Wedding Wear: Pleat Top and Paris Palazzo Pants

Tim and I went to a black tie optional wedding in Boston a couple weekends ago. 

I don't own a gown and wasn't feeling inspired to make one, but I do have a stash of beautiful silks from my time living in Southeast Asia and some other random special occasion fabrics from various sources in my stash, so I decided to make do. 

I dug up a gorgeous piece of crisp dupioni silk from my stash, originally purchased from the Jim Thompson Factory Outlet in Bangkok when I lived there. 

It was a smallish remnant, but I thought I could make it work for a top. 

The colors of this silk are really stunning. The threads are a vivid yellow-y green in one direction and royal blue in the other, so it shimmers and changes color depending on the angle. 

However, the silk was very challenging to work with! Very crisp, absolutely no give when sewing, and didn't like to be touched by water, so I tried to use minimal steam when pressing. 

So my project is not as neat as I would like, but I'm still happy with it!

Having recently made the Alamain Pleat Top, I thought that cool asymmetrical pattern could be a fun option for this silk. 

I ended up cutting one out, same size as my last version (UK size 22). I had to piece the back together with a center back seam because of the limited size of my fabric remnant. 

Unlike my last Pleat Top, the fold and stitch neckline option wouldn't work for this inflexible fabric, so I opted for the bias finish neckline. 

Also, for some reason I wasn't loving how the pleats were sitting in my silk so I ended topstitching each of them down about 3 inches from the side seam. 

For the bottoms, I had a large piece of this silky black fabric that I think came in a box of fabric from Tim's aunt. I'm not sure the content, but it pressed well, so maybe some natural fibers. 

Very drapey and shiny. I thought it would work well for some dramatic wide leg pants. 

I had recently made the Made for Mermaids Paris Palazzo Pants, designed by Aaronica B. Cole, and thought that pattern could work for my fabric. 

When I laid it out, I decided I wanted more drama, so I made the front legs 4 inches wider and added a deep pleat to the front legs for maximum swoosh. I also deepened the hem by a couple inches; I just prefer a weighty hem on a wide legged pant. 

I love them! So comfy and swooshy!

I'm very happy with this wedding outfit. I felt both comfortable and chic at the wedding. 

I blinged it out with jewels from my favorite local designer (and fellow state government worker) Aisha of Soul Simone.