It's funny how my attitudes to different items of clothing have changed over time. A few years back there were few things I found more restrictive and uncomfortable and felt more self-conscious in than a pencil skirt. I wore them occasionally - when I needed to wear a suit or wanted to feel particularly corporate and put together. But my hip to waist ratio just didn't work with what was available on the high street. The age old if-it-fits-on-the-hips-it-gapes-at-the-waist-and-if-it-fits-at-the-waist-it's-obscenely-tight-on-the-hips scenario.

I even went so far as to have two suits with pencil skirts custom made when I was travelling in Vietnam thinking that at least they'd fit me properly (oh yes, I am absolutely travel name dropping here). Alas, having been really really sick when I arrived in Hanoi, by the time I got to tailor central in Hoi An I was substantially lighter than usual and consequently as soon as I got back home and reverted to my usual weight, the skirts were too tight: Like constantly riding up, and only able to walk with a serious wiggle tight. Which in turn meant it took me a lifetime to walk to the Tube, particularly as I always wore four inch heels, which meant I had to get up earlier which was not at all compatible with my pretty much daily hangovers at that time.

Lets just say I never felt like me in them, not least because I associated them with work and not something I would wear for fun.

Well, that was at least three lifetimes ago and my attitude towards the Mighty Pencil Skirt has swung full tilt as I now view them as comfortable and something that is an easy alternative to jeans to wear day-to-day. I also appear to have lost my self-consciousness about my BF Bottom and the detrimental effects this might have on the general public if combined with a pencil skirt.

So I should point out that the pencil skirts I buy, make and wear now are generally made of knits which obviously makes them a lot easier to wear than those made in wovens. Er hum. But in my defence I do have at least one woven version on my to-sew (stretching to infinity) list.

I can't remember which came first: my desire for a striped pencil skirt, or my feverish pouncing on this gorgeous dark navy and white wide striped super thick Theory French terry I found at Mood Fabrics, but I suspect it was the fabric.

I used the Named Clothing Shadi skirt pattern which I've made once before and really liked. It's super super simple but in true not-paying-attention-because-it's-a-simple-pattern fashion I had to spend a significant amount of time unpicking my serger threads due to a backwards waistband mishap. I wanted to start and finish the skirt on a navy stripe and to make the waistband exactly the same width as a stripe so that there was no break in the pattern and it looked as if it was just one continuous piece of fabric. However I also wanted it to hit knee length and the two desires were not compatible.

So initially I thought, well there is excess white stripe at the top so I'll have to make the waistband white. Which looked terrible, so I flipped the waistband and after ALL the unpicking, made it navy and decided to live with the fact it doesn't have that continuous stripe look. The blow is softened by being rather pleased with the stripe matching at the side seams and the nice straight-along-the-stripe-edge hem.

I really love the bold stripe in this skirt. The fabric is very firm, with only a little stretch, so it isn't as easy to wear as other knit skirts but it is still getting worn a lot (or at least it will do when I can wear clothes with waistbands again.)

I also love the navy with the beautiful emerald green of this silk cotton Eucalypt tank. This is such beautiful fabric that I've been sitting on for a while and originally came from my mum's Chest of Fabric Wonder, I think having been left over from a dress she made for a wedding in the 80s. She's a serious serious hoarder.

I had less than a yard so I knew it would be a tank and wanted to revisit the Eucalypt having made a dress from it last year, which I was not entirely happy with. For this version, I added an inch to each shoulder seam, scooped out the neck a little more and slimmed the hips (primarily as I didn't have enough width in my yardage) and I love the fit now. I really like this top in general even though I deployed contrast topstitching (read, "oh cream will just have to do") as I haven't anything like emerald green in my thread tin. And even though my trials with the bias neckline and armholes prompted this rather ranty (not 'randy' as autocorrect kept wanting me to say) post, they are sitting pretty flat.

So, the pencil skirt is in favour, the combination of pencil skirt and tank is a goody and can and will be repeated in many many forms over the coming months. And I love that as my lifestyle, my attitude towards my figure and my understanding of fit and fabric change, my eyes are reopened to previously no-go styles.

Have you had those kind of garment reawakenings? is there something you never thought you'd wear but you've tried and loved? Do you agree that it isn't always necessarily dictated by the changes in fashion?

See you soon x

A style about-face: Shadi pencil skirt and Eucalypt tank