Animal print is a wardrobe staple, right?

For my recent trip to Melbourne to see the Dior exhibition I had a mini panic about not having anything to wear (even though my wardrobe is heaving). The weather forecast was for cold and rainy weather and it's well known that Melbourne is an extremely fashionable city and I just didn't think any of my casual and colourful Sydney clothes would do. I'm pretty sure every woman in her life has thought at least once (if not at least once a week) that I have nothing to wear!

So I decided to make a simple top to wear that I not only wore whilst on that trip away but I've worn quite a few times since - it's fast becoming a favourite.

This is Burda Style 2/2016 #118, a raglan sleeved top with a stand up collar:

Image via Burda Style

I've made this once before back in February 2016 (it was one of my Burda of the month projects) in a neon multi-coloured scuba fabric:

For this version I used a mystery knit fabric I bought for a couple of dollars from The Fabric Cave, which is a charity run craft shop selling donated items, so who knows how old this fabric is or the fabric composition. It is definitely a polyester knit, with very little stretch so it's not my favourite fabric to wear but I figured it would be ok to wear in cold weather and I could live with it just to use this funky print:

The neckline is my favourite part of this top - I like how wide it is and how it stands up. I think it has quite the 60s vibe, especially in an animal print. The collar is just a rectangle piece folded in half and cut on the bias so it's pretty simple to attach as well. I chose not to interface it because I wanted it soft around my neckline, but the fabric has enough body that it stands up properly.

In this busy print you can't really see the vertical seam lines in the front and back of the body of the top - if you look really closely you can faintly see the seam lines but they are there, trust me!

Those vertical seam lines certainly give a bit of shape to an otherwise boxy top, and I think both back and front have a nice, gentle curve at the waistline which is quite flattering whilst still concealing the after effects of a big lunch!

For my Melbourne trip, I also made a simple tube skirt from some black ponte knit which I wore with black tights and black brogues so I think I fitted in with the Melbourne aesthetic, and it kept me warm on a chilly weekend. Here is a photo from inside the exhibition where the lighting was quite dim hence all the shadows:

Thanks to the lovely Stef for the photo

But I also wore it on the weekend out for a lunch near my parents house (where my photo bombing child thought he was absolutely hilarious), so it's quite a versatile top and as we all know animal print is definitely a neutral basic!

So as I said back in 2016 in my original review of this pattern, it's another great Burda pattern that is well drafted, easy to make and looks great. And when I was in the Remnant Warehouse last week I spied a mesh fabric that would be perfect to make a version very similar to the Burda version, so I don't think this is my last version of this top at all!