Summer Capsule - How Did I Do?!

Summer may be coming to a close for some peope, but here in TX, we'll be hot for at least another month. And possibly through Christmas - yes, I've had my a/c on at Christmas time.  However, I try to switch my wardrobe seasonally even if it's only my colors. Since summer "ends" on September 22nd, I'm going to declare my summer color palette done!

So.  How did I do on my capsule?  Here was my lofty goal:

Did I get everything sewn?  Nope.  Did I have a good time putting together a cohesive capsule?  YES!!!  In fact, I downloaded the Fall palette just today and am gathering my patterns and fabrics. 

So, you may be thinking, what were my final resuts?  Here are my sucesses:

1. Color Palette!  I really, really liked having a color palette to work with. It wasn't set in stone, but it really made pulling my capsule together much easier.  Total win. 
2. White denim skirt.  LOVE this skirt. In fact since it's cream and not actually a true white, I think I'm going to move it into fall and keep wearing it.  I will post a review becuase I really loved the snaps and the final result.
3. Casual dress - another piece that I LOVE! 
   
   The navy is darker in person, but what I really like best is that my stripes matched PERFECTLY!  This is just an inexpensive knit from one of the Walmart bundles, but I wore this dress comfortably all summer. If I was going to have navy in my fall color palette - I'm not! - this would easily transition this with a cute denim jacket. That being said, in spring, this will be back in my wardrobe!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
4. Olive knit top - another total win! My lace was a remnant I got in a scrap pack. It worked really well in this capsule and it's such a feminine look for a casual top

   

    
5. Navy linen pants - ok, here's the deal.  The Style Arc pattern is fantastic. I'm really happy with the wide leg that is not really on-trend. But.  The fabric isn't navy.  It's BLUE. Like a true blue. Not even close to navy. And my fabric grew throughout the day. So I purposely tossed them in the dryer to shrink them and they are better. But they're just not what I was envisioning. I definitely plan to use the pattern again with a different fabric.
6. Beyond Basic White T - this really turned out lovely, but it might be a little dressier
   
   than I was planning.  That's not the worst thing in the world as I'm not really a super casual dresser.   I was concerned that the fabric might be a little thin, but it ended up working well. This is another piece that was really flexible in my wardrobe and just went with everything.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I'm going to add an honorable mention! 
   
   This is the Ellie and Mac Discovery T. This wasn't in my project plan, but I came across this saffron striped fabric and it matched my color paletted perfectly. FabricMart had the stretch lace knit and I knew it would be a good match. I'm not normally a fan of anything yellow, so this was definitely out of my comfort zone. However, it goes great with my denim capris and the white denim skirt. This color won't be in my fall capsule, but I think the color transitions nicely into fall and so it will stay in my wardrobe.

What Didn't Work

1. <sigh> I really wanted my white dress to work. I switched to the Chalk and Notch Orchid pattern at the last moment. It did not work out for a variety of reasons. I made an adjustment to the bodice length that I don't think I actually needed.  This is the biggest problem with the dress and I need to adjust the cross-over so it doesn't gape. Which means I need to unpick the serging. UGH!  And the fabric I used is lovely - but maybe not for this pattern. I'm hoping that once I fix the gaping bodice, I'll like it. But I will focus on that next spring. 
2. Casual Romper - this one was 100% user error 😑 I don't know if I was sewing too late or I just wasn't comprehending, but I kept having to rip out seams after I serged them together wrong. After the 5th time, I gave up. The knit fabric was getting all stretched out, and even if I had finally got it sewn together correctly, it would have looked wonky. So I tossed it. I wasn't in love with the fabric when it actually arrived so I'm not really sad that it didn't work out. I will definitely try the pattern again with a different fabric - and not sew it wrong a zillion times!

What Didn't Get Made

Just the striped shorts! And I love the fabric I chose so I'm actually sad that this one didn't make it to the cutting table! Helen's Closet recently posted a hack of the Gilbert/Reynolds Dress mashup using a striped fabric that was super cute. It's definitely on the back of my mind!

So what's next? Well I did purchase the Fall Everyday Style capsule planner. I will only be sewing a couple of things because this is my busy time of year at work and have been working 50+ hours a week.  Since there are only so many hours in a day, my sewing time typicaly suffers. But!  I do have plans for a couple of things.  Stay tuned!!