Perhaps...........just for mowing

I picked up this linen Zegna men's shirt at one of the thrift stores I stop in every now and then. As soon as I saw it, I loved the light weight linen and the COLORS!  I don't remember what I paid, probably $4.95.  That's generally my limit for men's shirts at that particular store.  As I recall, I also picked up a solid light blue silk shirt the same day, but it's still in the "to be reworked" bin.

The collar on this shirt does not have a separate band and collar.  Can you see?  I don't know that I've seen the cut on band in men's shirts that often. Or, maybe I just don't look at men's shirts that often.

Win a few - lose a few.  I had high hopes for this shirt.  I wanted it to be a fun, loose summer top.  I worked on it a couple of weeks ago.  At that time, I took in the side seams and the upper part of the sleeves to cut down on volume under the arm. Then it sat draped over the dress form waiting for me to decide what to do next.  I knew it needed short sleeves. The 90 degree weather is here (and the 100's aren't far behind) and the humidity has been pretty high already.

I cut off the length and really cut off more of the front than I liked.  No problem, I thought; I'll figure something out.  I took the original curved hemline that I had cut off and pinned a section of the old hemline to the bottom of the shirt, a la Marcy Tilton. I made the back hemline a bit longer at center back like the previous woven T shirt I had made.  I'm not really a "high/low" hemline person, but in these tops, I'm ok with them since the wrong side of the fabric doesn't show in the back as it would on a dress.

The buttons:  my first thought was to replace the buttons with something more colorful, and then I realized the buttons had the "ZZ" mark on them.  I decided to keep the designer buttons at that point.  That saved me from going through the button stash and trying to make the "perfect" button decision.  Oh, and there is a ruffle peeping out of the top of the pocket that I left sewn in place.

In the end, it's OK, just OK.  I think it  just still looks too much like a men's shirt.  Either the magic closet will do it's work OR I will be mowing the pasture wearing it.  As a linen, it will definitely be a cool shirt that will get softer with many washings - something nice and comfortable for riding the mower in the Texas heat.  So.... not a total loss!

The fabric for DGD's top arrived this week.  I had hoped to get it cut, but all I did was get washed and in the dryer.  Perhaps I'll get a chance to work on it this weekend, if the garden doesn't keep me too busy in my spare time.