I made four dark academia-inspired garments in September

I decided to take the dark academia challenge from Marie over on My Bucolic Life and came up with a few garments.
Here's a link to her video:
• The September 2024 Dar...
Trench Coat: Vogue 9367
Shirt Dress: Simplicity 8014
Blouse: McCalls 8284
Skirt: Simplicity 9267
#darkacademia #sewingpatterns #capsulewardrobe #sewingchallenge #vogue #mccalls #simplicity

[@valentynatokar3264]

The flannel dress and the trench coat are my favorites. 🍁

[@karenfrances]

I'm making another flannel and trench with some of my stash for the fall. :)

[@lonesnowflake]

Those came out so beautifully!!! We can see how much you love them too!!

[@karenfrances]

Thanks so much 😊

[@mcmike446]

I need to practice your "I think I'll do this" style of fearless creativity. Thank you for the video.

[@karenfrances]

hahaha, that's a good way to describe it. my brain is always saying 'this doesn't look right' and i'm still not quite satisfied.

[@PandoraSummer-d9v]

Nice makes. I liked them all. Suggestion: thrift a big (pin) flower and attach it to your trench. Your personality can handle it. In fact, I would say it requires it. Thanks for sharing your crops.

[@karenfrances]

What a fun idea! A little bit of spring for fall.

[@JadeBehnsen]

The trench coat was so nice!

[@karenfrances]

thanks!

[@mybucoliclife]

Great job, Karen! Thank you so much for joining in with the challenge. So much fun!

[@karenfrances]

Thanks Marie! It was a fun challenge.

[@JenGretaCart]

Love the colors. And the ruffles on the blouse are lovely. Definitely the extra row of buttons on the skirt will make it symmetrical. I'm also wondering about some darts in the blouse to shape it to be worn untucked, maybe even a couple of narrow ties in the back! I love the styles and colors you chose.

[@karenfrances]

the blouse pattern did have darts, but i'm not fond of them so I left them off. it's so hard for me to place them properly! I like the idea of ties. i also thought of putting a peplum on because i have some extra fabric. hmmm

[@SB_McCollum]

Great pieces and great video! This is the first of yours I've seen, probably because "dark academia" is one of my fav decorating styles. Love the creativity and improvisation, no other sewing channel I've seen just goes for it like you do. I love it and I think your sewing will be a wonderful encouragement to me to just go for it, too.

[@karenfrances]

Awesome! You made my day, thanks for the kind words, you've given me encouragement too.

[@nadinewoods6971]

I actually think I like the trench coat best; it's probably the gorgeous color. I also do love my coats so that might make me a bit partial. The other pieces are nice as well, especially the blouse. While I know a lot of people don't like ruffles, I do and agree that the collar is really lovely. It really is almost a statement blouse, really pretty. I hope your sons are adjusting to college well. It's probably a harder transition for you and your husband than for them. When you've had children for 18 years, it's a big adjustment when you don't see them everyday. I hope they are thriving as that will also make the transition easier for you.

[@karenfrances]

I do love the trench, but the blouse was fun to make. I think wearing wise, I will definitely get more use out of the trench. It goes with so many things. The kids are doing great and we're adjusting, too.

[@poetmaggie1]

I like the buttons off center.

[@karenfrances]

yay! i suppose it's unique.

[@roxannlegg750]

Wow - i must be full of magic, I made Mc Gonnegals green velvet gown from the first couple of movies for a friend in early Sept for her birthday. It took 3 weeks, and in the end I had to spend 3 days hand sewing...that rayon and silk velvet just did NOT play ball. Massive job. I also made her hat to go with it! I love your brown check dress!! I love brown!

[@karenfrances]

Oh, I love McGonnegal's gown, full of magic indeed. I bet it looks fabulous. You have me thinking about Halloween costumes...

[@roxannlegg750]

@@karenfrances haaaa - yeah - advice - DONT - do this gown in this fabric unless you have a few months on your hand and a stupid amount of money! Omg - Im a seasoned award winning costumer, and even this seemingly "simple" gown bent my brain. No one had made it on YT as a tutorial, and there are nuances to sewing silk rayon velvet, in the end many seams were just simpler to hand stitch. But the back part of the gown, that is organ pleated - used 3 widths of the fabric, 1.5 metres long. I dotted the grid 1" apart, and each fold is held with 3 stitches. Its 3.6 metres, pleated down to 35 cm. And the sleeves are organ pleated too. But pattern wise - i had nothing to work with - there were not even studio screen tests off the costume - and ffinding the design lines were very hard. And i did the hat too - i love millinery. She did look the part, it was her 65th, and she wears the same type of glasses - she was the very epitome of McGOnnegal

[@caragarcia2307]

You're a good sewer. The clothes and buttonholes look great. They remind me of 70s and 80s schoolteachers. They look very wearable. The flannel dress would definitely be too warm for our Septembers. I'm always a little confused by the academia aesthetic. Most professors aren't fashionable at all. I'm sure it depends on the major.

[@karenfrances]

thanks! the flannel dress is surprisingly light, the fabric is pretty thin, not like your regular type. i was actually a little dissapointed in the quality, but I will get some wear out of it. academia covers so much ground too, like what is the difference between light and dark?

[@estellalady5620]

wow! looks amazing . I really like the blouse sleeves.

[@karenfrances]

Thanks so much 😊