My new River Island summer duster coat






Hello! As promised, here's another of my sewing successes, this time a fabulous River Island lightweight summer coat that I bought on Vinted for £15. It arrived and despite saying a size 12 it was much too big generally and badly fitting most of all around the shoulders. I was so thrilled with the colour and fabric that I decided to set about fixing it. Well, I must admit that I had to enlist help of a local guy who, on retiring, took up sewing and now makes his own jeans and most of his clothes. Dave Inch has lived on Tresco since the 70's, working first of all in the New Inn and then moving on to become Propagator at the Abbey Garden, retiring some five years ago.




Over the course of four sessions, Dave and I worked away at solving the fitting issues of the coat. He pinned and advised and then left me to sew, regrouping the following Saturday morning when we'd review what I'd achieved and then puzzle over the next step. I took fabric out of the centre back seam to reduce the overall size of the coat, then we pinned the shoulders first to amend the outline and finally adjusted the sleeve seams where they joined the body. This took a month of gentle adjustments as each bit of sewing impacted on the overall shape. Without his guidance I couldn't have worked this out.




The final flourish was for me to create button holes where there weren't any before and then make fabric buttons to match. I'm delighted with the completed item. I'd just returned from the hairdressers when I took these photos (with Fiona's help) and was a bit like the cat who got the cream.




The rest of the outfit is a chiffon blouse (charity shopped), orange tights from Snag and the shorts are a recent purchase from Vinted.

 


Jewellery comprises of new rubber necklace (from Vinted) and rings, both pre-loved and sunglasses from Radley London.




The overall styling is one of exhuberance and excitement and on reflection, maybe not the best footwear as the coat would maybe benefit from higher heels to balance things out a bit better. The boots are from MOMA New York, created from recycled sari fabric and are an absolute joy to wear as they not only look fab but are super stylish and comfortable too. And hey, I'm delighted to have this coat as part of my summer wardrobe and you'll defintely see it again!

                                                                        Anna x

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7 comments

  1. YOU look absolutely gorgeous!
    This coat is more than a sewing success, it's a work of fashion art.
    I absolutely love the outfit you put together with it as well.
    The coloured tights are such a fun touch.
    The shorts are very pretty and the boots are tres chic.
    This orange styling is so perfect!
    You rock!

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    1. Ivana how lovely to have your wonderful feedback! I did have such fun putting this outfit together and much as it's probably not to everyone's taste it's a joy to me x

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  2. Wow, good work on the coat, Anna! It looks amazing - and I'm boggled that you made the buttons! Well done! The outfit is fabulous - I love the boots with it, and that necklace is very cool.

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    1. Thanks so much Sheila! I even impressed myself by making the buttons - I'd seen it done on the Great British Sewing Bee and merely copied what they did.

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  3. Such a fabulous coat Anna, great sewing job and you look amazing.
    Love this bold, colourful outfit. Boots are utterly gorgeous. Xx

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    1. Cheers! It is quite a bold statement, but I absolutely adore it Phyl x

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  4. That coat is a beaut and I love the pattern and colour combo. that sounds like some advanced tailoring! Tessa x

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