It was a lovely yesterday. It was bitterly cold but the sun was out and it was a great day for a stroll around the shops in London. What made everything even better was my sister’s visit to London and although it was a very short visit, we managed to go round the shops, had afternoon tea and also went to watch Wicked. I always treasure time spent with my family as the distance between us and the cost of travelling meant that family reunions only happens occasionally. Being such a precious occurrence, I take up every opportunity to be as clingy and inquisitive as possible to soak up my time lost with them.
This visit also gave me the opportunity to pass my sis her new coat (here) and after waiting with baited breath, she put it on and it was a perfect fit. She was so ecstatic at the surprise my sis told me she can finally donate her old winter coat from her university days.
Seeing her dressed immaculately in her new coat meant that I had to do the same. But as I was still in my ‘dark’ mood, I threw on this ensemble (we were late for the train so I literally had to throw this look together) of a black shirt, black trousers and a navy coat I made a couple of months back.
If this coat looked familiar to you, it’s because it’s another version of the drape coat (here) I made recently for my friend. I love the idea of a normal looking men’s coat but from the front, it has this drape detail that moves as I walk.
Sometimes it’s better to keep the design simple so that the quirkiness of a detail will stand out more. I have tried on many occasion to overcomplicate things by throwing all sorts of design details at a garment but it ends up looking like an overdecorated cake. With my lesson learnt, I now conserve all the details I have experimented with for the right occasion.
My sis has now left and it’s back to my normal life again. Time to experiment with more patterns and see what my next project is.
Stephen Yong 