skirtcafe.org

I have been looking for a skirted business suit. Even going into seperate's I can't find a jacket that fits right. I have some business suits that I have not worn for a while. I began thinking The jacket fits right
and the pants are the correct size. What are the chances of making a skirt out of the pants. I would not try it myself. I would use a tailor .Has anybody done this and how did it turn out. Since the pants start to taper I am assuming I would end up with a sort of pencil skirt.

There are some tutorials on converting old jeans to a skirt both online and on YouTube so something could be done. Some things that come into mind are the fly, center/back seams, and taper as you mentioned. There is nothing you can do about the fly or center/back seams. I'm not sure how that would look on a business skirt as most have plain fronts and back zippers. Though the taper and be adjusted either by starting with a larger pants size or by using a triangle piece to fill in the taper.

Most of the "trouser-to-skirt" conversions don't produce very good-looking garments. The tactic is OK -- just -- for jeans-to-skirt conversions but would fail miserably for anything even remotely "dressy". Likely the best tactic in this regard might be to select one or two of the jackets as baselines and scour places for suitable skirts that are a close match. Expect this to take some time.

I looked at the pants and I can see the problems and that it would not look good. I just had a thought. I am looking for a 20 inch long skirt. If I save the top portion of the pants. with the loops is about 2 inches. than deconstructed the pants completely if there would be enough material to make a skirt

oldsalt1 wrote:I looked at the pants and I can see the problems and that it would not look good. I just had a thought. I am looking for a 20 inch long skirt. If I save the top portion of the pants. with the loops is about 2 inches. than deconstructed the pants completely if there would be enough material to make a skirt

The answer here is, "Perhaps." The details would only be identified by careful measurement of what all the dimensions are before undertaking the project -- and that will only determine if there is enough fabric to do the job.

The devil, of course, lurks in the details, and those details revolve around the very different way that skirts are constructed from trousers. The very best one can hope for in such a conversion is a skirt that is very obviously derived from trouser-construction, and that means a front-facing fly and a very prominent seam at centre back. In all the conversions I've seen -- and some of these include "women's skirts" that bear all the hallmarks of such conversions -- there is a large area of interface difficulty in getting what was once an inseam sewn up so it's reasonably flat to form the actual skirt which hangs below the "yoke" which is formed by the top portion of what was once a pair of trousers.

As I mentioned before, you're probably better off mixing/matching separates than trying to do a conversion; I just feel the results would look too awkward to be presentable in a "suit situation". However, I freely and happily grant bonus points for the consideration. (Kirbstone has one bespoke skirt suit that is absolutely exquisite; I believe it can be seen in one of his threads in the "Pics and Looks" section. I freely admit that I remain green with envy for him with that rig.)

Can you think of any manufacturer that makes suits for men and women. If there is maybe I can find matching materials and colors

I just went on macy's account they sell alfani clothing for men and women. I wonder if I can find a match there. going to give it a try

If you're willing to be less formal that a suit, you could pair a nice (male) blazer with an appropriate skirt. Now that I'm getting more confident in going anywhere in a skirt, I may do this with a navy blazer that I have when I'm looking for something dressier. Now that I think about it, I did this once for a symphony concert about three years ago - navy blazer, long black skirt and probably a white mock turtleneck shirt.

oldsalt1 wrote:Can you think of any manufacturer that makes suits for men and women. If there is maybe I can find matching materials and colors

Yes; seems to be the obvious thing to do : a man's jacket and a woman's skirt, but to find the same cloth in the same colour would be rather hard.
A look around the net, I found no matching suits, except where both persons wore black jacket and trousers. Skirts are becoming a rarity.

Plenty of idea to match t-shirts, pullovers etc, but nothing formal.

Martn

The obvious option is to have a new suit made up by a tailor and instead of or in addition to trousers have an A-line, or whatever is your preference, skirt made up. Should be a doddle for a decent tailor.

To sinned Please help. It has been a pleasure going back and forth with you and the other members on many topics. I am not a computer expert I have been trying to post I think it is called an avatar and I am trying to send pictures . I am getting nowhere can you tell me how to do it or where I can find help. Thank you

The avatar question was asked directly in one of the areas recently, I think off-topic.

As to your suit question, I've seen women's suits that for all the world looked like men's with the buttons on the wrong side and a skirt instead of pants, but the odds of matching a skirt to one of your suit jackets is almost astronomical. Even if you did, it still wouldn't look right because the jackets in women's suits are so much shorter than men's. I know, I've tried. I even bought a black men's suit I didn't really need thinking the jacket was short enough to work with one of my skirts. It wasn't. Instead I found a great Liz Claiborne jacket in Penney's.

Look in the sizing charts online for a jacket size that should fit. If you can't find a spec for a jacket per se, go for the dress size that should fit your chest and be ready to also try a size up. A jacket is one item that can be tried in the store aisle without going to a fitting room.

Good luck.

For a point of reference I wear a 42 jacket and 34 pants . about what size should I start with

Through the years there have been a number of long line jackets - from the 1800's Wyery Twerp to the Beatles' ones in the 60's with the high lapels. The jackets don't have to be as long as those but they would provide a basis for negotiation and with a shortish, certainly above the knee, A-line or pleated/box-pleated skirt the ensemble would really rock. If MOH was more supportive of my skirting choice I would lash out the moolah and visit a tailors tomorrow. Especially as I haven't bought a suit for, it must be, ten years or so. I wouldn't necessarily be thinking of black/dark blue either. Pale blue, purple/lilac or even white or yellow would probably be my choices. I did say that I like bright colours. Not sure about material, I would have to take advice over that. The skirt must have pockets in it, naturally and belt loops.

BTW on my day off today I have spent the whole day outside in the garden in just a skirt and underwear laying down paving stones. It's another baby step as it will be the first time I will have spent so much time outside with her skirted and one of the few days I have spent skirted ALL day. I'm going to pop out to BK for something to eat, MOH has gone to work and I'm hungry. Whoopy doooo. It has been a wonderful day, plenty of sunshine, hot with the sun not too strong so that I don't get sunburned as I have been shirtless all day. Good company and lots done, far, far more than MOH expected.

oldsalt1 wrote:For a point of reference I wear a 42 jacket and 34 pants . about what size should I start with

14.