Little outfit details

I am nearly in panic mode about my wardrobe for Viva Las Vegas. This is in part due to the fact that we did an idiotic, massive spring cleaning last year of our home and everything in it, and that's left me (actually both of us) with some ludicrous holes in my wardrobe that I've been struggling to fill ever since. Case in point: I no longer own a brown purse. Seriously. No brown purse of any kind.

I know it's time for me to open up my closet and figure out what I want to wear, because if I wait until the last minute and discover I need an accessory for a particular outfit (see above), I'll be screwed.

Because I've been so busy I'm trying not to be delusional about what craft projects I can complete in time. I want to finish my black u-neck blouse, because otherwise I have no top for a couple of skirts I'm planning to wear (once of which will be my castles skirt once I finally make a buttonhole for it). I don't think I ever posted the picture of this blouse, did I? It's a pattern from the 1953 Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting Book. I may do something different around the armholes and neckline because I simply don't know if I have the time and patience to knit little bias bands and sew them all the way around. I'll also be raising the neckline a bit in the interest of modesty as I'm not small-chested like the model.

I was daydreaming about other outfits, specifically trying to come up with something to wear with a navy-colored gorgeous slinky vintage sweater I recently got from Etsy. (Excuse the blah slapdash photo.)

It's a bit fancier than I usually go for, with the silver-flecked rope trim at the neckline,  rhinestones and a back keyhole neckline (sorry I didn't photograph that), but I couldn't resist. I thought it would make a great top for an evening outfit.

However I couldn't think of a single thing in my wardrobe that I could wear this with! Not one thing. It occurred to me that I could probably sew up a skirt in time, but I already feel pressed for time with the knitting project (not to mention Briar Rose), so I nixed that idea.

Then I remembered I have a pair of navy slacks from Heyday that have been sitting in my closet as I've been too lazy to hem them. I can squeeze in hemming, certainly. Those slacks, the knitted top, a pair of red Remix L'Amour wedges (that Mel bought me for my birthday at Viva two years ago since Viva usually falls near my birthday) and accessories? Perfect.

But when I pulled the slacks out, I realized they had white buttons.

I thought naturally they'd be so much nicer with vintage buttons, so I went through my stash. Sadly, I didn't have any navy buttons the right size. A quick stroll through Etsy and eBay didn't turn anything up, either. What I did turn up in my stash, however, was a set of great red vintage buttons.

While in general I'm not a fan of contrasting buttons because I am a big weirdo and they make me feel I can only match those exact colors in my outfit, this turned out to be just the lightbulb moment I needed. I thought I would switch out the buttons on the slacks to red, they'd go great with my outfit for Viva, and then I'd have the luxury of time afterwards to find perfect navy buttons for permanent use on the slacks.

So that's exactly what I did.

One outfit complete with 5 minutes of sewing!