The Unisex Shirt
The weekend long read.
Drumroll please…..
I’d like to welcome you to…..
Menswear Month!
The time has come to pad out the menswear range to create a complete outfit. So far we have the Unisex Shirt and the Jaime Jacket. And later this month I’ll be releasing a brand new pattern: the Worker Trousers (menswear version)!
After the launch of our Jaime Jacket I had lots of questions about adding trousers, specifically the Worker Trousers. It’s an idea that’s been on the back burner for a while and so in December I got to work drafting, toiling, re-toiling, sampling, re-sampling and generally getting a feel for this new pattern.
The fitting process for the trousers showed me just how different mens trousers fit to women’s trousers. I found the lack of curves on the male body baffling but really interesting to develop a cut for. It was really fun working on a different silhouette and challenge my perception of fit.
I plan to launch this new pattern at the end of the month and I’ll photograph the trousers as part of a complete menswear look, incorporating the Jaime Jacket and Unisex Shirt. So over the course of the month I’ll be making all 3 garments, kicking off with the Unisex Shirt first.
My 3 fabrics for the menswear look - all from the Cloth House.
The fabric choice for this shirt is a khadi which reminds me very much of my days sourcing fabrics from India. It was lovely to work with a handwoven fabric again. This one is particularly fine but I know it will be surprisingly strong, as is the nature of khadi.
If you haven’t come across khadi before, it’s a hand-spun, handwoven fabric made on traditional hand-powered wooden looms. It is celebrated as the essence of Indian fabric, promoted by Ghandi to take back ownership of the Indian textile industry during British occupation. It has strong political roots and an almost spiritual identity. It’s a fascinating subject and I do recommend reading up more if you’re interested.
I travelled to India in 2018 and 2020 to visit fabric suppliers for my previous business and journaled through photography as I went. The photos show various processes in the production process of handmade, naturally dyed fabrics.
This khadi is from The Cloth House in Camden which has the most beautiful selection of fabric along with a beautiful range of fabrics from India. I really recommend taking a look as they are quite special.
This was a very straight forward make and I followed the pattern down to the last notch. No changes at all. So there isn’t much to share by way of make notes. I took my time photographing it in a soft winter light and the images have a sculptural feel. So instead of a big write up on this make, please enjoy these simple, honest photos of a shirt made in traditional Indian fabric.
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