• This fabric was great to work with. It's surprisingly lightweight and didn't give me any of the agita you sometimes experience with metallics. I did scorch a part of the inside facing though (I guess I forgot to use my pressing cloth).

• I was forced to use an icky polyester Ambiance lining from Jo-Ann's because I didn't have anything in my stash and didn't want to wait for the next trip to NYC or to order something online. I know I sound like a spoiled brat but it's hard to work with inferior lining options after you've sewn with china silk or even better polyesters. I should just buy some black and ivory silk to have on hand.

• To make this jacket sporty enough to wear with jeans, I topstitched the edges and played with the checkered pattern to create contrast—I cut the sleeves, side panels and pocket flaps on the bias.

• I added pocket flaps à la Chanel and the placement was easy because of the fabric's grid. I deliberately chose buttons that were on the casual side, again because I'll mostly be wearing this jacket with jeans.
  

I cut the sleeves, side panels and pocket flaps on the bias to create contrast and give the jacket a sportier look.

Aren't these square snaps perfect? I found them at Pacific Trimmings, which is worth a visit just for the snaps alone. Their snaps come in all sizes, shapes and finishes.

A look at the lining—passable white polyester Ambiance from Jo-Ann's. You can just see where I scorched the fabric in the corner of the inside facing.

Here I am in one of the lobbies at my office, where jeans are the corporate uniform. What I am wearing at left is considered dressy for my workplace, believe it or not. I like jeans but sometimes a girl needs a little glam in her life, right?!