A Week of Outfits: Leila Kelleher
“Plus-size people aren’t always able to express themselves through fashion because the options can be so limited,” says Leila Kelleher, a pattern designer and assistant professor at Parsons School of Design. Luckily, Leila learned to sew in high school. She now makes 75% of her own clothes; and for the other 25%, “I like to support companies that support my body.” Here, Leila shares five outfits she wore in a week…
Shirt: Lobethal, “made by me from my pattern company Muna and Broad.” Skirt: Pyrmont, “made by me from my pattern company Muna and Broad.” Shoes: Hark Weber. Socks: Bombas. Glasses: Platoy. Lip color: Glossier lipstick in Zip.
“I grew up in Sydney and learned to sew in high school. In class, we made tailored jackets, swimwear, formal prom looks, everything!”
“People always told me that sewing your own underwear was life-changing. Even though I knew I could buy completely fine underwear, I figured, Okay, fine, I’ll make a pattern and sew it up. I was completely blown away. Now 100% of my underwear is made by me.”
Denim outfit: Street & Saddle shirt, pants, and ribbon tie. Sneakers: SAS X Body of Work (no longer available). Belt: Etsy, similar. Sunglasses: “vintage seventies glasses from Fabulous Fanny’s.” Lip color: Merit Flush Balm in “Persimmon.”
“This outfit is from Street & Saddle, which has an equestrian, slightly Western vibe. They’re amazing in terms of inclusion. Everything is made to order, so you just put in your measurements, and they’ll customize any garment.”
“At Parsons, I love looking at my students’ outfits. Every day feels like a fashion show. And when a colleague says, ‘Oh my god, your outfit is so great,’ it feels good because, well, they know.”
Dress: Irregular Sleep Pattern. Necklace: Barrow PDX. Shoes: Torrid, similar. Glasses: Platoy.
“This dress is technically sleepwear, but you can wear it outside. I love bright, saturated colors.”
“My hair changes a lot. Right now, I’ve got an Edna Mode thing happening. For glasses, I’m obsessed with Fabulous Fanny’s and Opticianado.”
Jacket: a Space, in between. Shirt: similar. Jeans: “Cooper jeans from my pattern company Muna and Broad.” Sneakers: SAS X Body of Work (no longer available). Necklaces: Hesta.
“I got my Ph.D. in biomechanics, which is basically the study of how the human body works and moves. Looking at bodies in that way helped me get away from the ‘good’/‘bad’ body paradigm that fashion is so invested in. I started thinking about how to make patterns to fit this shape or that shape. Nothing looks better than clothes that fit beautifully.”
“Inspired, I co-founded a plus-size sewing pattern brand, Muna and Broad, and a plus-size luxury fashion brand, a space, in between. This bomber jacket is from my company.”
“I took one of my kids to do a jewelry making workshop at Hesta. When we walked in, I saw a necklace made of carabiners. It was so cool. Then I made one, which is not nearly as cool!”
T-shirt: Arq. Skirt: “Pyrmont skirt made by me from my pattern company Muna and Broad.” Belts: Etsy and Street & Saddle. Boots: Tracey Neuls. Bag: Lindquist. Glasses: Fabulous Fanny’s.
“You can wear a simple outfit, but if you have a hero piece, it brings it all together. This red bag is a hero piece for me. It anchors an outfit.”
“I recently met someone wearing multiple skirts, many garments, and three belts. I was super inspired by him and his three-belt situation. I immediately thought, How many belts do I have? Fashion sometimes feels serious, but it has to be fun, too.”
Thank you, Leila and congratulations on your new book!
P.S. More weeks of outfits, including a therapist with a flower garden and cardiologist who loves color.
(Photos by Yumi Matsuo for Cup of Jo.)
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Comments
92 commentsi love her. these looks are all perfection, and so many good lessons too!
I love to see women who dress how they want to instead of wearing clothes that are “flattering” and make them appear smaller. Confidence in your own style IS flattering!
I love Muna & Broad! Their Glebe pants pattern is amazing! So happy to see the owner and their style.
This continues to be one of my favorite COJ series! Thanks for keeping it going. Also, that bomber jacket is fire.
I gasped at the denim outfit, it is so so so good!
