Autumn Handmade and Secondhand Outfits (in video)

This is a week of a me-made and thrifted secondhand wardrobe in video format. Each of these outfits features at least one handmade garment, plus thrifted or secondhand items. These are all work-from-home suitable outfits that are fun to put together and sew.

The pink corduroy cargo pants are secondhand, as is the cashmere sweater. The sweater was tags-on Talbots (orig $169) which I got for 40% off $14.99!! The duster is the Cambria Duster by Friday Pattern Company. Pattern and fabric from Seams Fabric in East Lansing (they ship everywhere!)

This ruana is doubleknit in a blue and gray plaid. I love wearable blankets (perfect for WFH at my desk AND hockey rinks for my kids (which is the only place I ever go these days!) The sweater is secondhand. Pants are the wide leg pant by Christine Jonson Patterns (cropped), which have a slim slightly barrel-leg shape. The pockets are super clever since the pants don’t have sideseams and I’ve reviewed these on the blog.

This fleece ruana is from teal Polartec 200 (Mill Direct Textiles/Mill Yardage in MA) and a direct knockoff of one I saw at a craft and food market in Avignon, France in the fall of 2008. The sweater is secondhand as are the wide leg trouser jeans.

That Cambria Duster making a re-appearance with an oversized lightweight white turtleneck and jeans. The top is the Christine Jonson Three Tees which has a dropped, almost dolman shoulder line, a loose fit, and comes in a cut on cap sleeve tee, turtleneck with or without sleeves, a tunic and dress length. I have used this pattern so many times. I have even made nightgowns from the dress length one (and they are my favorites.)

This is a week’s worth of outfits with (almost) nothing new. The jeans in the video above are “new” but several years old now.

Each of these outfits is autumn-suitable and a mix of thrifted or secondhand plus some me-made garments. I’m trying to add more color to my neutrals for fall and winter (I have fallen into the sad beige trend like everyone else, which we call “quiet luxury” but in the depths of fall and winter, it was just sad, sad dark colors.) My goal is to add in bright punches of color in my neutrals-heavy wardrobe this year. The fuscia pants (cropped, cotton lycra knit) I made 2 summers ago as a 2-piece set with a wrap top and the “new to me” ones are corduroy wide leg cargo pocket pants. Teal, navy also make an appearance and are great bases / color accents to neutrals.

There’s a fine line between a middle aged woman wearing pink pants stylishly and looking like a 4pm early bird dinner attendee, so I am balancing these with my neutrals for more sophistication. But, too, I see a lot of millennial and genZ women online (who sew) who are mixing things up in a fun and bright way, so I, too, want to dive into that trend I see in my sewing community.

My local friend Julie tells me to “get on my bicycle for everyday trips” so I will definitely need to make a more sturdy and stylish ankle wrap for that for the wide pants shown here in these videos. Stay tuned, another handmade is coming for that.