Jazz Accordion - Modest Fashion Top - Brought to life
Behind the Blouse
My favorite shirt is the Jazz Accordion. Why? That accordion pleat in the back is a game changer! Do not be surprised if you see me use this pleat again. It provided so much upstyle to what is a traditional jersey fabric!
When working on this design, the focus was to find the lightest jersey fabric possible without being see through. The fabric needed to flow nicely on the body.
After making the first sample a few things caught my attention.
First, the pocket bags were initially made of jersey. I placed my phone in my pocket and felt it stretch to what felt like my knees. Instantly, I realized we will need to change the fabric of the pocket bag. This was not a drastic change as we already had a chiffon fabric at the bottom hem of the shirt to be used.
In addition, the pocket sack needed to be increased to better fit a larger phone more comfortably. But a challenge is when you increase the pocket sac you need to think about the overall implication to the design. Will it pull on the fabric of the jersey? How is the pocket sac sewn? Will it peak from beneath the hem? All of these were questions that we answered in the second sample.
Second, the jersey fabric selected was so light that it clinged to the body. During our launch party, a customer noticed that her bra line was showing. She asked if there was a way to use a thicker jersey. Taking her concern into consideration, we instead added a thin chiffon layer to the front of the shirt only. This helped reduce the cling of the jersey without adding weight to the shirt. Why? We want this shirt to be a summer staple. We want you to enjoy hot weather without enduring the heat from a thick jersey fabric.
Third, the hem at the bottom of the shirt felt stiff. It was sewn at the same level of the shirt and attached as an extra piece. We wanted the shirt in feeling and style to be soft to the eyes. I recommended we sew the chiffon from the back of the hemmed shirt. This is a simple change, but managed to soften the feel of the look.
All in all, I am so happy with the final design for this long blouse. It has become one of my favorite closet staples!
It is currently available in Dusty Blue and Black, what other colors would you buy?