Week 2: Oxford Gent

I'm so excited to be able to compete in Week 2 of Project Run and Play.

Thanks anyone who voted for my Plaid Jacket outfit last week!  I really appreciate it.
Today we're competing with our boy look.
Click HERE to check out all the amazing looks, and hopefully you like mine enough to vote for it!
Voting poll is on left sidebar.

My favorite boys style is vintage inspired, but modern enough not to look like a costume.
 This particular little set includes:

 faux-flat front elastic waist trousers, collared waistcoat, and a long-sleeved tattersall dress shirt with elbow patches.

For this look my son was the model at our local library.

Our library is really old, built over a century ago in 1907.

INSPIRATION:

Because boy's clothing is pretty basic, for me, it's all about the details.

The greatest inspiration for this look is 19th century British gentlemen's elaborate suiting--without the weird billowing button-crotch pants.  I've always loved the mens' costumes in period films with their high starched collars and layered waistcoats and jackets.

It doesn't make much sense, but CS Lewis got mixed in the inspiration here, which made me think of using chocolate corduroy and adding the corduroy elbow patches to the shirt.  A little professor vibe mixing in.

The last man that inspired me was Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird), one of my favorite literary heroes and the reason I really wanted a pocket watch to be involved somehow.  

DRESS SHIRT:

The blue dress shirt is made with a simple tattersall plaid.  I cut the body of the shirt on grain, and chose to have the yoke, pocket, sleeves and button placket on the bias or diagonal.
My favorite element of the shirt has to be the white contrasting cuffs and again the stiff, standing collar.  

Detail of bias button placket and chest pocket.

I've only sewn one dress shirt before this one, so I was really proud of my little plackets, as I had to just come up with my own little pattern for the placket, cuffs, and collar.  I used one of my son's existing dress shirts as a pattern for the body and sleeves.

The shirt also has elbow patches, which are obviously traditionally on jackets, but I thought for a little boy, it was functional and unique to have them on the dress shirt.

WAISTCOAT:

This waistcoat has two waist welt pockets and an additional little chest welt pocket.  Boys always need a few extra pockets for all their treasures.  One pocket in this case is for his cousin's pocket watch we borrowed, which he loved because it had a train on the front. The waistcoat is lined in chocolate satin.

The biggest design element that makes this waistcoat unique is the the standing collar.  You can find vests with lapels, but the whole standing collar isn't common and I really like the look.
Here's what the waistcoat looks like when buttoned up the whole way:

  I also chose to sew the hem straight across like the Victorian styling rather than traditional pointed vests.  

TROUSERS:

These were the easiest piece of my look.  I made the front of the pants flat with a faux fly, slant pockets and the back has elastic to keep them up.  I made a straight leg, but kept it pretty loose through the leg as my son has his dad's ham-hock thighs.  

I love this outfit.  I think from a distance it looks just like a pant/vest set and blue shirt, but if you look close, you notice all the unique details from the collars to the subtle tattersall plaid.

 Altogether a classic little suit with some historical fashion elements, while sitll leaving room for some little boy under all the gentleman.