HAREM PANTS : : VOGUE PATTERN V1355 : : STRETCH & SEW 333 T SHIRT
Well hiya everyone.
Spoiler alert: I LOVE THESE PANTS!
I’m just gonna jump right in and get to the obvious. Yep…that’d be me wearing harem pants. To be specific, I’m wearing Sandra Betzina Vogue Pattern V1355 and Stretch & Sew Pattern 333 {old pattern and out of print}. Now….before I go further…..there is not a single instance where these pants are identified as harem pants. Officially, they’re draped pants…but I just can’t not think of them as harem pants. What say you?
Last year I signed up for Club BMV, McCall Pattern Company’s discount purchase program. Consequently, I spend way more money on patterns than I ever did before. No, not a typo…you see, it’s all about the postage charges. It’s the same Canada Post rate for 4 patterns as for 1 pattern, so….hello….I’m totally adding 4 patterns to my shopping cart…every…time. This invariably leads to ‘Oh my gawd, what was I thinking?’ moments. It’s as though I’m a different person when I’m online pattern shopping. These harem pants….officially draped pants….were my most recent WWIT. I think I hit my head against the keyboard in frustration before I had even received my order confirmation email. But….
Inexplicably….I felt compelled to make them…like right away. And what a super easy make they were. They take a lot of fabric…a minimum of a couple of meters of 150cm wide fabric for me. {My fabric is a lightweight cotton/rayon knit.} But, I repeat, they are so, sew easy! The volume is on the inside leg and begins well below the hip; they don’t have the dropped crotch typically associated with harem pants. As a result, the overall silhouette is of a much lower volume than traditional harem pants. A total win for me!
I paired my harem pants with a simple t shirt, following You Look Fab’s advice here. I was a bit flummoxed as to what to wear with them and Angie’s suggestions really helped me out. I’ve had this Stretch & Sew pattern in my stash for awhile, and I used an inexpensive 100% cotton fabric for the make. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the results. The sleeves feel a little disproportionate; I had to cuff them a couple of times as shown here. ‘Course now I can’t decide if I want to make them shorter or leave them as is. I made the t shirt hem slightly high/low for interest. I have plans….and fabric….for a striped t shirt and am now trying to decide if this is the pattern…or…not. Feel free to jump in and give me advice.
In other news…I’ve had two very fun outings with blogging…and nearly blogging….friends. Shelley, from Forest City Fashionista, was out visiting from Toronto. Shelley, Melanie of Bag and a Beret, Louisa of Damselfly’s Delights, and I met for a yummy brunch at Acme Cafe. When we left, we had full tummies….and better….full creative tanks! These women are so very inspiring…their creativity knows no bounds…
Shelly and I wearing our custom jackets. Shelley’s is a gift from Melanie.
And just a few weeks ago…has it been that long?…the Vancouver gals….Melanie, Louisa, Barbara {not yet blogging} and I…had a full day of creative play. After a lovely lunch at the iconic Sylvia Hotel, we descended upon Dressew Supply and Atex Designer Fabrics. There was a lot of laughter, good eats, and…successful fabric shopping! Basically, a perfect day!
Louisa, Me, Barbara and Melanie
38 Comments
These look great on you and I love how you styled them. Love the print too.
Thanks so much Manju! Are you tempted?
I agree they are a fantastic shape, and are flattering as well. I have several of them and love to wear them with just a t shirt ….into comfort these days x
Hey Lorraine! Seems to be a trend…being into comfort. 🙂 I haven’t worn these much over the winter…they are lightweight…but looking forward to some spring/summer wears again!
Those pants are amazing. The perfect thing for summer. I really like the sillouette on them. Better than a drop crotch for my tastes I think. The plain shirt works but the proportions don't convince me it's THE shirt.
Thanks Renee! Virtual high fives…'cause I think we're on the same wave length about the shirt not being THE shirt, LOL. I like it, it works, but I'm going to give the free Deer and Doe Plantain Tee a try!
Wow! So chic! I like the idea of harem pants, but the shape of yours is way nicer… draped pants, what a great find.
Plus the T-shirt, which I thought was RTW, looks like a great pattern! Going to check the links right now.
Oh, and what a fun meeting! You all look gorgeous!
Hey Merche! So very lovely to hear from you! OMG…you would totally rock these harem pants! Both are very good patterns. Although I'm set on trying the Plantain Tee, I will be making this one again too.
Wow, harem pants! You GO girl!
I think they look great on you and the cut is flattering, which is weird considering, they're harem pants! LOL
I'm sure they are the most comfortable thing you own.
bisous
Suzanne
Hee Hee…I'm feeling like it's Hammer time…
I know…it's weird….but they work, and it's one of those things where you don't know until you've finished sewing. And yes…soooooo comfortable.
