Sharp as a Shark – Project Run and Play week one

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Friends! Today is the day! Project Run and Play season 9 is starting today! (let’s just pause a moment while I squeal a little and try to catch my breath!)

The theme for week one is “Put me in the zoo” – looks inspired by animals. I pretty much knew immediately that my inspiration animal would be a shark.

Sharp as a shark

I’m not going to lie – I love every.single.thing. about this look.

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My goal with this outfit was to have pieces that were very wearable and that could be worn separately. I also didn’t want to be super obvious with my inspiration. The hood of the jacket, of course, is the most obvious – shark’s teeth! – but there are hints of inspiration throughout the whole look.

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Boy looks are all about the details – especially if you aren’t using a lot of prints.

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Since we’re right in the middle of the Straight Lines and Angles series, I had the geometric trend on the brain. So I used some iron-on vinyl to add these triangles. They also reminded me of fins or shark’s teeth.

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The jacket is made from a black denim that has some stretch. I based the jacket very loosely off of the shape of a raincoat we have in our house. There are a lot of pieces in this jacket, and a lot of seams. It was definitely a labor of love!

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The jacket is fully lined, and because of the stretch in the denim, I cut the lining on the bias, matching the stripes to match the lines of the fins.. or the waves. Or both. The pockets are set in the front seams, and peak out just a little.

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I love the contrast of the front zip.

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Speaking of zippers. How pretty is this zipper fly?? So pretty. After my last zipper fly (or should I say my only other zipper fly!), I might be addicted to making them. My pants are never going to be the same!

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The pants were drafted from a pair of ready-to-wear pants, with a lot of changes in the fit and style. The grey twill is super comfy, and I love how it looks with the red piping and top stitching. There also seemed to be something fitting about using red with a shark look…. am I right??

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In addition to the zipper fly, the pants have an elastic back waist, inset front pockets (with a super fun whale print, just because I could!), and back patch pockets (some of those aforementioned details!)

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The tee is made of a super stretchy and comfy knit, self-drafted to be more fitted and with longer short sleeves, because I love that 70s T-shirt look.

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Funny photo shoot story: I took the kids to a park on Lake Michigan to play and take pictures (because you have to take shark inspired pictures by the water, obviously!) I wish someone was taking pictures of me, because I’m sure it was hilarious. Picture me with a baby strapped to my chest, chasing my two-year-old out of the water, all while taking pictures. Sounds fun, right? :)

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It was a little bit, actually :) He really loves this outfit, and he had no problem running and playing on the beach (well, as much as you can do in 40F weather). And I really love this look too. It really is exactly what I wanted it to be!

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Okay, now run – don’t walk – over to the Project Run and Play blog to vote for my look!
Please and thank you :)

 

Fabric sources:

grey twill/black stretch denim: JoAnn Fabrics
blue and white stripes: thrifted
white knit: JoAnn Fabrics
ribbing: upcycled

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18 Comments

  1. The details in the jacket and the pants are amazing Jess!! And I knew you’d bust out another amazing zip fly, but wow you risked it with the contrast color. It turned out amazing, but I would have been terrified it wouldn’t have gone in right and been flashing bright red mistakes to the world. haha Awesome job with the subtle inspiration too.

  2. My boys want me to make them shark outfits now :) I love all the details you put into this fantastic outfit! I can’t wait to see what you do next week! *hugs*
    Bonnie MS

  3. super cute!! i love the shark inspiration and the 70s styling – those pants remind me of Danny from The Shining (which is a good thing!). cool photos too!

  4. Such a great boy outfit, Jess! I love all the little almost-hidden and just-peeking-out details! I think the impeccably-sewn, contrasting topstitching is my favorite part … and the red zipper and red piping … so many great details. (And the “beach” pictures with snow on the ground are awesome!)

  5. Oh Jess I just love that jacket and I’m crazy about the lining and I can’t BELIEVE you pieced it all together! So awesome. And the big red piping down the side on the pants is just perfect!

  6. so so great!
    you’re right…with boys its all about the details and you are spot on.
    impressive stripe matching on the jacket and that zip fly.

  7. I voted for your outfit – I thought it was really fabulous! It was subtle and elegant, and really well done. It is so hard to do inventive things for boys, and we never seem to appreciate them as much as the girls’ looks. Thanks for the fabulous ideas.

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