But what do I wear to the Eiffel??? | McCall's 7730

Bonjour!! Thanks for coming back! Back in May, I took a great Eurotrip and the first stop was Paris, France! We all know that one of the main attractions of Paris is the infamous Eiffel Tower and I knew that I wanted to get some great pics there. But what to wear???

I landed on a look that was sleek and Parisian (in my mind haha) and ran with it.

This jacket is McCall's 7730 in size 12 (D cup), but while I was making it, it was CLEAR that I should have gone with a 14... I'll get into that in a second. I made View C with the upper sleeve extended down to my wrists.

The fabric for the shell of this jacket is a purchase from Panama. I got this fabric December 2017 when I was there for 2 weeks. I actually have a Fabric Shopping Vlog and Panama Fabric Blog you can check out to see the other things I got.
This fabric an abstract Aztec print. It could very well be used for upholstery but it's not stiff.
The lining fabrics are 2 different linings that came in a bin of fabrics that were gifted to me.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out good print placement for this fabric. I did my best to match across the back and across the opening of the front. I think it all turned out REALLY well.

As I mentioned earlier, this jacket is a bit too small for me. It's SUPER tight across the back and I have never had that problem before in any pattern that I have made so that was definitely a shocker to me. I was more worried about the bust than the back but turns out it should have been the opposite lol. So I let out the center back seam at the upper back until the SA was only about 1/4". I made sure to sew some Stay Tape in the seam as well to keep it stabilized and strong from the stress it will inevitably go through.
I also stabilized the shoulders, the pockets, and underneath the arms with Stay Tape as well.

It's also hard to lift/fold my arms so I can't do too much crazy movement. I was telling my mom, I love it, and I'm going to wear it, but if I was trying it on in a store, I definitely would not have bought it because of fit.

An adjustment I made that I believe hurt the fit as well is my normal 1" swayback adjustment. This pattern did not need it, so now I can see the drag lines that wouldn't exist if I hadn't done it. Most people won't realize but it stares me right in the face lol

I wasn't clear on the instructions for the vent, so I kind of did my own thing lol. It looks fine from the outside (and inside, just bulky) but I know that I need to actually look up how to properly do that technique.
Also, I should have graded out to a 14 in the hips because that is the range my hip measurement fits in lol I guess I wasn't thinking when I was cutting. But the side seam definitely slants straight the the back because I don't have enough room.

To hem the sleeves, I just cut that a little long and started removing strands from the weave to make a fringe. I think it gives the jacket a cute edge to it. for the sleeve lining, I just cut them a couple inches shorter than the sleeve, serged the edge and let them hang.

To top off the look, I made a beret out of burgundy faux leather that I got from NY a few years ago. I used Erica B's beret tutorial. My beret actual turned out a little big because I was scared I was going to make it too small *rolls eyes*. It actually blew off my head a couple of times hahaha. It was REALLY windy in Paris for the few days I was there!

Overall, as I stated above, I do love this jacket, it just doesn't fit the best lol I've already worn it again and I get SO many compliments on it! I'm glad I learned a bit of do's and dont's with this project and should look into fitting a bit more before cutting fabric.

What do you think about it?? Have you ever been to Paris? Tell me about it!

xoxo,

Tasha