Hello everyone! I’m Sarah, blogger over at Sewing with Sarah, and I’m delighted to be on this fitting/styling journey with you and the rest of the Sew Altered Style team. Today I’m going to share my fitting experiences and styling perspective on the Jalie Vanessa Pants.
The Vanessa Pants are a woven jogger pant, the perfect mix of comfort-wear and street-style. Being a stay at home mom, who occasionally ventures into the office, the versatility of this style was deeply appealing to me, and I was excited to give them a try.
Fitting
I could have made a muslin for these- but after working on fitting my gingers ad-nauseum recently, I decided to just dive in, because the style is casual, and shouldn’t need a ton of adjustments. I used a flannel backed suiting from my stash- I don’t know where it came from, but I wish I did, because it feels heavenly!
Well, it turns out I should have taken the time, because I did have to do a decent amount of fitting on these. Not because they aren’t an awesome pattern, but because once you learn something, you can’t help but apply it across the board- and that’s certainly true with fitting. A couple months ago, I would have loved these out of the envelope- but now that I’m getting to know my fit issues and how to solve them, they jump out at me and insist on being addressed!
Unfortunately, since I wasn’t planning on doing alot of fitting, and most of it was done at 1AM, I don’t have many pictures of the process, but essentially, I did the following adjustments:
- scooped out the back crotch as a flat butt adjustment (note to self, do more squats)
- took in the legs 1/2″ along the outseam, starting below the pockets and ending just below my knees. My calves tend to be fuller (thanks to running!), so I didn’t want to take them in all the way down, but I wanted a more tapered leg than the pattern was drafted for.
- Took in the legs 1/4″ along the inseam, starting just below the crotch and ending at the knee. This was a sort of ad-hoc thin thigh adjustment.
- Used a narrower elastic casing- I tend to have thin ankles.
Prior to my adjustments, I felt like the pants looked a little frumpy on me- more like pajamas than something I would wear out. After adding a little shaping to fit my body, I’m loving them!
I’ve still got a few wrinkles on the back, and those darts didn’t want to press flat in this fabric, but these are joggers, so I don’t want to over-fit (or over-think!) them.
Styling
One of my favorite things about these pants is the fact that I can style them down for the day, professionally for work, or up for a night on the town! Here are a few examples I put together, to demonstrate.
Day-Wear:
For a casual day running errands, I styled my Vanessa’s with a causal and comfy Union Street Tee V neck and some cute sandals. It’s not really warm enough to wear these shoes outside yet, but I’m hoping it will be soon!
Work-Ready:
Since I made my Vanessa’s in a suiting fabric, I have to believe they work well for the office too- we don’t have a very formal dress code, but sometimes I like to look extra professional, in case the big boss drops by. Here I’ve styled them with a cami, a belt, and a silk chiffon blouse from my closet. Someday I’ll really level up in sewing and make myself a chiffon blouse, but until then, I’ll have to rely on this number for a classic look.
Night on the Town:
The Vanessa’s can easily transition to a fancy date or night out with the girls- just add some fancy jewelry, nicer shoes (since I won’t be chasing after a toddler) and a sexy silk top!
Final Thoughts
I love the versatility of this pattern- the ability to style it in several different ways for various occasions makes it a perfect staple for a capsule collection and easy dressing!
