Dresses and Changing up My Style

 I class my clothing style as eclectic.  I like to wear jeans or leggings with tee shirts as well as wrap around skirts in sari silks or fitted 50's style dresses or straight knee length skirts.  If you were to go through my wardrobe you would find all styles if clothing in all sorts of colours.  About the only thing I don't have is button up shirts.  For months now I have been scouring the rabbit hole that is Pinterest and have been enamoured of clothing by Ivey Abitz as well as regency style dresses. 

I like the layered look of Ivey. It is loose and flowy yet fitted at the same time.  As a post menopausal woman with a thickening waist (ugh!) I feel it is a style that would suit me.  The OBI style belts give a bit of waist definition; the skirts and dresses seem to have room to move and be comfortable; the jackets and coats offer that extra layer of style and should be able to be quickly removed when the need arises.

Regency style is, to me at least, similar to Ivey Abitz style just with a higher point from which the skirt falls from.

I have recently purchased some fabric and a commercial pattern online (waiting waiting waiting) to make myself 2 regency dresses and a short jacket (called a spencer).  One of the fabrics is a plain purple poplin and the other is small floral print that should also be in purple tones.  The jacket fabric is a fleece in purple.  I am going to line the skirts of both dresses with a fine satin as well as the whole jacket. One of the dresses I will do as long sleeves - it's still winter here and I would like to wear it soon.

I already have some fabric to doctor up some Ivey styled clothing - I can't afford her stuff and she is on the other side of the world to me. I have numerous pdf patterns that I think will work for this - I think I just need to stop procrastinating and pick one and go for it.