project past: ADRI, vintage vogue individualist designer pattern 1807

I have made this particular Vogue individualist pattern by Adri several times. The first time i used a beautiful dove grey fake-fur fabric for the jacket/coat and did not make the vest, because i did not want to cover this material.  Still remember when i finished this coat in winter of 2000/01, because i wore it to reunite with a friend for a visit in Paris, seemed appropriate to wear this coat there for the first time.  Alas, don't have this first edition of my version of this pattern anymore, but should you want to make just the coat without the vest a fake-fur fabric works well for this pattern because of the clean and simple lines of this design.

For the second edition of this coat i used a quilted shiny bottle green fabric and though it turned out all right i did not wear this green version a lot before it ended up in my good-will bag. Basically: wrong colour/fabric, felt like the incredible hulk due to the bulky green material i used ;-)

I have made a third version since and this time included the vest, unfortunately the black knitted fabric i used for the jacket/coat doesn't wear very well, or rather the coat doesn't keep its shape on account of the elasticity of the knitted fabric. This fabric was an open knit but after prewashing it too hot it had accidentally felted to a closed thick rather stiff material. Hence my decision to use this fabric to make a coat. I added a quilted lining that was finished with a black acetate on one side and a grey acetate fabric on the other side with the batting in between. This to offset any remaining openness in the black knitted fabric to prevent wind-chill. The vest is made of a light weight printed fake-fur.  Wearing both the vest with the coat is rather bulky but nice and warm on a cold winter day.  I'm thinking about remaking the coat of a light weight felted wool fabric in a light grey colour to match the vest.  Haven't decided yet but i think i will do so.

It is an easy coat to make, simple and straight forward. As usual i have made some changes to this design:  a lining is added for extra warmth, so far not buttons but fur-clips or snaps were used as a closure with a hook and eye clasp at the collar for my latest version of this pattern. It is a very loose fitting coat and because the pattern dates from 1986, it has the extended big shoulders with shoulder pads.   I remember using smaller shoulder pads in the first version of the coat, but no shoulder pads were used in this present black version. As a result i had to take in the coat in for about 2,5 cm  (1 inch) at the side seams  ( and adjust the side pockets) to get the proportions right for all the versions i made. Otherwise the coat would have been too loose fitting on my small frame.  Mind you the raglan sleeves of this design are perfect for a wintercoat, one can easily wear a thick sweater or vest underneath this jacket. Getting rid of the big shoulderpads makes for quite a timeless clean and classic design.  Don't need a shawl, the high collar keeps you warm. Add the vest for another warm layer and a different look.  Basically one gets two coats in one with this Vogue individualist pattern by Adri.