She is the epitome of cool. Love that orange purse. But the pieces she designed, including that bomber? Beyond!!
I want to figure out my sewing machine and make like, 3 of the underwear patterns she sells. Like, I might finally have sufficient motivation to re-learn machine sewing as an adult.
I am loving the inclusion of people who see their own clothes in your Style section. This was lovely. My favourite type of fashion content!
wait. what. wow !! so good.
Leila, I love your glasses recommendations. Thank you! And while I don’t think your first and last name do rhyme…I am going to go ahead and pretend that they do :)
These clothes, her whole look! Just so original, cool & inspiring.
I got to see the ‘a space, in between’ collection in person, and I cannot stress enough how stunning and beautifully made the clothing is- the pieces have such good structure and yet the fabric is still SO touchable.
Never occurred to me that I could wear TWO belts! Like, I’m allowed to do that! Can’t wait to!
Just remembered that I used to attach two belts together in the days of wearing low slung belts that wrapped around and around. RUNNING to my closet now to see how many bets I have!!
women adorning themselves creatively, showing their essence. It’s the best. It makes me come alive. thanks for sharing.
What a gorgeous, inspiring person! Thank you for featuring a plus-sized lady!
i’ve never clicked a link so hard!! thank you for featuring plus sized peeps!!
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE for so many reasons!
When I close my eyes and picture the absolute coolest way I could dress: it is this. ICON.
100% here for this representation of size diversity. It’s really important. Thank you.
YES and racial diversity too!
woman has STYLE! love.
I have a biomedical engineering PhD and a recent baby/hitting “mid-career”/changes in the academic and funding worlds/supporting my family are making me wonder what’s next for me – I love and appreciate seeing this career jump!
Almost all of my underwear is from etsy/handsewn, it would be a total goal to sew my own! love love loved this. i’m always looking for small businesses that can sew to order
Can you say more about how handmade underwear are better?
Seconded please and thank you
I’m taking a sewing class right now, and I just finished my first item of clothing: pajama pants! I added fun patterned pockets and got to wear them to class yesterday. It’s been so fun!
Wow. This is so inspiring!!!
Where are you all shopping for fabric these days? There is not a single fabric store in Spokane, and I miss the days of choosing a pattern, wandering the aisles for fabric, notions, etc. You can’t even go buy a spool of thread if you need to hem something.
It’s sad but true. I’m in Spokane as well. Some of my fondest memories with my mom were at the fabric store. She always let me pick the fabric, buttons, and if I was lucky the pattern. CDA has a new small business called Pink Thread, just starting out but hoping to fill the need.
This may be my favorite post! Leila, you’re a luminary. I’m retiring in a few weeks and opening my brand new sewing machine is to be my first adventure. Brava!
That bomber jacket tho’! OMG!
My reaction exactly!! I’m obsessed!!
This is my favourite week of outfits post: love Leila’s style and skill!
I’ve used her robe pattern for so many gifts – all my girlfriends big and small have received a handmade robe and it just works. Very smart woman.
GORGEOUS
Could we please have a Beauty Uniform with the lovely and talented Leila!
I just signed up for a sewist class because of you!!!!!
Yes!!! My favorite week of outfits. I have also heard about the wonders of homemade underwear but now I am convinced they are worth the time… Will move them up the project queue, maybe in the spring?!
More fashion tips with Leila please! Her outfits are amazing.
Love this one! She is so chic and skilled.
Omg what amazing looks. I LOVE her style, thank you for sharing!!
What a chic and rad woman!
It’s amazing what a pair of red socks can do for an outfit
Every time I scrolled to a new look I’d think “OK this one is my favorite” then I’d scroll to the next one and think the same thing! Every single outfit is 10/10!!! I love how each piece feels special somehow, I don’t know how else to explain it but it does and I love it!
What a gorgeous, joyful, stylish person!! Loved seeing her energy and brilliance reminding us that fashion should be fun. I feel like I finally figured out how to dress myself about 8 years ago or so, but now there’s a lot of Millennial style-shaming going on (no skinny jeans! No side parts!) and now I feel a little lost again, especially in my 40s, post-pregnancies, where my body feels like she’s settling into a different shape that I don’t really understand yet. Thanks for this beautiful reminder that we can just…. put clothes we like on our bodies and keep doing that until we are happy. What a revolutionary idea.
