I can’t believe I actually got around to finishing something for once, but here it goes.

I have a soft spot for houndstooth fabric, it’s such a distinctive pattern and the tessallated structure of the weave appeals to my inner geek. The typical black/white houndstooth is a classic. So much that I can’t imagine ever making something for me out of it. This is the kind of stuff that is typically reserved for grandma’s coat, or mad girls in pretty dresses. Not for men though, not really.

But purple and black houndstooth? Now that’s a different story. Whenever I’m in a fabric story, I pretty much snatch up anything that’s purple, so when I spotted this in Pauli in Leuven, I carried around the shop the entire time worried that somebody would steal it from me.

As the fabric is rather heavy, it has more of a knitwear feel, so I decided to go for a sweater vest. Hey, what works for Rick Santorum must work for me right? Talking about Rick Santorum, as sweater vest can make you look like a real dick so I finished it with a purple (arms) and black (waist) border that gives it a more sporty look.

Obviously, by choosing to go for a sweater vest, I sentenced myself to making another V-neck, and boy do I have nightmare about those. The end result is acceptable, but I still wish I would be better at them.

For labeling, I used the new ribbon that I got a while ago. Here’s the upside of buying everything in black/purple. It matches!

I was invited to a 60th birthday party (Yay for Patricia!) and I only found out the weekend in advance that it was a costume party. The theme was retro/vintage, but superheroes were welcome too.

I didn’t really have anything that fits that description, and a tour around Brussels’ vintage shops left me empty handed (basically, there is nothing for men).

In the end, I picked up this old corduroy suit from the thrift shop. It must have belonged to a huge man because it was way to wide for me (and too short) 

Last weekend, I gutted the suit, and tried to make it into something wearable for that Clark Kent retro look. Here’s the result:

I wore it to the party last night, and I actually liked it. Might make me a corduroy suit one day :)