Sew, What Do I Wear? Professional Edition | Blog Tour

Hello again! After an unplanned short blogging break, I’m back with plenty of things to share with you in the coming weeks. First up, I’m taking part in the Sew, What Do I Wear? Professional Edition blog tour! This tour is sponsored by Made for Mermaids and Patterns for Pirates. When it was announced I was excited to take part because I see continual questions about using patterns from these companies to sew “work appropriate” outfits.

While I do work in an office, I work for a somewhat younger tech company where people wear anything from sundresses to sweatpants. However, I do prefer to dress a little nicer than I would on the weekend, because it’s a personal preference and I’m also in management (I have never been one to wear sweatpants to work!). My usual ensemble is something like what I’m wearing here: Mama Claire top with Cross My Heart Cami, SOS pants. Most days I will also throw on some kind of cardigan (like the Cocoon Cardigan) because my office is typically approximately 239832 degrees below zero year round.

I didn’t pair a cardigan here though, because I decided to use this sweater knit from Sincerely Rylee, which is pretty much the softest sweater knit ever. It’s not quite a hacci but it’s definitely up there on baby bunny level. That said, it does a pretty good job keeping me warm in the office. I’ve always been into heathered colors too, and since purple is my favorite color, I was so excited to see this one in my mystery sweater box! I knew I had to make a cozy top with it ASAP. The Mama Claire pattern was a new one to me, but I’d been eyeing it since it came out. I particularly love looser fitting dolmans because I just find them so comfortable. I sometimes get irritated and picky with the way shirt seams feel in my underarms, so the dolman cut is a great solution for that for me. The crossover can be worn in the front or back, but I thought it seemed a bit more “date night” in the back, so I opted for the front. Also, I had to piece together the back with a seam down the back to conserve fabric, so I’ll wear this on with the cross in the front for that reason anyway. I’ll definitely be making more of these! I think the sweater knit does a good job looking put together but comfy at the same time. My kind of office wear!

As you can see, I have layered with a decorative Cross My Heart Cami underneath. The cross can be worn at the front or back (just flip the shirt around); since my office is casual I decided to wear it at the front. I think it adds a nice element to the shirt too. I used a thick and stable cotton lycra for this from Vinegar and Honey, which is nice because it also provides a decent amount of warmth too.

For my pants, I used the SOS pants pattern. It’d be safe to say that I wear a pair of SOS pants to work probably 8 times out of 10 in the winter (the other 2 times I am wearing leggings), less in the summer because I do tend to wear skirts and dresses instead. I do also wear dresses in the winter, but my commute involves a 10 minute walk to the train, 40 minute public transit train ride and then another 10 minute walk. When it’s the middle of a polar vortex, which is basically 3-4 months long in Chicago, I definitely need some substantial fabric on my legs. So that’s why I have 7 pairs of SOS pants. 😉

I’ll be honest, I really don’t enjoy making these. It’s a lot of topstitching when you don’t have a coverstitch machine. Constant rethreading, and if you’re sharing thread between sewing machine and serger because you forgot that you ran out of extra…it’s a huge pain. However, I do make them because I’ve perfected the fit for me/my height and they fit much better than any ready to wear pants. I decided to make a solid black pair for this tour since I really needed them in my life. I’ve already worn them twice in the two days they’ve been sewn so…#noregrets! I used a thick ponte from Sincerey Rylee and they’re probably my most comfortable pants yet! I can tell they will also be warm enough for my winter commute too. So it’s perfect!

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen my #workselfie stories…here’s a few so help with some more work-wear inspiration:

Top left: Slim Fit Raglan, Pegleg leggings (may not be office appropriate for some)
Top right: Free Spirit Tank
Middle right: Boundless/Sweetheart dress mash
Middle left: Sunshine dress, Cross My Heart Cami
Bottom left: SOS pants
Bottom right: Favorite tee, SOS pants

There you have it; what I wear to work on a regular basis! Hopefully this helps you get some ideas for what to sew for yourself if you have a somewhat casual office job like me.

Don’t forget to check out the other lovely ladies on this blog tour for even more inspiration!

Elisabeth