A Claudia tribute outfit – the trousers

After talking about the inspiration and my goals for this outfit, the drafting and sewing of the cape, and the incredible details of the silk shirt, we're now onto the final piece - the plum trousers! If you recall from my first post, the trousers used in the show were high waisted, wide legged, with a wide waistband and presumably a side zipper (as there's no front opening on the wastband). I actually hate wearing all of these things, so making this fit my own tastes while still looking similar was going to be a challenge!

After talking about the inspiration and my goals for this outfit, the drafting and sewing of the cape, and the incredible details of the silk shirt, we’re now onto the final piece – the plum trousers!

If you recall from my first post, the trousers used in the show were high waisted, wide legged, with a wide waistband and presumably a side zipper (as there’s no front opening on the wastband). I actually hate wearing all of these things, so making this fit my own tastes while still looking similar was going to be a challenge!

Thinking back to my original goals, I wanted to keep in the spirit of the outfit but make it my own. I’ve always hated photos of myself in wide legged trousers – I’m 5’8 (172cm) but for some reason a wide hem makes me look super short and super wide no matter how glamorous I may feel. But I didn’t feel like I could make a narrow legged trouser and still be in keeping with the original – or the vintage time period – so I resigned myself to looking through my pattern stash for wide legged trousers.

I decided to also keep the high waist but I opted for a front fly opening instead since side zippers always irritate my skin. Luckily, I found the perfect pair in the June 2023 Burda magazine, #108.

I had already bought the fabric for these trousers back in August (which I took along to match against cape fabrics), a gorgeous ex-designer Japanese burgundy acetate twill from New Craft House.

However, when I went to cut them out in October, I actually couldn’t fit these into the initial 2m I’d bought because of the very wide legs!! I was extremely lucky that this fabric was still in stock so I could buy more! I ended up buying another 1.5m so at £12 per metre it still added up to £42 in total.

There weren’t many opportunities to add special touches to these trousers but I did cut the pocket linings from the same black satin as the cape lining. It gives a subtle tie-in to the whole outfit plus feeling divine when I put my hands in the pockets.

I knew I’d gained about 5cm from my usual waist measurement while I’ve been stuck in bed with post-Covid fatigue for the past ten weeks, so I tried them on midway through construction with some trepidation. I’d gone up to a size 44 but even so, I still cut the waist area with extra wide 3cm seam allowances just in case. And it turned out that I needed them afterall! I went back and unpicked the side seams of the upper trousers and waistband pieces to let them out in the waist. It was a bit annoying but I’ve done so in such a way that it’s much easier to take them back in again later once I can start exercising again.

I’m pleased I took the extra time to let out the waist of these though, because it meant that they were much more comfortable to wear to the vampire party.

I love this fabric so much – it’s the most perfect drapey, bouncy, heavyweight fabric for wide legged trousers. So much so that these trousers have won me over to wide legs for life – the first pair of wide legged trousers I’ve ever loved! I’ve even gone and bought the same fabric in black now, too, so I can make these same trousers again! A bonus is that the black is also 50% off right now!

To keep the front of the trousers sleek, I used Prym hammer-in trouser hooks so they’d be concealed and closer to the original costume, but it does mean they’re pulling a little bit at the waistband, which is annoying. It wouldn’t have been apparent with buttons since the holes anchor both sides of the waistband, but since the hooks are only attached to the inner waistband, it’s pulling a bit here.

I also used my favourite concealed hem technique – I sewed trouser hem lace to the bottom edge by machine, and then hand stitched the lace to the trousers for a more lightweight hem that’s totally invisible, even if you squint!

Even though it’s hidden, I added a further tribute to Claudia inside the waistband, too.

Before I’d even finished sewing these I was already starting to pair them with tops in my wardrobe so I’ll definitely be wearing these again!

And this brings to a close my posts about this epic tribute to Claudia’s New Year’s Eve outfit! What was your favourite detail of the set? Anyone planning to sew something similar based on anything I’d made here?

3 Comments

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  1. 1
    Rachael

    Hi Melissa, Thank you for sharing the planning and sewing of this amazing outfit! I enjoyed reading about it so much! I love the dark lipstick pairing with the burgundy colors in the fabric, I think it pulls the outfit up another notch.

    The things that were extra special to me were 1. the armloops in the cape (what a fabulous idea; and are the loops invisible for the most part when you wear the cape without your hands in them? 2. that you made care to make the straight of grain along the seams of the cape so that it would drape nicely (hopefully I’m remembering that detail correctly and it made me wonder whether skirt patterns do that as well). 3. That you made the pants so that they would be easier to alter back into a smaller size for the future-and would you mind sharing that detail as I tend to go up and down a size from year to year. 4. The absolutely beautiful cape fabric-ohmygosh so gorgeous-and how you managed to find such a well matching pants fabric to go with it.

    The whole outfit is lovely. You look beautiful in it. I would be over the moon if I had sewn it. Well done. I’m sorry if I’m gushing. I know if I had seen your outfit in person, I would want to look at all the details closely. Rachael.

    • 2
      melissa

      omg thank you! This was the lovliest comment and it totally made my day when I saw it come in!!

      As for making the trousers easier to take in – usually trousers are constructed with the vertical seams first, then horizontal. So if you need to take in or let out along the vertical, you’ve got to unpick two as many seams. However, if you sew the horizontal first, then the vertical, you need only unpick the waistband facing understitching/topstitching to get to the vertical seams. So: sew the front waistband to the front facing to the front of the trousers (all the horizontals, and repeat for the back pieces). THEN sew up the side seams for the trousers, waistband, and waistband facings. Finally, understitch the waistband facing in place.

      Hope this makes sense!

  2. 3
    Rachael

    PS Forgot to add: 5) that pop of red in the black shirt is such a beautiful detail; reminds me of a black widow’s underbelly.
    Rachael

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