FRIDAY STYLE DIARIES by Abbey from @whatabbeywore

Welcome back to another Friday Style Diaries feature, where we interview sewing community guests on their me made style inspiration and challenge them to make a Friday pattern and style it in 3 ways.

Meet the wonderful Abbey from @whatabbeywore who has a wonderful chic and sustainable style that we really love! Let's get stuck in to the feature:

If you had to use 3 words to define your style, what would they be?

Bold, eclectic, lived-in

Where are you finding inspiration these days? This could be art, movies, music, nature, etc.

I am constantly (and I mean constantly) on Pinterest finding inspiration from everything - home decor, other people's outfits, artwork, even food! Lately though, I have been really enjoying print magazines - new, old, vintage, etc., wherever I can find them! I recently stumbled upon a bunch of fashion magazines that I purchased during my fashion merchandising degree days (circa 2016ish), and I am loving seeing how some collections and styles have withstood the test of time, and how others.... have not hahah.

What Friday Pattern have you chosen to make and why?

I chose to make the Dew Dress. I was instantly struck when I saw the pattern when it released! It's such a cool girl, effortless style that I knew I'd be able to style in sooo many different ways - and that it'd be the perfect chic travel outfit. I used Lyrical Fabric's chocolate hemp to mimic the look of the original sample garment!

Talk us through the ways that you have styled your handmade garment. Ideally you would style the garment multiple ways and break down each outfit:

Outfit 1: For the first outfit, I went classic autumnal Abbey. This brown color is one of my most favorite shades to wear, especially as it starts to get chillier, so I took the Dew Dress as my base and picked pieces that complemented the chocolate brown to create a cohesive look.

This vintage patch blazer is one of my most treasured pieces. Last August, I saw a girl getting on the bus wearing a similar blazer, so I found the perfect blazer, dug into my collection of vintage patches (most were my Aunt Carol Ann's dad's patches from the 40s!), and went to town! In keeping with the collegiate vibes of the blazer and brown dress, I channeled my inner grandpa and went full on with brown loafers from Sezane, a Casio watch, and my 70s style aviator wire-framed glasses. I know this outfit will be on repeat this fall and I'll be massively comfortable because the Dew Dress is ridiculously comfy!

Outfit 2: For outfit #2, I wanted to push the boundaries of what I thought was possible for styling a knit dress. The Dew Dress is not inherently casual, but with a knit, it definitely can veer into casual chic territory, so I chose to dress up my dress! The resurgence of brooches is truly everything I could have asked for - I have about 25 different vintage brooches from my mom's estate sale days and from my grandma's collection, so being able to wear them again is perfect. That being said, I decided to pin up the dress at my natural waist and secure it with a gold vintage bow brooch, giving the dress a totally different, much drapier silhouette.

To contrast the drape factor, I opted for wide-leg, super-cuffed jeans; these are my favorites from Madewell that I wear with everything. The wide leg gives the outfit so much more oomph and structure, making the overall outfit more interesting to look at. As if that contrast wasn't enough, I picked light blue accessories because one of my favorite color combos of all time is dark brown and light, icy blue. The shoes are fresh from Canada from Maguire, and the bag is from Baquett, I finished the look off with some Kits sunglasses and Sezane earrings to bring the gold accessories all together. In my opinion, chefs kiss.

Where would you wear these looks?

I'd definitely wear outfit #1 to work, the blazer gives the perfect chic work vibes, but outfit #2 is for going out with the GIRLS! I'm envisioning a nice dinner somewhere chic and juuuuust fancy enough, followed by drinks at a cocktail bar (one whiskey sour for me, please!), and a night of karaoke.

What is the inspiration behind your styling?

As silly as it sounds, my grandpa kind of inspired my first look! He used to wear these brown loafers around the house, always had a similar watch on, and had the same wire-frame glasses as me, so as I was putting the look together, he was totally in my head! For outfit number 2, I went based on color! No specific inspiration, just the basis of playing with structure and color (hence the wide leg denim, drapery, and color combos!)

Do you have any tips and tricks for styling?

Yes! I have a few that I live by: 1. Don't be afraid to try new things, it can be scary to wear a hat out, or try a barrel leg jean, but you won't figure out what you like unless you are bold and try the styles you've been dying to! 2. Play with accessories. I would argue that the reason why my outfits are what they are because I load on the accessories. It'll take any basic outfit to the next level. 3. Look for inspiration everywhere! Pinterest, Instagram, people on the street... one of my favorite games to play when I'm bored on the bus home after work is "pick a piece from someone's outfit and think of how I'd style it" (long-winded name, I know), but it always gets the gears running!