So cute and comfy! The silhouette is definitely more refined than my much baggier (but very cool!) vintage Issey Miyake pants (V1328). I really love the fabric you used too.
Yep and yep! Oh my gosh…as much as I adore vintage Perry Ellis….vintage Issey Miyake is such a close second. His patterns are just so eclectically cool! I'm gonna check out that pattern.
PS I almost culled out some patterns, but will hang on to them for our next visit.
I dont own harem pants but they look so cool and comfy, I love the happy print and you really know how to style them.
Nice meeting and everyone look great ☺☺
YES…so comfortable and so cool! Great for summer when you want to be cool, but covered.
Normally I am not such a big fan, but these fit well and you are looking very good in it!
Thank you so much Nancy! I'm not sure I can get into the real dropped crotch harem pants for myself…but these are a fun compromise.
I adore those pants. I love harem trousers. And these are so good! You did a fine job. Also with the shirt. Please leave it as it is. The sleeves are perfect.
And it was such fun to see the four of you together. So nice I know you all in person!!
Greetje
Yay! I'm always chuffed when you like my outfits Greetje! Having said that…I always, always appreciate your suggestions on any/all garments. You may not be into sewing for yourself, but you know what's involved! This tee…the sleeves are remaining as is, thanks! I like that the fabric has enough body that the sleeves stay cuffed up. Now…next time I sew this, I will be doing 3/4 sleeves like the beautiful top on your blog this week.
These look fabulous, the fabric and pattern are so flattering and the top is styled perfectly.
Great meet ups and you all look fabulous.
Thanks bunches Sharon! It actually took some searching to find a suitable fabric for the pants. Of course, once I had bought it and made them…all kinds of awesome fabric has started showing up…Opportunity to make more, amirite?
So fun!!! The pants, the jacket, the blogger outing! I want you life 🙂
3/4 length sleeves will be interesting to see. You don't NEED them yet as I do, so I would postpone this as long as I could, but there you go. Youth is waisted on the young. I love what rolling up those sleeves did for the shirt you made in this post. It really adds interest.
And this time I love the flat sandals with the outfit haha.
These are fantastic! I would have never bought that pattern with the plain black fabric that is on the cover, but seeing yours, I absolutely want it! Love your styling too!
Thanks Ann! Ditto your thoughts on the plan black…I also wonder if my fabric is just a little lighter? Anyway, happy I could shed a different light on the pattern for you!
I love how these have volume without weird crotch bagginess! Pants like these are very popular for argentine tango… I'm putting this pattern on my wish list!
Ooooh…Argentine tango….sounds so much classier than Hammer Time {a North American thing, LOL} Seriously, these do have that swishiness that makes you move more fluidly.
These are so awesome Sue and your t-shirt goes perfectly with them too! That fabric is beautiful! I love the silhouette, they are loose but still sort of fitted. Does that make sense? I hear you on the buying too many patterns. I took one of Sandra Betzina's classes on Craftsy and then bought a ton of her patterns during one of the McCall's sales. I still haven't made any of them up though. I'm such a hoarder! 😉
Thanks Heather. The fabric is from Fabricland…they have a few different prints/colourways. And yes…I'm wearing them now…and they feel fitted but loose {crazy I know}. I bet the Craftsy class was really, really good! The written instructions were thorough and easy to understand.
Those do look incredibly comfy and stylish. I bet it won't be long before you make another pair! (if you haven't already)
How fun that you got to meet up with a group of fellow bloggers, always fun!
Hee hee…you got it right Flo…not quite made but definitely in the works. 🙂
And yep…the get togethers were great fun!
LOL…I had a momentary thought of that reality show where the moms trade places. I think we both are in pretty sweet spots!
How cute. I love the fabric. I think you're a petite girl like me, am I right? And you look fabulous in these harem pants. Now I'd like to make a pair. We could be a crew of genies!
Yep…we's both littles! I've already made a second pair of these…still in love with them.
LOLOL…I used to love watching I Dream of Jeannie!
Hi Sue – don't feel bad, I totally identify here in Toronto! I used to sew many years ago, and was shocked at the price of patterns now, so started looking online, and found the buterick/mccalls site – I was hooked! I also just ordered 2 batches in multiple of 4's as you described.Now I have to start sewing- hope I remember how!&
Yay…it's not just me, LOL! I buy from the site and I also get some good patterns from thrift stores! I'm pretty sure sewing is like riding a bike…once you get started it will all come back!
Yes, I love these pants. I would have never picked this pattern just from the envelope, but seeing how freaking cute they are on someone about the same size as i am makes me NEED this pattern – LOL!
The entire outfit rocks.
I still love these pants too! And they really do seem to work for more petite proportions!
Just love the dropped pants .. aka harem pants…. I am sixty and have 20 pairs of them.. Im going to make some of the Christmas holidays.. cant wait… you look great in them, they are so comfortable and alot of my friends have them too.