May Wrap Up

This month I sewed a total of 7 things for a total of 10.75 yards (plus a 2 meter project for Minerva - more to come)

• Butterick 6621 dress - 2.25 yards
• taupe jersey from Stylish Fabrics
• McCall's 7465 dress - 1.75 yards
• heavy navy jersey from Stylish Fabrics
• elastic
• Simplicity 9273 tee x2 - 1.25 yards each
• black & white striped jersey from stash (likely Fabric Mart)
• black rayon blend jersey from stash (I have no clue where I bought it!)
• McCall's 7465 dress - 1.5 yards
• blue and white floral & striped ITY from stash (Fabric Mart)
• elastic
• McCall's 7920 dress (WIP) - 2.75 yards (45" fabric)
• buttons (assuming I complete it!)
• Burda 1/2018 skirt (Minerva project) - 2 meters (not counted in my total)
• ditsy print black & white cotton poplin
• invisible zipper

mini'd M7465 in ITY

Favorite: I am probably most excited about the navy M7465. It's such a basic pattern but it fits SO well and the jersey is fantastic. I will be posting the review on this one tomorrow (apparently I did NOT schedule the posts I thought I scheduled! LOL!)

Accomplishment: Not much in the way of stretching the skills this month, but that's okay. I did continue to "fly by the seat of my pants", and overall, I'm happy with the new adds to the wardrobe except...

FAIL: I'm not sure about this white M7920. It is looking kind of nurse's outfit mid-construction. I am going to plan to finish it. We'll see!

Other things...

I finally put away all of my winter clothes (we were having lows in the 30s still near the end of the month) and pulled out spring and summer clothes. I then proceeded to try on EVERYTHING. If I hadn't *just* worn it/bought it/made it and knew that it fit, I tried it on. 

IT WAS EXHAUSTING!

But it was good. I have a lot of clothes (which is okay!), and having stuff hanging up and taking up space is pointless. If it did not fit in that very moment, it went back in the bin. And then, I sorted the bin with stuff that I cannot fit but want to hang on to on bottom and stuff that was pretty close to fitting on top, and some stuff went in the donation pile. 

RTW: 

I saw these pants in Target and thought they were worth trying for $25. SO much extra front length. Bleh. And they were twill and very stiff. Not what I was looking for.

I ordered these wide legged pleated trousers from Calvin Klein from Nordstrom Rack and I've checked at least 7 times to make sure they weren't "tall'. Nope. Just super, extra long for some reason. I tried them on with 4" heels and STILL need to lose 2 inches. Bananas. But, the fabric is really nice, they are fully lined, and fit well otherwise. At $45, they were worth it, even with the cost of alterations.

In case you are wondering - I have a tailor. I do not alter RTW clothing.

I was sort of interested in the shoulder-pad tee trend but not enough to fully commit. I like this muscle shirt from Target. It gives the look without the pad. I do wish the neckline were a little more open.

I really scored on a few items at LOFT. But that's one of the few places I shop consistently. I just LOVE this smocked top. The pants are new too! I also picked up a pair of slim, cropped black trousers. Great fabric, waistband faced with wide elastic, double darts in back...they are fantastic. 

I am pretty picky about RTW now, not surprisingly. I saw this white top in Marshall's one day and thought it was a little too long for tucking and so I left it. 

But then, I could NOT stop thinking about it! 

Yesterday was a perfect weather day here in Minneapolis, and there was a Simplicity that I wanted to pickup so I hit a JoAnn that's a bit further away, just to go for a ride. I happened to stop in Marshall's and I FOUND THE SHIRT!!!!!!!! Woooohoo! I didn't know that Beach Lunch Lounge was a "real" brand ("discount" stores often are just selling house brands made for their store). It's 100% viscose, fits well, and since it's so soft and drapey, it actually tucks just fine. (I have it on over an off-shoulder jumpsuit so ignore the weird shoulder bulges!)

Lastly, here are some RTW inspiration pics I rounded up for summer, all from Nordstrom (I like to look there and Net-a-Porter for inspiration!)

I mostly participated in Me Made May. I think I did everyday, but I didn't document daily so I'm not 100% sure. One of the BEST things about MMM is finding new people to follow. Totally makes it worth it!

I've got about a week with nothing happening but then, June gets insanely busy (in the best ways!) so I'm only going to set a few goals:

• Finish the WIP, Burda 1/2018
• Sew a matching tank with the leftover fabric
• Do as much as I can to finish stalled WIPs and UFOs

As always, more later!

Simplicity 8529 - Colorblocked

I follow a couple of fashion bloggers for inspiration and saw a cute colorblocked sweater in camel and off-white and just LOVED it, but not necessarily those colors. I love black and olive (and blue! but that's another story) and had this piece of olive french terry in my stash. I have no clue where I bought it (I think I bought it at Kokoon, a local retailer who sometimes sells off her fashion fabric). And I only had 1.25 yds. Well, I had several cuts of black french terry (seriously?) on hand and settled on this piece that was a perfect match in weight and drape.

Then came the task of trying to find a pattern. I checked Burda first because, of course I did! But nothing stood out. When I made this Simplicity pattern way back, I wasn't thrilled with the outcome. Looking back, I really liked how it looked on me, it just didn't wear well. I decided it was possibly just a fabric fail and crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. The dropped shoulder design was just what I wanted! 

By going with a pattern with a dropped shoulder, I knew I'd only need to adjust the front and back . I traced a line from the top of the shoulder to the armhole, sliced, added seam allowances, and sewed it up. This meant that on the right side, I have olive fabric connecting to the olive sleeve and on the left, black fabric to a black sleeve. PERFECT.

Note to self and other intrepid pattern hackers:
the front seam line should have a slight convex curve to it to remain straight when on the body. It's fine...the pattern fits relaxed enough and the fabric has enough drape that the now concave(!) line doesn't really show. 

I made no material changes from the last version - size medium, shortened 3 inches. 

I did leave the side vent as-is this time (I think I sewed it closed a bit more last time).

It's quite cozy too in this lightweight french terry. I know it's a very specific garment that limits the bottoms I can wear with it, but I'm still pretty happy with it and think I'll get good use out of it. If nothing else, it makes me smile :-)

I'm actually wearing the same pair of jeans here as in the original pic 2+ years ago! :)

I have had very little mojo because, life. And am pretty sure I'm UNABLE to work on my knitting right now. I might work on it for a few minutes this weekend and see how my hand responds. Right now, it's not looking good :( 

I have sewn a couple things - 1 is kind of a secret for now (shhhhh!) and the other is a sweatshirt for my daughter. I have a hoodie in the works for myself but a STRONG desire to sew some real clothes, and a bit of an add to the fabric stash arriving this weekend. 

I sewed these 2 tops for my daughter, my son in law's shirt, some baby stuff, a cardigan/jacket for myself, and literally eve.ry.thing else I've sewn so far in 2021 has been a top. No dresses. No skirts. No pants. I am feeling BLAH!

So I hope to refocus my efforts, in spite of Covid, and start to work on some things that make me happy. Starting with a TNT, Butterick 5760 in a boucle from stash. 

Burda 1/2021 #120

Yep...Another Burda 1/2021 garment - this time for my daughter. 

When I posted this cardigan/wrap as a 'must sew', my daughter asked me to make her one. She wanted fabric similar to the photo in the mag (sort of tweedy) but I couldn't find anything similar. This cotton boucle from SR Harris was a great bargain - it's a fantastic fabric from their designer section - and the fact that it's cotton made it a wonderful project to sew. It is a bit on the thicker side for this project but again, it was completely malleable as a soft, cotton fiber. 

My daughter is tall and thin with broad shoulders/back. She's several inches taller than I am but our back length is nearly identical. I do have to add quite a bit of length to sleeves and pants for her...and often times, a broad back adjustment. 

Since this is a looser fitting garment, I just cut a size 38 back and 36 front (with 38 shoulder). I added 2" to the sleeve - 1" above the elbow and 1" below. 

I did NOT enjoy tying off all these darts! 14 total!!!

This was actually a really quick sew - even with all of the adjustments and such, I started it on the evening of the 6th, didn't even work on it constantly, and had it boxed up and ready to ship on Sunday afternoon. 

THESE SLEEVES!

I really like the shape of the sleeves. My darts don't line up perfectly - shhhhhh! When I sew for my daughter, I am not apologetic about cutting corners/taking shortcuts. She's ALWAYS grateful but she's still a 20 something and I know she cannot fully appreciate the labor! 

The instructions call for Petersham for the D-ring side and had it not been for this nice, pliable fabric, that tab for the rings would have been a mess. I ended up layering the seams, pinking the tab ends, and pressing the mess out of it and it isn't too bulky at that section, thankfully. 

For the inside, they have you sew a snap to the petersham and the left front. I used some cute twill tape that I picked up from Craft South when I was in Nashville. 

My corners aren't sharp but - it's fine!

The twill tape and snap are so handy and I love the tag added here on the facing!

I did use some knit stay tape around the front and neckline edge early and topstitched the facing close to the edge. This will definitely be hitting the washer and dryer if i know my kid and I didn't want any potential raw bits with this ravel-ly fabric. 

Mine is up next! And maybe I'll have some pics of her in hers next time.

I kept trying it on but the finished hip here is *much* smaller than my hips so I didn't take any pics in it :-p

In other news, I bought another knitting machine! It's a mid-gauge Brother KX350. It's a plastic bed so benefits are - it's so lightweight! I can use sport weight to worsted on this machine (my standard gauge can use what would be considered lace weight to fingering weight and maaaaaybe sometimes some sport weight). 

The general mechanics are the same but it's a different beast from the metal bed standard gauge. 

Because I can't handknit anymore, I don't have much worsted weight yarn on hand. I'll have to grab a few balls and try a couple of easy projects like a new wrap for working (working from home still but it'll be cold for quite awhile longer here in the tundra!), or a scarf.

I'm a little over a month into my new job and I am SO happy that I made the move! Listen to yourself! Yourself is probably right :-p

We're working from home for the foreseeable future but once Covid is more controlled, I'll be working 2-3 days a week in the office. It's a beautiful location in downtown St. Paul (which is truly gorgeous and architectural and interesting!) (but not fun to drive around, lol!). 

I found some decently fitted, decently made blazers at Ann Taylor last month and am just energized all over again to create a couple of jackets. 

These striped pants are my favorite. I got them from LOFT some time ago. I was SMITTEN with them immediately and the guy that worked there tried to talk me out of them because they're vertical stripes. Dude, I don't follow the rules! :-p 

This one "fits" but, hello biceps! 

I'm not sure I could wear much more than a slim fitting tee underneath.

I have Martin Luther King Jr. Day off (probably the first time this has been a regularly scheduled holiday for me since I worked for the state of MN 15 years ago!) so I will be relaxing and sewing and/or knitting. 

Baby Shower DIYs and...a little sewing

My next garment for the Endless Combinations contest is a dress from Simplicity 8890. I finished it but isn't my favorite thing. Will review as soon as the sun resurfaces and I can take pics.

Also, I was all set to cut out S8389 for my black shorts and I have the 6-14 size range. FOR PANTS! Eek! I am an 18 on bottom so yeah...no. I'm going to sew an oldie but goodie; Simplicity 1887.

I am thinking of finishing up with a tee, possibly McCalls 6839. An old pattern that I made back in 2015 but I loved the shape and am pretty much considering recreating it (using a b & w stripe again).

oh. my. goodness. Speaking of patterns...

Have you seen that IG Design Group is rebranding the Big4 as "Something Delightful"?

Not cool. At all. What on earth does this name mean? What does it have to do with sewing patterns?!? What does it have to do with the iconic names Butterick, McCall's, Vogue? Ugh.

ANYWAY...I will call the shower a success! Now, because things just have a way of happening...

I woke up that morning, early. I ran to Target to buy some pants (a rayon/linen blend) because it was going to be a SCORCHER; there was a heat advisory in place. I love a dress during the summer but as a member of the Thick Thigh Club, when it's really hot? I don't want any skin-on-skin action happening. Then, I went to Trader Joe's to buy flowers, came home and arranged them quickly, as my husband loaded up the car. 

indirectly related facts:

I am super independent. It's woven into my DNA. My husband is a caregiver. It's just a part of him.

Yes, this is huge spot of give and take for us.

Park that.

While arranging the flowers I was feeling "off". I couldn't put my finger on it but something was off. At one point, I said to him, "I don't know what made me think I could pull this off..." And carried on. I decided I was sad(?) that it was going to be HOT AS HELL and that would 1) affect the guest list and 2) result in a bunch of wasted food (because people really do not eat as much when it's hot).

We arrived at the park shelter (which is amazing and I will reserve it again for something else in the future!) and right away, I see tables with tablecloths on them. Deciding that someone had decided to hang out there on this warm summer day, I marched right up there and (nicely, I swear!) informed them that we had a reservation. But THEY had a reservation. WHAT?

After searching my email I realized, I RESERVED THE SHELTER FOR THE WRONG DAY!

I was gutted. And my brain felt fuzzy. And by then, my brother and sil had arrived (they were going to help with set up while my husband, Mike ran around picking up the food and ice). I started crying and he started freaking out. LOL! No one sees me cry. Like ever. Childbirth? no. Proposal? no. Wedding? no. But get me frustrated enough and the tears will flow.

I had to call my daughter and tell her. Apparently, she cried too! And Mike sprung into action!

The shower was scheduled to start at noon. At 11:15 we arrived at the new site. By 12:03, when the first guests arrived, everything was in place except for the baby pics of the mom and dad. His mom was one of the first to arrive so she took over hanging pics while I ran home to shower. By 12:30 I was back and my brother was back with the food.

You know what? It all worked out! Holding it at the Ice Arena (at the private school where Mike works), meant a place to cool off in the extremely hot weather (the interior of the arena is 50 degrees F!) and a better place to house the food (the vestibule was much closer to room temperature). He got to do what he does. I got to lean on ~everyone~ around me because we were all necessary in making it happen.

Never too old to learn new tricks? :-p

I bought a huge roll of the burlap pennant and used the Cricut to pretty them up. There was one each that said "baby", "eat", and "gifts". I made menu cards for the food and the cupcakes. I made an instruction card for the pin game and measure mommy's belly game, and finally, a little hanging sign welcoming baby Bert. (that's their name regardless of gender!).

We'd visited a local guy for the lovely wood rounds and scored a case of Mason jars cheap. Using burlap ribbon + satin ribbon + twinkle lights, and plenty of flowers, we created the centerpieces. I spent under $50 on flowers (I love TJ!) and collected vases and other glassware from my own stash at home :)

This trio of what is technically tealight holders on the wood round was my favorite!

Lastly, my daughter wanted a skirt with a 2-tiered flounce but not with a maternity panel. Sigh. (tbf I never wore maternity clothes with either pregnancy. YOUTH!) The ad she saw, the woman had just pulled the skirt over her belly so I said FINE. I used the still popular McCall's 6654 knit skirt pattern, in her normal size 12,  at the shortest length, and added a 4" tier and a 6" tier.

I measured the hem and cut out a rectangle. I slashed every inch and spread the shorter layer about 5/8" at each cut and the longer one at 7/8".  After taping it down I traced off the shape, keeping the center on the fold, and added seam allowance to the top. Because my daughter is as fickle with handmades as RTW items, I do enough but don't put too much energy into projects. I cut the flounces with my rotary cutter and left the ponte unhemmed.

I pinned them together and before I knew it, I'd sewn them each to the front and back of the skirt. DOH! I wanted to sew them in the round! So I had to do some unpicking (not fun in ponte with perfectly matched thread!!) but it was fine in the end :)

3 days before the shower, she asked me to make this top for her and I found a bodice in Burda 11/2015 that was a perfect match. She wanted tulle sleeves but there was no time to acquire fabric AND sew the top so I hit the stash. I had this mesh that was a perfect pairing with the ivory ponte. This bodice is meant to be a dress so I lengthened and straightened out the side seam. It was also meant to be lined. The sleeve attaches to the bodice from just above the notch in front to about the same in back. The rest of the sleeve is just hemmed. I did not take into account new finishing without the lining (and the mesh!) and it was Friday afternoon and I just didn't see finishing it if I had to undo a bunch of topstitching (and in places that had already been trimmed back). So, we hit up Forever 21 because of course, her 7 month belly can still fit into a medium top at the juniors store! Oh, to be young! :)

I probably won't be finishing this but the bodice is NICE

 andI plan to make myself a dress from this pattern!

We had a blast, the food was good, the games were fun and they got a ridiculous amount of gifts including ALL of the big things (car seat, stroller, breast pump, crib (they actually got 2 cribs and have to return one!). And an actual ton of Target gift cards which will come in handy. Baby Bert is set!

my top is M6519

I keep telling them that if we know nothing else, we know Bert is going to have a super curly mane :-D Don't let them fool you in their pink shirts; gender is unknown and I'm betting it's a boy!

April Wrap-Up and May Plans

How are you holding up out there? So far, I'm doing well. We are all staying healthy, I'm still working full-time, and sewing & crafting up a storm.  I am grateful for the opportunity to work from home in that, I am still collecting a paycheck and my employer understands that health & safety comes first.  But I am so not a work from home full-time person. I would never choose this full time! I could see working from home a day or so per week but not full time! gah!!

I DO like having a few minutes here and there throughout the day for sewing or crafting or exercising or food prep. Makes a huge difference in what I can accomplish each day. NOT that I am one of those people yelling about how productive we need to be during quarantine. I'm just a natural busy body. I've spent the odd day here or there in the bed (like the Saturday I literally stayed in bed til 2:30 p.m.!)

This month, I sewed 6 items for a total of 11.5 yards.

• Simplicity 2246 dress - 2 yards
• striped double brushed poly from Fabric Mart - stash
• buttons, elastic

• McCall's 6754 dress - 2 yards
• floral double brushed poly from Fabric Mart
• elastic

• McCall's 8028 jumpsuit - 2 yards
• distressed french terry knit from Fabric Mart - stash
• elastic

• Burda Mag 4/2019 jacket - 2.5 yards
• black cotton twill from Mood
• buttons, D-rings

• Burda Mag 5/2020 top - 1.5 yards
• black cotton (voile? lawn?) - stash
• buttons

• Burda Mag 4/2019 top - 1.5 yards
• white rayon challis - stash

Today, I also worked on some baby gifts but those are all from the remnant bin so I won't count them in the out totals.

wip

Favorite: This was an excellent month. Everything I added is pure perfection (to me)!

Accomplishments: I hacked that McCall's dress into exactly what I wanted! Woot! And I turned that Burda magazine jacket into my perfect vision!

FAILS: None! woohoo! If I had to list something I'd say it was using the distressed knit as the pocket bag on the jumpsuit. It basically renders the pockets useless because my fingers get caught in the darn fabric!

My plans last month:
M7925 dress in a cotton/rayon voile
M6754 dress in a floral knit
S2246 dress (maybe) in a striped knit
Burda 10/2017 or S8843 (I need to look at the shape of the pattern pieces of both) in a black cotton twill as my Q1 outerwear project (slightly behind!)
M8028 jumpsuit in a distressed knit
B5526 shirt in white cotton shirting w/silk organza accents

So close!!! I sewed 4 out of the 6 plus a couple more!

For May, I plan to participate in Me Made May as I have! I pledge to wear something handmade every day.

If you don't follow SoZo or if it's your first time, Me Made May isn't a photo challenge - it's okay if you don't post pics on social media or if you do post, if you only post occasionally! I've also seen lots of people say they don't participate because they "don't have enough" handmade stuff. No! If you want to participate and you have ONE handmade thing, you have enough stuff!! :-D

For May, my sewing plans aren't at all focused! It's usually cooler "spring-like" temps throughout May and June with some warm spikes. Without knowing when we'll be outside again, I'm on the fence about spring vs. summer. I mean, there isn't a TON of difference for me but there are prints and patterns that are decidedly summer. We'll see.

Right now, I *want* a few things:

I saw a navy tee at LOFT that is very similar to the 'hacked' McCall's dress except it's floaty. I will make it a bit fitted.

Also at LOFT was a striped v-neck that is *very* similar to the top I made from Ottobre 2/2018 (except with short/cap sleeves) so I'll be making that.

I plan to make S8389 pants in the amazing black crepe I picked up from Mood.

And I happen to have 2 black & white fabrics that are slated for dresses - a heavy crepe for Burda 2/2017 #114 and a rayon challis for 5/2020 #107.

I like fit and flare! The first pattern has a fabric-hog of a skirt and I don't have enough fabric for that and will do a gathered skirt.

I'm waiting on a PDF Plotting order so I can sew up the Style Arc Clare pant in a navy and white drapey polyester suiting from Fabric Mart.

And I still want M7925 in the cotton/rayon blend voile from Ginny's!

That's about it for now (hahaha!) :-p

Lastly, what is up with the BMV site and lack of sales!? I want some new Buttericks but not for $16...And I won't even begin to comment on that Vogue release. Not. For. Me.

Summer Sewing Plans (and miscellany)

I have concrete sewing plans for summer!

As I've mentioned before, I never do "RTW fasts" because I know I will find some cute thing I want or get in a rut of needing things and knowing I don't have time to sew it all. I found some fantastic tops at LOFT last week so I've tweaked my list. It's still SUPER large (haha!) but I've tried to make it a nice mix of things I've made before but still adding things I want in the wardrobe.

some RTW inspiration I'd collected

This weekend, I cut out NL6560 and cutting out paper patterns is exhausting!! I decided (assume) that the reason is, I am accustomed to cutting fabric out in session but usually cut patterns in one go. It took me over 45 minutes to cut out this pattern with 6 pieces! (I didn't even cut the belt!) Eesh.

Tops: Since I bought a few new items, I need fewer tops than I originally had on the list. 

1. NL6560 (which, WAH!!! is a reissue of Simplicity 4125 that I already own) top in chambray
2. M7601 in a soft black & white diagonal striped georgette
3. M7251 in a coral challis

Skirts: (I have a ton of skirts...I can not fit them. Some I wear anyway, they just hang a bit lower, but most of my B5760 skirts are too large now. Booooo. Some of them will get altered though. As that became my TNT, I have made some really beautiful versions!

1. NL6326 (first 2 skirts) in pale grey crepe and a BRIGHT! pink crepe
2. Burda 6769 lengthened a few inches with 'matching' front and back walking slits
3. V1501 (I cut off the bodice :) LOL!) I have made this dress AND have made it twice as a skirt. I have a floral poly crepe from Mood for this one. (oh yeah, I broke fast and purchased 4 yards of fabric last week!)
4. Burda 4/2019 in a kelly green twill (have you seen Beth's version!?)

Dresses:

1. Burda 4/2019 sans sleeve ruffles in a floral challis
2. B6621 in a bright floral knit
3. B6640 shirtdress in a pale blue and white thinly striped shirting

Other:
This is V9032 (my TNT pants pattern), but I really want a flat-front, wide leg crop. I was trying to stay with as many made-before patterns as I could but I wasn't going to be completely happy with them so why sew them!? I am going with Burda 5/2017 in a crepe suiting that was called "Coral gold" from Mood. It looked more brown online but is definitely more pinkish.

This image is of Burda 6938 but I will actually be using 6659 which I've made before. But their short version is longer than I'll make them and has bands on the hem. 6938 is more likely what I'm going for. I'll be using a grey French terry.

I've made Nl6326 (2nd view), Burda 6769, V1501, B6621 and Burda 6659 before. That's only 5 of 13. Oops. We'll see how much I get done!

Lastly, for my birthday, I want to make the Deer & Doe Sicorro jumpsuit using this (super awesome!) knit fabric I bought ages ago.

I finally(!) audited my pattern collection. I do this ever so often but have been meaning to do it for over a year now. Finally!

I started out showing 808 patterns. I cleared out everything that has been removed from my stash (I did a big purge awhile ago and knew I didn't fully clean up the stash after that). That took me down to 739. Then, I added the patterns I own that were never added to my catalog. Boooo! LOL! That put me at 766.  Whew!

I found THREE copies of B5526. Eesh. And there were 38 patterns that I had duplicates of-2 each. Some of those (but probably no more than 12-15) are from buying the smaller size range for my daughter. And maybe 5 or so are patterns that I intentionally duplicated (e.g., B6621). Goodness gracious.

I finally organized my lining stash on the cardboard pieces I ordered. They are 9x12 inches and work well for the lining. I think they are too flimsy to store actual fabric on.

I finished my Burda 12/2009 henley tee! Woohoo! Review to come. In the meantime, behold my awesome matching across the placket :-p

 Lastly, I have never purchased a minimizer bra. They are never pretty :( But I'd read great reviews on this Bali bra and happened to be in Kohl's and tried it on.

Minimizer on top; my regular bra on bottom. Reviews suggested to size down. I am wearing a 34DD in the minimizer and 34DDD/E in my normal bra.

In the below pic, I am obviously turned a little more to the front in the minimizer, but I can totally see the difference in projection! The same style was cheaper at Macy's and with additional discount, I scored one for $20. We'll see how it works with "real clothes" when it comes. 

What are your summer must-haves? Do you snoop-shop RTW??