"Up North" Mini-Wardrobe

To celebrate our first anniversary (woot!), the Mr. and I are planning a trip "up North" in August.  If you've never been there, northern Michigan might not sound that appealing, but believe me, its stunningly beautiful at this time of year.

Here's where we'll be staying, a beautiful "contemporary" bed and breakfast in the Traverse City area.  If it's anything like the pictures, we're in for a real treat!

With cool breezes, panoramic vistas, and sunset sails in mind, I can't resist the temptation to put together an "up North" mini-wardrobe for the trip.  I'm not alone in this impulse--Cidell is also at work on a travel wardrobe, although from the sound of it hers will be much more practical than mine.  But even if my wardrobe, as a whole, is a bit whimsical, I'm hoping that the individual pieces--pencil skirts and lightweight tops--will actually be pretty versatile.

Here are the pieces I have planned:

• a "beignet"-inspired skirt in ivory cotton sateen
• a ruffled blouse, Burda 4-2010 #105, in a lightweight magenta silk shirting
• a summer jacket, also in ivory sateen, perhaps Burda 3-2010 #102
• a denim pencil skirt, which I will draft, with fabric from my stash
• a blue paisley Ute blouse (already completed)
• the green, pleat-front dress, Butterick 5455 (already completed)
• possibly, as the coup-de-grace, the Amy Butler weekend bag, in Ikea home dec fabric from my stash

This collection doesn't, strictly speaking, follow the rules for a wardrobe contest--although every top will go with every bottom, not all the pieces match one another, and I'm not at all sure how the jacket will work with any of the tops, since I don't have anything like it in my closet right now.  But I think, on the whole, the wardrobe has a consistent feel to it, even if it's not completely mix-and-matchable.

As of right now, I have two pieces already completed: the paisley Ute (which I'll photograph and post about soon) and the green dress.  I've got the white skirt drafted, muslined, and partially cut out.  And I'm planning to sew up the jean skirt for PR's knockoff contest.  So I'm well on my way!