SMOKING in the rain.-

Sewing for friends. CRISTINA wears a tailored tuxedo suit at the annual PASSEJADA AMB BARRET held in Barcelona's downtown on April 14, 2018. Photo by STEPHEN WHITWELL.

Although it is a daytime event, it was intended to bring the elegance of the "black tie" to the celebration. So it's actually a three-piece SUIT consisting of a jacket, pants and vest, and also a cotton shirt with classic wing collar topped with a black silk bow tie also made for the purpose. Some references here, here and here.

The beginning. Choosing fabrics, matching textures, sewing and ironing tests, this is essential for a perfect garment.

The jacket is classic single-breasted and has a DOUBLE WELT POCKET, side panel, and two-piece sleeve. It has been made in BARATHEA (Grain de poudre), wool fabric from ELPON, and lined with viscose twill. Contrast PEAK LAPEL in black silk satin duchesse from MARCO PASCALI.

Trousers are straight with IN-SEAM POCKETS, shaped waistband and side trimming (Formal pants should always have a grosgrain, silk or satin trim down the leg. "Bona fide fancy braiding" is the real classic).

The vest is a classic not-lapel WAISTCOAT, made in the same fabric as the suit with a center front three-button closure.

The shirt is also the classic DRESS SHIRT with winged collar, long sleeves with French cuffs, made of white shirting cotton fabric. Small antique buttons of black wood and made to measure bow tie in black silk satin duchesse.

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Sewing. A traditional tailoring contruction process has been followed for all garments. Some references here and here.

Padding the chest of a jacket. Pad stitches are a type of running stitch made by placing small stitches perpendicular to the line of stitching. Pad stitches secure two or more layers of fabric together and give the layers more firmness; smaller and denser stitches create more firmness. They may also be used to enforce an overall curvature of the layers (WIKIPEDIA).

VPO 2093 Yves Saint Laurent - Halter bodice evening dress.-

ALEXANDRE hairstyle for "Yves Saint Laurent" Haute-Couture spring/summer 1968. L´Officiel de la Mode 555-556 from 1968. Scan from LES EDITIONS JALOU.

VOGUE PARIS ORIGINAL 2093.- One-Piece evening dress. Floor length gathered skirt attached to halter bodice gathered to neckband. Bodice criss-crossed low at side. Purchase belt.

Instructions sheet: Fully lined, underlined bodice, lap bodice front over bodice back ends in a deep armhole. Side zipper and hook & eyes bodice closure.

According to the VINTAGE PATTERNS WIKIA this pattern was featured on February/March 1969 Vogue Pattern Book, and presumably belongs to the Spring/Summer 1968 Haute Couture collection.
From Blog Pattern Vault: Goddess Gowns 

LBD - Vogue 1567 top + LEHENGA skirt.-

A little black dress is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel and Jean Patou intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral colour. Its ubiquity is such that it is often simply referred to as the "LBD".

The "little black dress" is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and fashion observers, who believe it a "rule of fashion" that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion: for example, worn with a jacket and pumps for daytime business wear or with more ornate jewelry and accessories for evening or a formal event such as a wedding or a ball. Source WIKIPEDIA

VOGUE 1567 Close-fitting top with dolman sleeves + LEHENGA SKIRT, both Paco Peralta-designer original.

For both garments I used stretch-wool crepe from TISSUS DE RÊVE. Skirt is fully lined with light stretch lining (polyester 100%), specifically designed to be used as a lining for underneath stretch fabrics.

Available patterns:

VOGUE 1567 Top & Skirt

LEHENGA skirt

Shoes: ZARA. Gold and Lapis lazuli earrings: JURA GOLUB Atelier

Special thanks to the COLORS-UP team

Pattern Review: Vogue 1567 Top/Skirt.-

VOGUE 1567 Paco Peralta / Designer Original. Pattern description, from VOGUE PATTERNS website: Close-fitting top has dolman sleeves. Skirt has waistband with side draping that forms pockets.

I used black & white gingham taffeta (100% polyester) for the skirt, and black viscose/rayon knit for the top.

Seams are finished with double fold bias of black lining what makes it look clean and well-finished.

Special thanks to the COLORS-UP team. Location: COLORS-UP headquarters

Sandals: Mango. Vintage nacre/silver earrings: Scooter Jewellery-Paris

Check out PatternVault blog for more details of Paco Peralta's patterns for Vogue

Sewing sequined fabrics.-

Sewing sequined fabrics is a very difficult task if we want to obtain a clean and smooth seams.

Preparing cutting studying the fabric layout. In this case, and taking advantage of the horizontal chevron pattern I placed the bust dart in one of the lines. Then marking the seam lines with basting. Before sewing, also need to reinforce neckline and armholes with stay tape or stay stitching.

Remove any sequins from the seam allowances of the fabric before sewing.-

Baste the seams on the outside and then machine sew on the inside. This is the appearance of the bust dart once sewn and finished.-

Side seans: Hand sew sequins to cover bare spots along seam line trying to recover the original pattern of the fabric as much as possible.  Neckline is finished with hand embroidered sequins strips.  Neckline and armholes seam allowances are hand-turned inwards and fastened with herringbone stitch. The lining is cut with the same pattern and held by hand stitches at the edges.-

Tips and tricks.-

Sewing sequins guide by JOANN

Sewing with sequins by FABRIC.COM