Fancy Pants and Vest

Oooh--pants, vest--let the Britishisms fly! Do you think that will protect me from being googled by those with untoward interests in lingerie?

No matter, I'm not modelling these on the internet. My tiny little torso form (which is completely flat on the backside) wears them just fine.

The camisole is Kwik Sew 3115. Fitting this super-simple piece over several iterations has been very interesting. I am so extremely narrow from underarm to underarm that the XS was still too wide across the upper chest. I narrowed the XS another 1/2". But since I have a reasonably full cup size, I then swing right out to the medium 2" down from the underarm seam. And the fullness just keeps on going...through the waist and the hip.

Made like this, a camisole (a type of garment I've rarely, if ever, worn due to poor fit) is surprisingly cute and comfortable.

The pattern includes a shelf bra, which I doubt I'd ever install. Instead this camisole is made with a front, a back and a little ruffled elastic trim at the neckline. The bottom is finished with a 1 1/2" stretch elastic trim.

The boy leg briefs are from Ottobre Woman's 5/2009 issue. This issue contained both a boy leg and a high cut panty, as well as a brilliant camisole with center front ruching and shaped seaming through the torso. Each is as well-conceived as Ottobre's patterns generally are. Short of fabric and inspired by the brilliant Sarah of Ohhh Lu Lu, I added a contour panel in solid black at the front of the pants, accented by a bit of the lace from the neckline of the camisole. I didn't want to carry the lace all the way down to the leg opening, as I thought the bulk of the trim there might rub, so I curved it out into the seam allowance midway down the front panel. The legs are trimmed in the same stretch lace as was used to finish the hem of the camisole.

The general notion of these underoos is that they will serve as bloomers under my skirts for swing dancing. I have a silly girl-crush on international Lindy Hop instructor and champion Jo Hoffberg, who recently commented, "Ladies, if we can't see your panties, you're not kicking high enough." This statement struck me as rather...profound. She was totally goofing around when she said it, but I still loved the notion of dancing boldly and energetically, confident in one's modest yet fetching under-accoutrements. 

Bloomers like this cover more than most swimsuits, and are only seen in tiny flashes as a skirt swirls up during a spin, yet the whole idea of it is still pretty saucy.

So here we have polka dot panties, inspired by Jo.