My Lady Grey Lab Coat

Oh! That's not what we're making? Well, darn, must go back and read the instructions.

Ah, yes, it's just muslin time, and so, what did I do? First I measured across the shoulders of my current favorite coat, and chose the size based on that, and went with a 10. I realize that I don't appear to be a 10, and that none of my other measurements match up to that, but never mind, I didn't make any changes (yet) and just cut out a straight 10. (The snazzy red belt belongs to my trenchcoat.) Here's the result:

So, on first glance, the collar over my right shoulder is crumpled up. And do you see that leaf on the ground? That doesn't mean fall right now... it was 92 degrees F when I took this picture. So I'm wearing a sleeveless dress. Yep, the Lady Grey fits me great! As a blouse! Look at the back:

Hmmm, I'm leaning just a bit. See that big ol' wrinkle across the middle of my back? That will have to go.

I don't know if you can see it, but the dark line on the lapel is the seam line. I'm still on the fence about narrowing the lapels and collar just a bit, but I kind of like how the width of the collar/lapel balances out the width of the hips. Covers up my narrow shoulders in other words.

So, a few changes to be made:

• the excess on the back.
• the super long sleeves. What's up with the sleeve length? And is it just me, but I couldn't find in the instructions how deep the hem was on the sleeve or the coat itself. I tend to be a skimmer though.
• I actually like the length of the coat. I think that length makes the peplum hit at a more flattering place on my body, so will make that my finished length and add the hem depth to the pattern.
• I think I'm going to go with 1" seam allowances on the body and give myself some extra room for actual winter clothes to fit underneath. My wool is a medium weight, so I'm a little concerned about how that's all going to fit and plan to baste the seams first for fit when I hit the actual fabric.
• add a bit of extra depth the armscyes for those winter clothes that I mentioned above. I don't plan to interline because I live in Atlanta after all, and it just doesn't get that cold. And if it happened to have a day or three where it was that cold, this is not the coat I'd be wearing.

So, what do you think? Am I delusional? I know there's some discussion on whether or not this coat works for everyone (uh, no), but I'm kind of liking it on me.