Vested Pinterest

Usually, I complete a project before I put it up on the blog, but indecision and mismanagement of time this week has meant I’m still only halfway through rejigging this little jerkin.

I bought it for 100 yen (about $1) at a flea market in Tokyo last year. It’s real sheepskin on one side, fabric on the other.

Typical of garments from flea markets in Japan, it was in pretty much immaculate condition despite being so cheap, although the fabric was perhaps a bit stained from wear. It seems to be a traditional garment, perhaps for a teenage boy? It’s similar to a vest I saw in a museum in Seoul, although I never saw anyone wearing one the entire time I was in Japan. As most traditional Asian garments are, it was pretty much unshaped – no darts, all straight lines, unfitted. Plus, the fronts didn’t meet and I didn’t like the colour of the fabric. So it was really the sheepskin that I wanted to salvage and rework. Having removed the fabric from the vest, I added a strip of fake fur (from my sister’s stash that she was using to make soft toys!) along the hem to create a longer garment and a wide rectangle between the front edges which I slashed down the middle (after I took this photo).

And that’s where I’ve got to so far. I’m going to try to add sleeves and aim for a patchworky look kind of like some of these jackets I’ve seen on Pinterest… if anyone has fake fur they want to get rid of, let me know!