High waisted jeans ;-)
they can pry my skinny jeans off my cold dead body. Seriously though, while I am still affected by trends, I feel like the constant speeding up has made it more acceptable to just wear whatever you want—if it’s “out of style” right this minute, probably next season it will be back in.
I love Leila’s style! It’s making me want to learn how to sew. Did Leila share how long it takes her to sew some of her pieces? Very curious!
I love to see my own clothes, it’s a great pastime! How long depends on your skill level to a certain extent, but I could probably sew a simple dress in 1 day (uninterrupted). I almost never have huge swaths of time though, so I’ll spend one evening cutting the fabric, and then another few working on a little bit at a time. If you do get into it, there are so many incredible Indy pattern designers and pdf patterns are amazing. There is a great podcast called Love to Sew that has so much information to share. Have so much fun if you dive in! And my unsolicited advice is to only buy fabric for a specific project :) or else you can build up too big of a stash!
I love sewing, and I went through a period in which I sewed a lot of clothes. Leila is probably very fast, as its basically her job. I am very slow. Very, very slow. But you should definitely try it!
It is so amazing to see Leila on CoJ!! I love her, and her pattern company: they have been instrumental in my taking the step to learn how to sew my own clothes. I’m still more of a beginner, but it has been life-changing for me. Highly recommend Muna and Broad’s Glebe pants and Torrens box top for first-time sewing projects!
What incredible style and vision!
Hooray for plus size patterns! I didn’t know that patterns were for straight sizes only until recently. I’m tall and plus sized and finding clothes that are long enough (high water pants in winter are no bueno) and fit properly is SUCH a challenge right now. Couldn’t love this post more. Also biomechanics PhD + fashion design is a Flex.
Every photo of Leila is a work of art. Her whole look is so interesting and beautiful, love to see it.
Love this so much!
sudden urge to make my own underwear and carabiner necklace. and also to buy that bomber jacket … and western shirt. also, as an aside, I’m sure you guys are aware of it but there’s still formatting issues on the website- the main pic on the post below this is blocking the title
👏👏LOVE this. Thanks, Jo!
Amazing human, amazing style. Also fun to see Bisa Butler here for a quick second time. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/225893 xox
Recommendations for underwear patterns, please!!!!
I saw at least a thong in her patterns–https://www.munaandbroad.com/products/euba-thong-sewing-pattern-pdf
Jalie is a good patternmaker: https://jalie.com/products/4452-barbara-underwear-set This one has a video tutorial and another pattern: https://jalie.com/products/camisole-and-panties-sewing-pattern These could be good jumping-off places. The hardest thing I found was tracking down the fabric I wanted. I still buy underwear, but I love the ones I’ve sewed myself. (Btw, I’m what would be called a “confident beginner” sewist — not even intermediate, and I managed it!) : )
Leila has a bunch of underwear patterns she’s designed over at Muna and Broad: https://www.munaandbroad.com/products/kapunda-undies-sewing-pattern-pdf https://www.munaandbroad.com/products/euba-thong-sewing-pattern-pdf https://www.munaandbroad.com/products/dulcie-boxer-briefs-sewing-pattern-pdf https://www.munaandbroad.com/products/undies-period-undies-sewing-pattern
First time I’ve ever commented. Biomechanics! Edna E. Mode! Vibrant colors! All of it. Absolutely fabulous approach to dress. Five stars!
Edna Mode! Also, very Fleabag. Loved this and her rad style and companies. I don’t sew (not methodical and diligent enough, I don’t think. Also don’t have the room. Wow I’m kinda talking myself into sewing now) but these patterns are so cool I wish I did.
I’m finding it so hard to find personal style because I find sizing to be so difficult to get around. I’m technically a size 10 but have an apple shape, and larger arms and broader shoulders that make tips hard to fit into. Makes me inspired to learn how to sew so I can make clothing to my own size.
