Genderless Jumpsuit

For years, I’ve been trying to find a genderless, tailored jumpsuit. But, it seemed like designers were either making hyper-feminine jumpsuits for the girly girl or ill-fitting, oversized jumpsuits to be on trend. Neither offered options that I could take to a tailor for alternations without paying a whole lot of money to alter a garment that I wouldn’t love in the end. So, Shao Yang (Founder of The Tailory NYC) suggested that we make a tailored jumpsuit using the same measurements and fit as my suits. Basically, she was ready to blow the binary and traditional jumpsuit out of the water.

Like creating a custom suit, there are endless possibilities when it comes to creating a custom jumpsuit. One thing I knew was that I wanted to create something that I could wear for any occasion and, that’s when the questions began. Should we create a solid or patterned jumpsuit? Should it be a combination of both (ie: patchwork)? Short sleeve or long sleeve? Collarless or collar? So many questions!!! Out of all the questions asked, I knew I wanted it to button up and have two chest pockets. So, I guess you could say I had an idea of what I wanted.

Every Little Detail

As I shared in my last post, for me the hardest part in designing a custom piece is selecting the fabric. Can you imagine how the first step is my toughest…lol. In my defense, I’m always searching for new ways to be non-traditional while also wearing colors and prints that you’d least expect to see me in. After going through numerous swatch books I finally decided on this bold stripe print and that’s when the magic began!

Shao and I are constantly pushing my style envelope! By playing with stripe positioning and tonal effects the result is always a little edgy. This time, instead of designing a completely vertical suit, we altered the pockets to sit on the horizontal. Can you visualize how that minor detail makes all the difference in the way you see the pattern? Next we had to choose whether I wanted a waist belt, drawstring tie, or just an elastic cinched waist. Not wanting to make the suit too feminine I nixed the waist belt look. Also, I figured by leaving it plain it could come off too boxy looking. Finally, I chose a drawstring tie closure that would sit comfortably at my waistline continuing with the androgynous feel. I wanted to have seasonal versatility with this jumpsuit so I decided to add sleeve tabs and that contributed to the sleek and utilitarian vibe of the look.

Now that I’ve swayed from “my normal” two-piece suit…is this new venture something you want to more of?

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