Outfit: Trench Coat
I am sure you remember this trench coat. This one was sent to me as a refashioning challenge by Portia – read the full post on her blog here, or I posted it here as well. I know she only paid £1 for this and I had great fun remaking it.
The final trench, based on a Burberry one Kate Middleton wears, had a large flounce around the hem. When I made this back in June, it was too hot to model it outside, so I’ve decided to try and do it justice with some more realistic pictures.
My chosen setting for wearing this coat was Holy Island (Lindisfarne), which is off the coast of Northumberland, near the Scottish border. It’s a beautiful place. Relatively flat and windswept, the landscape is beautiful, topped off with the iconic Holy Island Castle. This unusual building was built as a fort in 1550 to defend us from the Scots and Norsemen! It was converted to a home by Arts and Crafts architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901.
When we visited, the sun was glorious, but boy, was it windy… we struggled to take any outdoor pictures that showed the coat hanging in its natural state. This being the first time this coat had been worn outside I discovered a few things. The wind whipped the flounce around showing off the original garment’s interfacing which now makes a rather haphazard pattern on its reverse (the lining only reaches the top of the flounce – I didn’t think it would require lining too, but perhaps I was wrong). The gun flap could also do with a couple of stitches to keep it in place (you can see it gets caught by the wind below).
As a result of the rather inclement weather, I am looking a bit michelin-man like with the combination of the gale force wind behind me and the thick jumper I’m wearing underneath to keep the cold out. My photographer commented that fashion photoshoots often use big fans for fake wind to get some movement in the clothes… still, I think this is overkill…
Holy Island is also home to the former monastery Lindisfarne Priory, another iconic looking building. Built in the 12th Century on the site of a monastery established in 634 by St Aidan, its stones were ‘borrowed’ to build Holy Island Castle in the 16th Century when it fell out of use.
Charity Shop Chic 
Those archway and wall (with castle just behind) pics – looks fabulous. And I’m loving those brogues too! :D
http://www.mancunianvintage.com
You are so kind, thank you!
Wind be damned, great pictures!
Ha, exactly! :)
Very cute coat! Good job!
Thank you! :)
I loved the original post, the trench make-over is great.
But now I feel guilty about my half finished Sewaholic Robson Trench Coat.
I will finishing it in time for the spring……
Hi Helen, no guilt here please! Everyone works at their own pace. Thanks for commenting.
Looks gorgeous! I just love this coat – and your coastal pictures of course, just need to get you barefoot next…
HA that might have to wait until summer here!! :)
So great to see this super challenging refashion in the wild. I love the gathered sleeve, you never see that on a trench but I think it’s a really pretty feature. The length and body you got in the founce is perfect too. You soooooo clever lady!
Hi Amy! You’re so kind to me. Thanks for your support x
That is absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you so much! :)
I love how it turned out!
Thank you!
The coat looks great in an outdoor setting. I do love that flounce… The scenery is pretty gorgeous too!
Thank you so much… Holy Island is pretty special. I hope the coat did it justice!
What a transformation! It fits you perfectly and the little peplum style flick makes for a very unique trench :)
Thank you, I am so glad you like it!
The things you pointed out as problems would never have occurred to me – all I see are wonderful photos of a happy (and fashionable) lady in a most beautiful setting! Love what you did with the trench. (And I learned some geography – you mentioned Northumberland, which is also the name of a strait next to the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, where I live. I feel rather “duh” for not realizing it was a place name from the old country, but now I know!)
Hi Jenny, thanks for the comment, I am so glad you are enjoying reading. Hope your Northumberland is as beautiful as ours!
WOW!!!! Your posts always take me on an adventure. This one was quite a transformation; my favorate thus far….Will never see a trench coat in the same way!!!! Thank you!!!!! FABULOUS.
Mariann, thank you for commenting – glad you liked this one! :)
I absolutely love this!
Thank you Millie!
I wish I could sew…I love this jacket….and those shoes! <3
Thanks Tara, you should try sewing, it’s a lot of fun!
I had followed your blog for a while and you are an AMAZING refashioner! I love your creations.
Thank you for commening Velia! Keep reading – there are more fun projects coming up shortly.