FRIDAY STYLE DIARIES by Monica Patel

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 Monica Patel from @slowrituals.studio who we had the pleasure of meeting over the Stitch Festival weekend, as she supported us on our stand! Monica has a beautiful, classic and minimalist style that feels chic and sophisticated - making styling look easy! Let's get stuck in to the feature:

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

Minimal, architectural, and relaxed. I feel like I embrace the ‘less is more’ attitude when it comes to my style – minimalist but interesting through diﬀerent pairings or combinations of garments. I really enjoy pieces that have a structure to them while also responding to how we move.

Most of the things I make these days capture these qualities that I try to make interesting through their texture, fabric choice or details. It’s important to me to develop a cohesive wardrobe so that I can maximise its potential as well! Despite my love for structured or architectural garments, I really value outfits that feel relaxed and that can be worn for a multitude of occasions.

Where are you finding inspiration these days?

I find a lot of inspiration in film or editorials mainly as these forms of media usually consider things like colour, mood, texture, and light so beautifully. I like to create mood boards around some of those themes which help inspire diﬀerent garments or outfits I would like to sew and put together.

What Friday Pattern have you chosen to make and why?

I chose the Heather Blazer as it’s such a versatile piece. I had previously made the blazer a couple years ago and wanted to revisit the pattern to make a summer/spring version. This pattern was my first dive into blazers and lined jackets, so I definitely elevated my sewing skills with this garment.

I chose to make a few mods based on my previous version and to refine the overall style I was going for. I of course made things more diﬃcult with some of the mods I chose but the instructions are so clear that the blazer came together really quickly!

Fit mods:

As I had made the pattern before, I had some idea on the fit mods I wanted to make.

- Length: I am a petite gal, so I shortened the overall length by 14cm

- Sleeves: I shortened the sleeves by 13cm, one cm less than my first version as I feel they are the tiniest bit too long at the moment

Style mods:

I wanted to go for a slightly elevated look for this blazer so that I would work well for a variety of occasions.

- Pockets: I omitted the patch pockets and went for double welts. I did a similar mod on my first version, but this time placed them slightly higher

- Back vent: the biggest mod I made was adding a back vent as I love the movement they introduce into a garment. I’ve made this mod a couple of times before, so it went well this time!

Talk us through the ways you have styled your handmade garment and where would you wear these looks?

I chose to style my new blazer three ways; one relaxed, one elevated evening look, and one for a summer night. For look one, I wanted to style the blazer more casually, in a way that I would wear it for work or a lunch date.

The outfit base is a comfortable pair of jeans with a classic white tee, elevated with a pair of heeled boots and the blazer.

Look two is one that I would wear out with friends, where the evenings are warming up but not yet summer weather. I like how the oversized, structural quality of the blazer contrasts the sleek overall look of the rest of the outfit. I kept everything quite monochrome, celebrating the texture and light colour of the blazer.

Look three is an aspirational outfit that I am excited to wear this summer. I styled the blazer with a silk top and some linen trousers paired with a tonal bag and mules. This is outfit feels really elevated to me with the mix of warm tones and textures. The outfit feels like my perfect balance of structure and softness without feeling too done up.

What is the inspiration behind your styling?

I was inspired by the longer, lighter spring days to try and style a variety of transitional looks. I wanted to play with the relaxed structure of the blazer by oﬀsetting it with more structured denim or a sleek boot. I think that the fabric choice of a linen/wool blend helps this blazer still feel warm, but the colour works well for the warmer seasons.

These outfits all feel pretty universal to me as well, using items that most of us have in our closets already!

Tips and tricks?

One of my favourite styling techniques is to play with textures and tones. I find even simple outfits look more elevated or interesting when diﬀerent fabrics are paired – something smooth and silky oﬀset by something more organic and woven etc. As we move into warmer weather, I also enjoy styling in one colour scheme or tone. I tend to build a look this way by choosing one garment I feel like wearing and finding similar tones in other pieces to bring it together.