I used to love the idea of the casual professional look - cute skirts and neat blouses, nice jackets to layer over-top, and kitten-heels. But that's just not practical with my life right now, and I've felt a little disconnected from my wardrobe ever since moving to the Yukon.
See, everything is more...casual...up here. You don't really see many people booting around in skirts and dresses, and it's not really practical for most people's lifestyle. Not practical for the lifestyle I'm starting to live. Don't get me wrong, I still like a good skirt or dress (i.e. my Tiramisu - perfection!) for coffee with friends or a day wandering downtown. But in general, this is very much a practical jeans and t-shirt kind of place. Or at least, the parts of it that I live in. Plus my boyfriend lives in the tattered carharts he wears to work, the ones with the caulking and paint and perpectual cloud of sawdust. I feel overdressed in my pj's next to him somedays.
And there's the fact that I spend half of the month in a mining camp (well, most of the time). It's not practical to have two different types of wardrobe - one for in-camp and one for in-town, and I think I'd feel a little spastic if I tried to dress drastically different 2 weeks at a time. I need stuff that can transition between the two - practical, hard-wearing and not-at-all-cleavagey for in camp, but stuff that'll still look decent for booting around town, chilling with friends, and the occassional road-trip around the territory.
Basically, I think I need good basics that can work in camp, but that I can accessorize for in-town (think scarves, non-camp cardis, etc.). And I really need pants.
Here's the basic rundown of where I want to direct my wardrobe toward:
- I am definitely a cardigan girl. I like to layer things, and cardis are great for this. NEED MORE CARDIS.
- That said, I need things to go underneath the cardis. T-shirts, tank tops, simple garments that are light-weight, but have a touch of interest on their own. Basic tops for under more inticate cardigans, colourful (possibly small-print floral and other cute prints) for under basic cardis, etc.
- PANTS OMG I NEED PANTS.
- I'd still like to include a good basic skirt or two. Because sometimes you just need to wear one. I really like the simplicity of Cake's Hummingbird skirt.
- Same goes with dresses. I LOVE my Tiramisu. I wouldn't mind something similar with a more simple bodice - perhaps a Hummingmisu dress?
- And of course, accessories. I have a few scarf ideas flowing through my head, and lots of yarn to do it. Nothing too lacy and fancy, but some pieces that have some cute design details or textural features. I love wearing scarves, I just don't have many that I like enough. Possibly I need to knit up that pretty skein of yarn in the middle, since hello colour inspiration! Also, I want a new hobo bag for tossing my wallet, kobo, books, notebooks, and my latest knit projects into for my afternoons sitting in coffee shops like an unemployed bum.
Okay, back to work. I might be procrastinating from finishing up stuff on my last day in camp. Hehe oops.
Good luck with your plans. Sounds like you have it sorted.
ReplyDeleteGetting there. It's nice to have a vague plan, even if it's just narrowing down what colours and general garments I should focus on. :)
DeleteYour plans seem similar to mine, I love fitted jackets and dresses but I rarely ever wear them! Give me a t-shirt, cardi and pull-on pants/jeans and I'm a happy girl :)
ReplyDeleteThis probably explains why I covet everything you make. :D
DeleteLooks like fun! My favourite scarf I've knitted as an indoor accessory (as opposed to a wind blocker one) is done in sock weight yarn, using the free "Kernel" pattern from Knitty. It's enough lace to be interesting but isn't overly fussy, and has a wee bit of sparkle from a small number of beads you place with a crochet hook (though you could leave them off if you want).
ReplyDeleteI find scarves so soooo boring to knit, but I love to wear them. Need to just suck it up and do them. I'll look up your pattern suggestion when I get out of camp! I found an adorable one that has lacy fish, and I love the quirkiness of it. :D
DeleteNothing worse than making things you won't or can't wear! This sounds like a good idea, and looks likey you've got some good ideas about where to start, too. Can't wait to see where you go with this... (hey, do you have that Archer shirt pattern? It's super-cute but also woodsy, I think it's Megan Nielsen?)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I can exactly plan each garment out - I've tried, but I get bored with it pretty quickly. But a general idea of what I should consider is a better step, at least for me!
DeleteI do have the Archer pattern! In fact, I've already made it up - that blue plaid shirt is my first version of it. It has the butt bustle, but next time I'll do without it. I love it! And it's by Grainline Studios.
http://sewingonpins.blogspot.ca/2013/11/finished-project-plaidtastic-blue-archer.html
Wow, you've put a lot of thought into this, but i guess you do have an unusual lifestyle with unusual clothes demands. I love your comment about cleavage, by the way - are there many other women in camp?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you call the checked wool jackets like the blue and black one in your photo, in Canada? Here they are called bush shirts or sometimes Swanndri after the biggest maker, and are the universal wear for anyone who works outside, accompanied by shorts, jeans or wool trousers dependent on the season.
I'll be interested to watch your wardrobe unfold! Good luck ! (Ps always interested in more about your life in camp, btw. Do you have much down time or is it pretty much 15 hour days while you are in the field?)
There are a few other women in camp. My cross-shift and I are the only ones who go underground though, and I like to keep my body undefined when I'm in camp. Not that I really have much - if anything - to worry about with the guys here, but it's just better if they don't see you as any sort of sexual being. Makes interacting with them much easier.
DeleteWe do 12 hour days for 14 days straight, then 14 days off. The miners work a 3 week in/3 week out schedule though, also on 12 hour days. Don't have a lot of downtime, a couple of hours in the evening between dinner and bed, but it's enough for camp life. It's remarkable how quickly those 12 hours fly by! It's not unusual for me to work 13+ hours, just because there's so much to do and not enough time to do it in. It's amazing how much of a difference loving your job can make. :) 8 tediously long hours in the Horrible Consulting Job was enough to make me want to toss myself out the window.
I'd be glad to answer any questions you have on camp life! Not sure what else to tell you off the top of my head though.
The blue plaid top that I'm wearing above is actually the Grainline Studio's Archer pattern, a button up shirt. Which is a great pattern, btw. I know what jackets you're talking about though; we always called them bush jackets too.
Yeah, Whitehorse is a casual kind of place, When I lived there, I was management at a bank, so I had to look like a professional. Had to. The rest of the time the minimum standard was clean clothes. My wardrobe was schizophrenic. My advice, keep it simple. Have one or two nice outfits to wear when you are in town and want to feel like a woman. Sew what you will wear.
ReplyDeleteYour job sounds positively fascinating! Or maybe that's my cabin fever talking :D
ReplyDeleteWardrobe planning is so tricky!! I've been trying to define my style for a couple years now and I'm making progress, I think. Like you mentioned, I think layering is key! Pants, to me, are the trickiest because I don't see them as very versatile. But maybe that's where I go wrong. LOL.
I like your color inspiration. My colours I recently decided on are Burgundy, Green, Brown, cream and gold.
ReplyDelete