Vintage Slacks

Ignore my silliness. We stayed at some friends' place and had a good time...

As a mother of two little ones, I can't always wear dresses and skirts, and most trousers that are available off-the-rack don't fit me. Or are terrible. Or both. High-waisted pants are mostly available in larger or so-called "short" sizes for elderly, rather short women. And as the waists of trousers got lower and lower during the past years, and I constantly feel cold around my kidneys, I somehow felt I was getting too old for such things. You can guess that buying pants is a nightmare.

I never thought that, after leaving the 1980s fashion nightmares behind me, I would gladly opt for high-waisted trousers again. But… I always liked the wide-legged trousers Marlene Dietrich used to wear. (This reminds me that I should write a post about her.) Of course they would look different on me, as I'm not that slim, but still, it's a style I love and that will always look very neat and decent. Even if I don't do swing dancing or that kind of cool stuff. (I can't dance at all, I'm unfortunately born with two left legs.)

I bought this wonderful pattern from Eva Dress Patterns. It's a reproduction of Simplicity 3322. The patterns costa little bit, but they're worth it, as they offer some very nice and searched-after patterns in excellent quality. Some come along as multiple-size patterns, like this one.

For many of the patterns there are also pictures of finished projects, so it's really helpful to have a closer look at the entire site.

As a non-native English speaker (even though I am used to talk, write and read in English since 20 years), I didn't know what "slacks" are - until I found that pattern.

I was looking for something exactly like this! I am not sure how I would look in an overall, but the trousers are definitely worth giving a try! 

Since years I had a large piece of a inexpensive poly-cotton gabardine in my stash that I bought for about $10 per meter. I think I bought it about 10 years or more ago to make a trench coat. Of course I never made it. The fabric was still there, looking at me reproachfully each time I opened the shelf. It's a nice tan or dark-beige colour, making it perfect for cooler summer days, spring and autumn, as it has a lightly heavier drape.

After our 1.5 hours drive, the trouser look a little bit wrinkled... 

The colour is certainly not my first choice, even though I think it's not bad and can be spiced up with some top or blouse in a lovely colour or pattern, but I would have liked something that looked like denim or at least a blue fabric to be incorporated in my summer (holiday) wardrobe. Blue, especially combined with red and white, always makes me feel like holiday at the sea. But for now this has to do it. I chose some wooden buttons I bought from a warehouse that closed down many years ago, so I guess they are somehow vintage too...

They are super comfy and were easy to sew (haha, no small bust to deal with this time!!!), and I hope they will be a valuable garment. However, as you can see on the last picture, from my hips downward they are far too baggy and I look much bigger than I am (my bottom IS NOT that fat, at least I hope so), soI will try to make my next pair in a smaller size and look how they turn out.

I am wearing the self-designed peasant knit top I posted already here…

And yes, I definitely look very silly on the pictures. I was standing by this column and my lovely husband said, let's take some pics of your trousers for the blog (how well-educated is he?). I was in a very cheerful mood being with friends and relatives - hehe, maybe too cheerful...

But look what I bought and what arrived yesterday - perfect for summer, especially as we had to cancel our summer holidays! Flamingo cocktail sticks! Aren't they great?

Pattern: Eva Dress Pattern, Vintage Slacks

Fabric: cotton poly gabardine

Peasant top: me-made pattern, organic cotton knit in red gingham by Lillestoff

Lipstick: MAC, Russian Red

Earrings: fruit salad, NOS vintage bought on Ebay

Shoes: pink Moheda Toffeln from Sweden

Toy octopus: not ours...