The Great White Shirt - Vogue 8747

My next installment in the Wardrobe Basics SAL is the white shirt.

You can't get much more basic than a white shirt. And I really needed one in my wardrobe! This one is great - simple and easy to wear, but with a wonderful shape. The front bust gathers are a nice detail that keeps it from being too boring.

The pattern is Vogue 8747, which I made before here. The previous version was intended as a wearable muslin, although I like it quite a lot and made very few changes for the final version. The two major fit changes I made were to raise the bust gathers 1/4 inch. In the first version, it felt like they were visually pulling down my bust point. I also sewed the side seams at 3/8 inch, giving me an extra inch of ease all around.

On the first version, I avoided topstitching, but for this version I wanted a more casual look, so I topstitched down the collar, bands and cuffs. In fact, I did no hand sewing at all on this version. The Singer loves to sew on buttons. She got to do 10 on this blouse.

The fabric is a somewhat difficult to photograph, bright white stretch poplin from Fabric Mart. It is a really nice weight and has just about the perfect amount of stretch for this. I'm glad I got some in several colors.

I'm wearing my blouse today with New Look 6816 pants in a navy and pink pinstripe, my Simplicity 2149 fur jacket, Steve Madden red patent pumps and pink pearls my sister picked up at the underground market in Shanghai.

This is the 5th garment I've sewn for the wardrobe, so that puts me at halfway. I'm still pretty excited about the SAL, and I plan to finish all of the garments. I really want them in my closet! But you'll have to excuse a little distraction. Something shiny crossed my path - I NEED a red ponte jacket!