I never thought I’d date a male model.

To be fair, Marc didn’t know where this photo would end up when a random dude snapped it at Pitchfork Music Festival. That the dude turned out to be a freelancer for The New York Times was a hilarious and pleasant surprise. Not sure how I’m going to top the Muscle Men Negroni shirt now. 😊

I went out on a limb for my own Pitchfork outfit with this two-piece number. I’m calling this my “Slave to Almost-Tired Trends” look. Off-the-shoulder? Check. High-waisted shorts? Done. The shorts are Cynthia Rowley 1371 for Simplicity and the top is self-drafted based on a tutorial from Elisalex of By Hand London.

I sewed a size 14 for the shorts—no modifications. The waistband gaped a bit in the back, so I pinched out some fabric and sewed a dart to make up the difference. It’s a quick and dirty fix, but it works!

Surprisingly, these fit pretty well through the crotch even without lowering the curve, which is something I figured I’d need to do to accommodate my long torso. It might just be that these shorts run big? The fabric is a cotton twill that I initially intended to use for a shirtdress, but it’s got almost no drape. (“Medium weight” Denver Fabrics? Really?!) Still, it worked out well for these structured shorts.

As for the top, I’d highly recommend trying Elisalex’s tutorial if you’re in the market for a quick off-the-shoulder top. You draft it based on your full bust and high bust measurements, and it comes together incredibly fast when you use a serger and a sewing machine. This fabric is $2/yd. muslin with some “decorative” black serger trim. I was too lazy to rethread my serger and then really liked the look. No hemming necessary.

I was kind of nervous wearing an outfit like this out of the house. The great thing about going out of your comfort zone at a music festival is that there’s bound to be someone wearing a fishnet tank and pasties. Or someone in a full dog costume despite the 90-degree heat. Probably both.

Cheers to wearing what makes you feel good!