The amazing Miriam from Madmim.com is here with us today to kick off the Make This Look Series! She's taken the basic idea from a fantastic shirt and made it her own. Thanks Miriam!
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Hello Peeps (I've got birds on the mind)! I'm excited to talk about recreating looks we love, and being inspired by all the design bounty that's out there.
I'm a huge sucker for making designer looks on the cheap, but it's not very often that I let myself make a straight up knock off, as I usually like to take one or maybe two style elements I love and translate them into something Mimish by playing with the design, texture, color, scale and on and on and on. But every now and then I come across something that's already pretty magical, and I want to just recreate that bad boy in all it's glory. To be totally honest, this shirt wasn't one of those times. I mean I really like it, and I think I even pinned it, but it wasn't until I saw my sister Eirene knock it off that I truly saw it's Mim-potential. So this is a knock-off of a knock-off, if you follow me.
The original beauty, upon investigation, has some really lovely details that are worth talking about. First of all, we can all agree it's a great print. Also the color is pretty and the boat neck is nice. But the sleeves really steal the show for me, I love how the pleats and gathers are actually sewn into the seam, it's very cool.
My $2 version: it's not like I-can't-tell-which-is-which close, but it is pretty straight forward. I used this soft buttery orange jersey, and self-drafted this tee pattern (so happy with it!) with a round neck and a-line silhouette. I like the fit of the original (and if I were really going for an exact copy I would have used my trusty Renfrew), but truth be told I'm just a bit more comfy in an a-line silhouette, and I think it's a touch more flattering on my very happenin' hips. It seems like I just can't stay away from hand-printing these days, and I once again used my reversible stamp technique, which is really a barrel O fun. I also added a nice rounded hem because I'm into them lately–they allow for more mom-bending, which heaven knows I do a lot of.
