A Guide to Sewing the Vipere Jumpsuit for a Luxurious Tuxedo Look

The Vipère jumpsuit is one of the centerpieces of the Fauvae Botanica collection. Its is slightly cut to shape the body, and it is full of wonderful details which distinguishes the look: the shoulder tabs which extend onto the top of the sleeve, the darts which start from the neckline, the front buttoning, the pleat details on the back, the reworked line of the Italian pockets and the waistband placed on the hips.

We introduced Vipère to you in a “day” version sewn in our cotton sateen fabrics at the launch of the collection, I already had in mind an “evening” version, more dressy, like a revisited tuxedo.

The inspirations

The advantage of jumpsuits is that your outfit can be created instantly, as soon as you put it on, your outfit is set.

For my “evening” inspiration, I chose to completely play the game of the reinterpreted men’s suit. The masculine suit is the lethal weapon of the wardrobe, especially when its recreated to have more fun: I slipped a Soliflore white blouse underneath Vipère, and the top of the jumpsuit takes on a jacket effect that opens over a shirt and works really well. I like this nonchalant, slightly tomboyish way of wearing these 2 pieces which are nevertheless very dressy: the rolled up sleeves of the jumpsuit which reveal the cuffs of the blouse, unbuttoned bust to clearly highlight the garment underneath, the bottom of the trousers marked by a hem rolled up hastily.

The immaculate Soliflore blouse, with its large dramatic collar, adds a more “strict” note. The silhouette works, the trompe l’oeil is perfect! 

How to wear the Vipère tuxedo-style jumpsuit?

The very essence of this outfit is to play on the masculine/feminine contrast, I focused on the jewellery and makeup: maxi gold earrings, very red lipstick, and a very Retro “pretty lady” style for the shoes, I go for the boyish note by wearing flat shoes in slightly heavy two-tone leather moccasins, as an echo of the outfit.

Pensées earrings medium Elise Tsikis - Two-tone Penny moccasins G.H.BASS - Red lipstick Hermès jacket - Sewing patterns Vipère jumpsuit and Soliflore blouse Maison Fauve

The importance of the choice of materials

To sew Vipère and Soliflore, I chose 2 fabrics from our Clair Obscur capsule: Onyx black heavy viscose twill and white light Herringbone viscose jacquard. These 2 fabrics, which I present to you in detail in the podcast dedicated to this mini collection.

Heavy viscose is a fabric I recommend for jackets and evening trousers. So, in my desire to repurpose the Vipère jumpsuit, it was the perfect choice. The fabric is flexible, but be careful, its lack of elasticity means that you will need the instructions from the pattern regarding the choice of size, and this time if you are between 2 sizes I recommend that you choose the smaller size, and to make a toile in a fabric without elasticity.

For the Soliflore blouse, the white and textured fabric transforms it into a sophisticated and very elegant blouse.

And of course, the devil is in the details, I chose beautiful buttons to add the finishing touch to my outfit.

Vipère is a pattern that allows you to sew a jumpsuitsuit and a dress. This is an advanced sewing pattern, it includes the technical points:

• Sew a dart

• Assembler of yoke parts

• Sew an Italian pocket with clean work on the design

• Sew a polo tab type tightening tab

• Sew a waistband with pretty interior finishes

• Sew a tear-proof vent and attach a cuff

• Fit sleeves

Don't panic, a 1-hour video tutorial walks you through these key sewing steps for both the jumpsuit version and the dress version.

This new version offers you another option in the way you wear Vipère. In a little black Onyx dress Vipère would also look great ;)