Yammering Muse: In Which I Pretend I Am Summer Finn

It's no secret that my number 1 girl crush (stupidest phrase) is Zooey Deschanel. I've seen every movie she's ever been in, and I absolutely adore her charming, girly sense of style. Like all the other Zooey Fangirls I was ridiculously excited for 500 Days of Summer. When I finally crawled out from under the rock I apparently dwelled under and watched the movie I was totally smitten with Summer's wardrobe. The very mellow, perky, blue-hued, slightly vintage inspired ensembles she wore were enough eye-candy to last me a while. Then I moved on with my life, occasionally seeing a still from the film and remembering how much I loved it.

Well recently I have been going through my clothes and realized that when it comes down to it, I have very little in my wardrobe that is appropriate for summer weather (though (knock on wood) we've been having the most bizarre "summer" this year! It hasn't reached above 85 in nearly a month! Yeah, June Gloom and all that, but even before it was overcast and cool in the mornings and then decently warm in the day. I still like my frigid temps, but I take what I can). I desperately need summer skirts and tops and maybe a few more dresses. So one day while browsing for some skirt inspiration, I came across the above photo which seemed to be perfect. I saw a color version of this part of the film (which is in black and white for those who haven't seen it), and apparently the skirt was actually a coral-orange, which makes no sense for her character, but the point is I immediately knew I needed a skirt like this.

I'm not actually all that fond of full skirts on me, but I really do like this style on most other people. But I figured, what they hey, I need skirts and this is cute. I was going to make my own pattern, but in the end I used Butterick 5285 view A. The pattern was great! It took about two hours total! I used a button instead of the hook and eye closure the pattern called for and I had to end up adding about two inches to the waist band, but other than that It was a great pattern to work with. The fabric is some cheap-o cotton broadcloth that I bought for $2 a yard at Joann's. I'm really happy with the way it came out. I think I'll make another maybe in yellow? It's a great basic skirt. I may end up lining it next time though as this fabric was a bit see-through, but a slip fixes that easy enough. Now if only I could make the rest of Summer's wardrobe!