I'm so inspired by shorts suits right now. It's kind of always hot in LA so I wear shorts any chance I can get. A jacket would easily take those shorts from just casual to casual cool. We know it works when you add a jacket to jeans so why not try it with shorts?
How to DIY a Navy Polka Dot Shorts Suit
Step 1: Today's inspiration is a Diane Von Furstenberg polka dot jacket and shorts combo. The fabric is a polyester crepe with pearlized metal studs. Um what? The polka dots are made of white studs? That's pretty amaze-balls. If you are feeling super ambitious, you could always paint on your own dots on navy fabric or find some round studs and paint them pearl white.
Step 2: To make this shorts suit, I found two separate BurdaStyle patterns. For the jacket, I'm recommending BurdaStyle Hip Length Blazer 04/2013 #101. This jacket is a little different than our inspiration but the lines are very similar in the lapel and sleeves. To wear as part of a shorts suit, I recommend shortening this jacket to hit above or at the crotch line, like our inspiration. That way you'll still be able to see a good portion of the shorts. For the shorts, BurdaStyle has a classic shorts pattern with center fly and welt pockets – BurdaStyle Shorts with Pockets 02/2011 #122A. Other shorts/suit patterns that might interest you are Simplicity 1808 , Vogue V886 and Simplicity 1699.
Step 3: Fabric! Now if you don't go the painted metal studs route (wouldn't that be a little weird to sit on?), you can purchase a classic navy polka dot fabric like this cotton from Fabric Depot. Also worth looking at is this Silk Charmeuse from Mood and this Silk Chiffon from Fabric.com.
