Sew80s: McCall's 7670 (1981): Denim Pants with Buttoned Cuffs, Slouchy Top and Silver Stretch Belt

In my last post, I tried to set up a “cliffhanger” involving McCall’s 7670: I own this pattern from 1981, I’m fondly remembering Jean’s green knickers from 1984, and I’m willing to seriously entertain any fashion trend prior to 1989.

Would this unique set of circumstances result in me sewing and wearing knickers in 2019?

The answer to this question turned out to be No.

I also took a pass on the jodhpurs, and settled on View B, which are the long pants with buttoned cuffs.

I had some really nice denim from Mood Fabrics that I was originally going to use for my white strapless jumpsuit. I thought this would be perfect for my new puffy cuffed pants.

Putting these pants together was relatively painless. I felt confident of the fit because of what I learned from the practice shorts I made in my last post. The length of these pants as noted on the pattern envelope is 42 ¼ inches. The length did seem excessive, even if they were supposed to have blousing at the bottoms.

But, since I usually end up adding length to almost every pants pattern I make, I didn’t consider shortening the pants. I would just see how they turned out.

They were, in fact, a bit long for my taste. There was just too much fabric floating around my shins and ankles. I ended up trimming about 2 inches off the bottoms after basting one cuff on and seeing how it looked.

After they were done, I started to experiment with styling. While making these pants, I envisioned them with a pair of vintage leather pumps, a white blouse and a tweed blazer. Once the pants were made and on my body though, these pieces didn’t look right.

I had a slouchy top I had made a few years ago from Butterick 5753 (released in 2012).

Before I made it, I had stumbled on a review of this pattern on the excellent website, Pattern Review (such a great resource if you are shopping for current patterns!). Diane from Blue Dot Patterns (if you are interested, you should really read her full review at Blue Dot Patterns where you can shop her wonderful original patterns and read her blog!) made this top in black with a center panel of pink and black stripes. It was SO 1980s and I loved it! It inspired me to copy her. My shirt does have a striped center panel also, but the color palette isn’t as 80s as hers is.

image of Diane in her Butterick 5753 appears here with her permission. Thank you!

While cruising on Etsy several months ago, I stumbled on an Omega brand silver stretch belt at this shop. I immediately got a flashback to my sister’s bedroom in the 1980s. I had a mental image of a belt just like this one amongst her things (in addition to her bermuda bag with wooden handles and the button-on cloth covers!)

I happened to have some green suede booties that matched the top, and voila--I had a new 80s casual outfit!

I love the silver stretch belt. I omitted the belt loops the pattern called for (I was being lazy) and I was kicking myself when I realized I really WANTED to wear this belt with this outfit! Luckily, the belt seems to stay where it should and I think it looks good where it is.

this back view shows the interesting notch finish on the right arm...

The other arm has a more standard finish

The cuffs are a bit on the tight side, and it is a minor struggle to get them buttoned. I don’t think I made a construction error; perhaps my ankles are bigger than they were in the 80s. I had my husband take a picture of how the cuffs look unbuttoned, and I think it looks OK. Which is good because I can see myself forgoing the buttons as I rush to get out the door in the morning!