Tuesday, July 28, 2009

anthropologie knockoff: a skirt story

I have two favorite snoop shopping stops on the web...anthroplogie and myshape.com. Both are favorites because I can mix and match pieces & accessories, and several things are suggested for different pieces. (Or at least that USED to be the case at anthro...their new site is much less user friendly and blah.)

I put together little collages of items and save them for sewing inspiration. Here's one I've been meaning to knock off since spring:


I love the whole outfit! The kimono overblouse, the turquoise gathered neckline tee, the chunky amethyst necklace... And the little skirt which is so simple but has some pretty touches. The anthropologie skirt is silk with a simple elastic waist, two layers. The underlayer is longer and has several rows of gold "handpicked" hem. Here's the anthropologie skirt hem:


To start, I had a piece of reddish pink lightweight chambray in stash (going on 7 years now), that was just enough to knock off this skirt! The color was hard to photograph today with the dodgy clouds, but here's the finished skirt:


Just 4 simple rectangles, the top layer shorter than the bottom. I basted them together at the top edge and made a casing through both layers to insert my 1/2" elastic. (If I'm going to wear an elastic waist, I'd much rather wear a narrow one!)


I used a poly embroidery thread in gold to do my topstitching on the bottom layer of the hem. There are 7 rows total:


Here's a shaded picture on me, this is a pretty accurate reflection of the color. I really like the skirt with my turquoise tee. I chose gold "gladiator" type sandals instead of brown slides though.


Ta da! A (formerly $90) skirt, for...about an hour and a half. Since I had all supplies on hand, and used stash fabric, it's basically a freebie.

In case you're wondering, I'm still not doing my hair:


Viva la Summer!!

19 comments:

  1. I love that skirt.

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  2. Very cute skirt. Unique, but simple!

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  3. Isn't that the greatest satisfaction, when you can knock of an expensive garment--and one that's custom fit? Very nice.

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  4. I love that skirt!

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  5. Wow! I'm impressed. That looks really cute

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  6. I love your skirt!!! I love anthropologie for knock off ideas too. They are too expensive for me to buy.

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  7. Love the gold thread.

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  8. Great knock-off! The gold topstitching is a nice finish.

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  9. Very cute skirt! I love Anthropologie for inspiration, too. AND I think of stash sewing as free stuff!

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  10. Excellent knock-off! Take that overpriced skirt - Angie don't need you!! :)

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  11. You sure have been busy this summer! Love the skirt!!! (Sigh - I wish I could sew a straight enough line to even make two rows of topstitching...)

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  12. Great job on the skirt. If I take that idea and run with it--is it still an Anthro knock-off or is it a QT knock-off?

    And it's summer - who cares about doing the hair? I would have pulled it into a pony at least you did something. g

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  13. wow! super cute! "Pony-tail it up" in the summer time is pretty much my motto! Too warm to fix hair!!

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  14. Loving that skirt. Me too, just letting the hair do what it wants this summer.

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  15. Love it! Great job : )

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  16. Every time you post about a new outfit you created I can't help but think about how many times we watched Pretty in Pink! :-)

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  17. Great knock-off...love the skirt on you.

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  18. I featured this post on my blog :)

    http://ruedevampdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/02/anthropologie-knock-off-ideas.html

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