I’ve never been one to shy away from patterned pants or quirky details. Just ask the middle school girls who giggled when I showed up to school wearing cheetah print pants. With the tie front detail and bold 1″ gingham print these pants definitely make a statement. The pattern used for these pants is the Jumpy pants and shorts pattern by Ready to Sew. Find it here. Fabric used is Checkers fabric by Cotton and Steel. My top is a Grainline Studio Scout Tee made in rayon designed by Rifle Paper Co. for Cotton and Steel. Both fabrics were purchased from Suppose.
Today I’d like to take little time to tell you about my style motto and a little story about how I developed it. I honestly can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t making somewhat bold or different fashion choices. I’ve always been drawn to prints and unique details, but I didn’t always wear them because I was fearful of what others may think or say. After hearing criticism about my style in middle school, I was fearful of being an outcast if I didn’t dress like everyone else. In 9th grade, I started regularly wearing the same American Eagle or Hollister jeans and tees that everyone else wore. I still had some bold things in my wardrobe, I just wore them more sparingly.
The summer before I was to start 10th grade, my family moved from the tiny town of Spencer, Iowa to the slightly larger town of Brigham City, Utah. I was resistant to the move at first, but decided this was the time to become exactly who I wanted to be. My style motto became, ” Wear what makes you happy and to hell with what anyone else thinks.” I was going to be myself here from the very beginning. For most of my 10th and 11th grade years I did a decent job at wearing what brought me joy and dressing for myself vs. dressing for others.
In the spring of my 11th grade year I purchased a pair of railroad stripe overall shorts which my then boyfriend (now husband) lovingly referred to as my train conductor overalls. I was ridiculously proud of those things and often wore them with a crisp white button up, navy or white tights/leggings, and heels. After wearing them three or four times, I overheard that some girls had been talking about crazy overall outfit and how silly it looked. At the time, I allowed their comments to get into my head. I stopped wearing those overalls for nearly a year.
Fast forward to the next spring, I was out playing four-square at lunch (believe me it was the cool thing to do in my high school) when my classmate Laney remarked that she liked how I used to style my overalls and asked why I never wore them anymore. I made up some lame excuse about weather, but this got me thinking. That night I went home and pulled my overall shorts out of my closet. I put them on, looked in the mirror, and asked myself why I had stopped wearing them. Did they fit? yes. Did wearing them bring me joy? yes. Did I care what other people thought about them? Kind of, sort of, maybe too much. The next day, I wore the heck out of those overalls and you know what? Some people gave me weird looks and others said nice things. I appreciated the nice things, but the thing I really remember about that day is how liberated I felt wearing something that I loved.
The moral of my story? Be you. Wear what brings you joy whether it’s jeans, sweatpants, cocoon dresses, gingham pants, wild jumpsuits, all black, or train conductor overalls. Every morning when I get dressed I try my best to dress for myself, not for my friends, family, or strangers that I may encounter (although I do kind of dress for others because nudity isn’t quite socially acceptable). I’m not perfect in sticking to my “to hell with what others may think” style motto, but it does bring me infinitely more confidence and joy when I do.
Thanks for sticking with me through that novel. A few quick notes on the sizing and pattern. I sewed up a size 38 and found the sizing to be just about spot on based on my measurements. The only adjustment I made was adding 2″ to the length. If I made the pattern again I think that I would add 1/2″ to 1″ to the rise so that the pants would sit just a bit higher above my hips. The construction of these pants is fairly simple and easy enough for a confident beginner to tackle. The only thing that might be difficult for a beginner is understanding the instructions. They are fairly clear, but are not as heavily detailed with illustrations as many other indie patterns. I’d compare the amount of instructions and illustrations to something you may find in a Simplicity or McCall’s pattern. Overall, I’m pretty happy with these bold pants and plan to make the pattern again with a few modifications.
