Chanel-style Jacket at Ann Taylor

Hello, everyone! I haven't been sewing my jacket yet, but I've been doing a lot of pondering about fabric, trims, etc. I stopped into Ann Taylor yesterday and discovered this cute Chanel knock-off. 260 smackers!

It did give me a lot of inspiration, though. I love the use of trims here: ruffled grosgrain over chiffon, and a big grosgrain rose with organza petals.

I also like the fit, with its slightly shrunken silhouette.

So that's it for me for now. More pondering and fabric swatching to come!

Hello, Sew-Along Friends!

Hi everyone! My name is Gretchen (Gertie for short) and you can check out my blog about vintage sewing here. I'm super psyched for our jacket sew-along, since I've been meaning to try a Chanel knock-off forever.

I just ordered the pattern I plan on using (above), from this lovely Etsy seller. It's Simplicity #5189, from the early 60's. The jacket in view 2 (the pink) is perfect, don't you think? I might need the matching dress too.

Also, I just wanted to echo Gail's post from yesterday, and recommend the Threads article on choosing trims. It's excellent! I also have two articles in hard copy from back issues of Threads--one is the couture method of making a Chanel-style jacket, and then the other is a shortcut version. I'm definitely leaning towards the shortcut method. I hope that's not cheating!