Explorations in the ugly aesthetic: the brocade bomber

Post editing note - added some clearer photos - and yes Neighbourhood gal - it's super comfy, and yes Audrey you are so right - I am going to flog this jacket till it's threadbare.

Burda 10-2009-129




Here I am in my latest creation, the brocade bomber. In case you think I whipped this up in the last 24 hours, rest assured, I had 95% finished it before I went on holiday last week.

I didn't consult my inner taste guide for this one. I knew it would say, "no way" and I SO wanted to make it.

The fabric came from Nick's. I managed to talk my son into going to a fabric shop. Normally he says, "no fabric shop, no thank you." The power of food bribes has dimished considerably since his diet regime began because there's not much incentive in a carob tofu ball. However this time I bought out the big guns and offered him a preservative sugar free fruit juice in exchange for 5 minutes in the shop. I also told him he could choose some fabric.

He picked up a bolt off the table and lugged it to the counter.
"This one" he said.
"What is it I'm buying", I asked Jamie, the store manager. He cut a strip and burned it. He cut another strip and burned and smelled it some more.
"well it's not polyester rubbish," he said, "I don't know what it is."

What it turned out to be was Donna Karan Viscose/wool/acetate/polyester and it retails for $48 a metre at Global Fabrics. You can go and buy yourself some now, if you want. Sadly Nick's has run out of it at $4 a metre, otherwise I'd be letting you all in on it.

Nice one son, very classy.

Anyway, I felt since the fabric was so cheap that it wouldn't hurt to take a few risks, since I would lose nothing but my time and I was sure to have fun on the way.

I wanted to keep the fabric as whole as possible, and to make something that allowed it to drape. I also felt something this decorative would need a fairly casual style otherwise it would be too formal for everyday wear. Hence the bomber jacket. My only real concern was the lack of shaping which is not the most flattering look for curves.

How casual? Casual enough for the zipper just to be plonked down on top of the front:



And here we have it! It's nice to make things once and a while that are not your "colour" and not for your "body shape" - it beaks the monotony of dressing by numbers. It's also good to do it only once a while, otherwise you have a wardrobe of things you feel slightly leary of.



Close up of fabric and welt pockets - these ones are quite easy.



For me, the secret to pulling off "nana chic" sucessfully will be to restrain it so that the reference is clear but the look is not too aging.

Here's the back - that's where the blouson really comes into its own: