Finally, after months of looking forward to seeing my friends get married (civil partnershipped, whatever, I will be glad when we stop this equal-but-different nonsense and I can just say "married" no matter the gender of the participants) and to the chance to get together with the whole group of friends who were attending, this last Saturday was the wedding! I managed to leave both my camera AND my phone behind so I don't have a single photo to show for my attendance, alas, so you'll have to take my word for it: both of the brides looked beautiful, and the rest of us all scrubbed up very nicely indeed for the event (understatement, all my friends looked stunning!)
My own outfit survived the day quite nicely. The skirt was exactly as twirly and frothy as I wanted it to be and was comfortable all day (in spite of the fact that I basically didn't stop eating for the entire day. Hobbit-like, I had about 7 meals on Saturday and not many fewer on Sunday.) The ruching came undone on one side of the skirt at a late stage but to be honest that was my fault for fidgeting with it all day long. The little white top was great though I wish I had worked out my new neckband attachment trick for THAT top, rather than the next one I made. It wasn't too bad but it had stretched out just enough to be awkward.
The jacket was mainly great. I was comfortable in it all day and the gaping at the upper bodice that I noticed when I was trying it on wasn't something that bothered me while I was wearing it. However, I did feel like at certain points I was having to fidget and wriggle and adjust to prevent the bust from gaping, which is the number 1 thing I did NOT want from a home-made jacket since it's the biggest aggravation with my RTW jackets. I was honestly kind of disappointed in it as a consequence on the day itself. However, since then I've been thinking about it a lot and these are the conclusions I've reached:
1. I wore it for a long time, and I was flailing about enthusiastically for quite a lot of that time. I was much more flaily than I would be at work, I think, because I was, idek, jumping around and applauding and getting up and down and generally being excitable. (It was that kind of wedding/group, I wasn't the only person flapping about like a loon.) So the jacket was bound to shift around a bit and my bustline is always going to be a faultline for awkward gaping in any woven garment.
2. A lot of the problem fidgeting I was doing was pulling the jacket down. I had already noted that the armhole was low, and fixed it on the next version. The effect of a low armhole is that when you flail about and raise your arms, the jacket creeps up your body and, in the case of a fitted princess seamed jacket, this pulls the jacket out of shape.
3. It was still better than any RTW jacket I have owned. I mean, that's a depressingly low bar, unfortunately, but it's worth repeating. I don't think if I'd worn a lightweight linen blazer from a shop that I would have had any better an experience in terms of fit, fidgety re-adjustments or anything else. It is totally artificial to pretend like my jacket should have lived up to some impossibly perfect standard that nothing I have ever owned has ever lived up to. If I had, at some point, owned The Perfect Jacket that never gaped or pulled or needed adjusting, that would be one thing, but actually all I've owned is a non-stop parade of blazers and jackets that didn't fit. Yes, I've had stuff that didn't gape at the bust at all, but that was because I sized up 1-2 sizes, so I ended up with poor waist and hip fit. I've never ever had a jacket that fit neatly over the bust and ALSO over the waist and hips.
Overall, I am pleased with my handmade outfit. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't anywhere NEAR perfect, either in terms of the sewing or the fit or anything else, but it wasn't bad at all! :D
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