Cozy Sleeves

interior design | home design | diy

bedroom ideas | home and garden |

lighting | home organization | sewing

crafts | hobbies | home

Issue 48

The Refresh Issue

Make Gym Equipment
Preserve Summer Fruits
Tailor Thrift Store Finds

Cozy Sleeves

Billy Reid for Billy Reid

WHO
Gentlemanly Billy Reid, who wants everyone to know where he came from

WHAT
A modern take on dressing, with a drawl

WEAR
Feminine menswear pieces such as shirt dresses with off-kilter buttons and shrunken blazers with dress-shirt linings

by Erica Cerulo

Photos by Kathryn Gambel

Billy Reid gives a work shirt woolly sleeves, adding visual contrast and warmth for fall.

Billy Reid, who has long been changing perceptions of what south-of-the-Mason-Dixon style means, recently set up shop alongside Natalie Chanin in Florence, Alabama, two state lines away from his tiny birthplace, Amite, Louisiana. “The cost of living in Florence is a little easier to manage than New York,” he says. Menswear might be the CFDA winner’s big business—but he’s lately taken an interest in wares for stylish wives, girlfriends, and sisters. But there’s nothing belle about his girl-targeted items: The cuts are angular and current, and the fabrics are taken straight from the brother line.

Cut off the sleeves of the shirt just above the elbow on both arms. Remove the cuffs. (Hold onto them.) Measure the length of your forearm and cut the sock accordingly, discarding the foot portion. Use a sewing machine to attach the socks to the shirtsleeves, right sides facing, with raw edges lined up. While stitching, stretch the socks to the same width as the shirtsleeve if necessary so that the finished sleeve bunches evenly. Sew the cuffs to the ends of the arms with the sewing machine, right sides facing, with raw edges lined up.
Remove the shirt buttons. Break out the snap kit. Stretch the rubber rings around the plastic and metal holders. Mark the position of the snaps on the topside and underside of the garment. To apply the top half of a snap, place the outside ring into the plastic holder, with points exposed.
Insert the socket into the metal holder with the raised center exposed. Position the shirt fabric in the pliers with the ring prong on the underside of the garment. Squeeze pliers tightly and check for tightness. Squeeze again if necessary.
To attach the bottom half of the snap, insert ring prong into metal holder with points exposed. Insert stud into plastic holder with the ball side down. Position the shirt fabric in the pliers with the ring prong on the underside of the garment. Squeeze pliers firmly. Follow process for each snap.

Without the snap tools, the materials only cost about $7.