The off the shoulder and cold shoulder trend is still around. I also know for a fact it will still be here when Spring RTW hits the stores sometime in the new year. However, I personally need a break from the style. I’d also like to have warm shoulders during Winter. I’m all about comfort in cold weather. If it isn’t soft and warm, it won’t get a look in, no matter what.
Not everything is worth refashioning, but this particular top was. The fabric is a beautiful pure cotton Italian jersey. It is a smooth, lightweight knit without the addition of any other fibres or elastic, so it washes beautifully and wears well. The fabric deserves to be worn, which is probably why this top has been modified so many times.
It started as an off the shoulder top. But I hate strapless bras so after the first few wears, I made it more wearable by adding shoulder straps to conceal a bra. However, this top does not suit being worn under a jacket or even on it’s own in Winter for that matter.
I had a cotton/viscose cardigan in my closet that was given to me (that I was never going to wear), so I used that to replace the missing shoulder portion of the original top. I sliced the elastic and shoulder straps off my cold shoulder top (in a straight line). I then placed the cold shoulder top over an existing top and used that as a guide to cut the shoulder portion from the cardigan.
If I’d been working with a plain T instead of a cardigan, I could have simply sewn the top portion on to the cold shoulder top. However, the cardigan needed a little more prep. I overlapped the front, removed the neck ribbing and then reattached it. I also gathered the sleeves to fit the cold sholder sleeves (which were more fitting). This is my favourite feature of the new top – those little puffs above the old sleeves. Why am I feeling puffy sleeves so much lately?!
I love my new top. I loved the old versions too. If it were Summer all year round, I may have kept them, but I’m going to get so much more wear out of this beautiful fabric now.
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