Learn knits, and watch pattern adjustment videos on YouTube. Once you are 3 or 4 garments in and you get the fit right, you will be inspired by how you look and feel in clothes that fit your body and style. Actually…. start with underwear! Takes less fabric to accomplish so the initial investment is less. Worth it. PROMISE. Just don’t tell other people you sew! Otherwise, you end up hemming pants and that is not the same ;)
Lol, Sarah, so true. Once when I told someone I could sew she very excitedly asked “can you even replace zippers!?” and my response was “…. yes, but why would I want to?”
this is my favorite of this series so far. such great resources; I clicked on so many of the links…. so amazing that she’s a prof at parsons! (I was a grad student at the new school for a while and had a job working at the parsons archives! so long ago…)
What an amazing human and amazing style! Kind of unrelated, but this is top of mind for me since I’m trying to break out of my current field: using a PhD in biomechanics to inform pattern-making is incredibly cool and the kind of cross-disciplinary work that companies/workplaces nowadays are too unimaginative to value. Leila, you are inspiring me to move in the direction I want regardless!
Beautiful! Everything is just perfectly tailored and so well put together, yet radiant, happy and playful. Amazing and inspiring!
Oh my gosh I love her! She is rocking her look so hard! I
Agree! amazing style
Love her style and use of colours. Reading this has helped me plan my outfit for tomorrow. Thank you!!
Without a doubt a top tier week of outfits post, one of the best ever. Understandably we’re all beside ourselves over the bespoke underwear, firing-on-all-cylinders levels of fabulosity, and ridiculous levels of talent and style but also can I just take a moment for the casual PhD mention??? Leila needs her own show, lifestyle magazine, cult, whatever she wants I am downnnnn.
Obsessed with Leila’s playful style! I love the pops of color and the outfit details
You story is similar to mine but in reservse. I’m a seamstress and used to make clothes all the time, now I study medicine and have put my sewing machine aside. You have inspired me to get it back out. I want to make underwear now too!
This is so cool! I feel like your sewing skills will come in handy should you ever have to suture. Best of luck in your studies!!
Funnily enough, I once attended a hand embroidery workshop where a few of the attendees were medical students who had been sent there to improve their stitching skills.
So chic! Love her style.
Everything about this woman sparks joy. Thank you for sharing such a fashion icon with us! Taking notes!!!
Stylish and fun!! Love everything about you!! Especially your self love 💕💕💕
This is a new fav among Week of Outfits pieces on CoJ. Thanks Leila for sharing your gorgeous styling with us and cheers to your work on inclusive styleing. So refreshing!
The bomber jacket is the coolest! Love all of the outfits and accessories.
Makes me want to go back to art school :)
An amazing talent to be able to make your own clothes! I wish they still taught that sort of thing in schools. Maybe some still do, but mine certainly didn’t. In fact, I just dropped off a sweatshirt with comically long sleeves to my MIL to hem for me, her expertise of which I am eternally thankful for!
I think most of us taught ourselves, with help from our moms. Sewing was just something we did. I can’t say I enjoyed it but I learned how to make pants so I’d have cute ones that FIT. Gosh, those purple elephant bells were a fav….
YouTube will teach you! Pinterest, too.
I totally agree. Learning to sew would be a great skills to possess like cooking and wish they would teach these life lessons at school. My mom could sew so well. But, I never learnt it when growing up. She passed away 20 years ago and randomly about 10 years ago, I signed up for beginners sewing lessons at a community college and using youtube video tutorials, I made pillows, tote bags and even progressed upto bags with zips. Pillow covers are the easiest option for beginners. After several years of my sewing machine collecting dust, pulled it up recently to convert old torn bed spread into cushion cover for a friend who was looking for a certain color schemed party. I told a friends that if they had any simple alteration request, i can help them out with those and a couple of them have taken up on my offer. Sewing can be fun, can be vexing too when you dont know what you are doing. I have seen some libraries offer sewing groups. If there are community sewing groups, it would be fun to take your projects and do it as an activity. I feel like with sewing, my main issue was motivation to get the machine out.
I love how skilled and confident this crew is! Could I make myself comfortable underwear – hell no. I would be miserable in terribly sewn, poor fitting underwear. Is it super inspiring -absolutely!
Okay all amazing, but I especially love that denim outfit!!!
Woah! What a great sense of style. Love all the proportions and the color combinations. What a gift must be to be her student