The 20th Bestowed Collection
•Posted on March 07 2024
It's been a long time between Bestowed collections because it just worked out that way. Times are changing and we are adapting to those changes.
Bestowed has always been a label that was mainly designed around hot summers, relaxed styles, perfect to travel with. I have always done the main collection for Bestowed for 'high summer' launching the 1st week of December, then sometimes a 'pre summer' collection (in July/August) to add long sleeves, coats and warmer options.
With the growing participation in Australia of the so called 'Black Friday Sale' at the end of October we have found that retail now embraces this discount culture and it's all about how cheap can you go... buy more, because you can't say no to these incredible prices even though you don't really love the product or need them! We do not participate in this marketing, in fact it's against our ethos of SLOW & Sustainable Fashion. So last year I designed a Bestowed collection for March, lots of simple organic cotton layers, pieces that are truly timeless and suitable for all seasons. We already had a great selection of lightweight Bestowed dresses in stock, covering all my favourite shapes, so I didn't feel like I needed to add more.
So when I put my imagination into action to dream up a new Bestowed collection I wanted to keep tight and only add things that we needed, doing adaptations to our classic shapes and making it all new and fresh with the use of colour. We had our 130gsm lightweight organic cotton jersey knitted and dyed in Melbourne late last year, choosing a new dark but fresh green colour, Juniper, and a rich warm Burnt Orange, plus Black of course.
In March it's still warm up here in Brisbane as it starts to cool down around mid May, so I wanted things I could wear straight away, hence the new shorter version of our beloved Blythe dress and it has a matching Aura top to add sleeves. The Aura top is something I wear heaps as it's the perfect little sleeved layer that I can take off during the day as it heats up. This top has ties on the shoulders so the sleeves can be tied up to shorten or left down.
The length looks shorter on our tall model Amanda as she is 180cm in height, it is actually 32cm shorter than the Blythe Maxi and 20cm shorter than the Blythe midi dress. The measurement from shoulder to hem is approx 115cm in case you want to test the length on yourself or compare to other dresses you have.
I love the contrast overlocking detail we did on the original plain versions of the Perla top and some other styles from collection 7 back in 2016, so I decided to do that detail on two styles in this collection.
The Astrid top is a adaptation from the Almeda top, longer and looser body, less wavy hem shaping, shorter 3/4 sleeves and the cowl neck less full, and of course the contrast overlocking that is looser so it shows on the outside. I like these types of tunics as they are long enough to wear over leggings if you want and offer a t shirt type of feel without being a t shirt, this tunic has lots of movement and is super comfy.
One of my most loved and worn garments in my wardrobe has to be the Annabel Coat. A single layer organic cotton jersey coat that you can add like you would a cardigan, but this looks way cooler! The Annabel has big side pockets and shawl collar and swoops out behind you as you walk, what more could you ask for? Contrast overlocking, interesting panels and great colours, done!
I always travel with the Annabel Coat as it is perfect for all seasons. If you plan to go to the Northern Hemisphere mid year, this will be perfect timing for you to add one to your travel garments essentials.
A good 3/4 sleeved dress has always been an essential for me, so this was the perfect collection to add a new dress, one in the slightly heavier super stretchy organic cotton jersey. The Pippi dress was created from a bamboo dress style (Prima dress) we did 10 years ago, but with a 3/4 sleeve, raised back neckline and adjusted fit to suit the new fabrication. This dress has amazing flared panels that are then stitched to a 2.6m long hem panel that helps create the awesome shape. In addition there are two huge pockets to sink your hands into. I love this dress! Great on it's own or layered over pants. The Pippi dress comes in black or the beautiful dragonfly green colour.
And if you are after great layering pants, we have 4 versions of the Dayvan pants available. They are simple pull on elastic waist pants with a contrast hem band. The elastic isn't too tight so it sits perfectly under tops, tunics or dresses. I looked in my fabric storage supply and found some great options.
While playing with my precious fabric stash I decided to do a limited run of the Ada pants in the crisp Supima cotton fabric that we made the RANT Asha pants from. There are 6 of each size S/M/L if you would like some special black Ada pants, and this is the first time I have actually made them in black, which was kind of funny as I always make things in black. These pants look great long and loose, or tie the legs up with the sets of ribbons on both the inside and outside leg seams. And they have side seam pockets.
And what Bestowed would be complete without a few new options of the classic Willow skirt? The purple check fabric was made from a small roll of Italian cotton 'deadstock' I got, there are only 5 of these. I used the off cuts to make the hem panels on a few Dayvan pants too.
Well... let me know what you think?
Bestowed 20 is now washed in rainwater checked and ready, except the Pippi dress coming in a few weeks as it is still being sewn.
Cheers,
Sarah
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