Laundry Day
I'm going to do a little back tracking for a while because I meant to do this a long time ago (take pictures of my dresses). This is the first dress I made out of novelty fabric (Michael Miller's "Laundry Day").
I used ribbon to trim the neckline, arm bands, and bottom hem.
I made house-cleaning-themed Shrinky Dink buttons for the pockets and sleeves.
Last summer I wore this dress a lot. While standing in line for Art vs. Craft, the ladies behind me said, "I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes" in a somewhat disparaging tone that made me feel sort of uncomfortable. They were obviously saying it in a manner that was making fun of how the "younger generation" thinks something is cool that they detested while growing up. This is familiar to me, of course, because I cringe whenever I see people wearing '80s styles. I love the dress, though, because 1) it's really comfortable and 2) the fabric makes me happy. It's pink and fun and whimsical and silly. I don't necessarily enjoy it for the "ironic hipster" factor, though I can see how it could be construed that way. This is what makes me uncomfortable about it. Sometimes I get confused about what I like/what my eye is drawn to and how that might be perceived. I forget that my sensibility doesn't necessarily translate very well. That I like things for reasons that are often very different from either their intent or from what the general population sees. Basically, I don't want to be weird for the sake of being weird. So I get kind of freaked out when other people see me as doing that (being the "jester cap" type).
This morning, for example, the brother-in-law-to-be said he thought he saw the Mr. and me yesterday when he was in the park. He proceeded to describe these people, saying that the girl was wearing a skirt (or dress) over pants. I feel the need to state here that I do not wear skirts or dresses over pants. I either wear a skirt, a dress, or pants. But never do I wear them together. This is a fashion statement I'm not quite on board with. (Not to say it can't be done well, just that I can't do it very well.) So I was kind of appalled that he thought this woman wearing this outfit was me. That my own style is indistinguishable from someone who does prescribe to this sartorial predilection. I realize, though, that he sees me this way because his own style leans toward gangsta rapper. So to him, I look just as ridiculous as that woman at the co-op who wears an afghan as a skirt over her jeans with duck boots, and, incidentally, just as ridiculous and clownish as his baggy pants and shiny white sneakers look to me.
It's interesting, though, isn't it, the way humans catalog, delineate, compartmentalize, and categorize things in order to better order their own understanding of their surroundings. Further, what we choose to place emphasis on, to specialize in, to focus our attention to get greater depth and better detail. Someone out there, for example, could probably tell me the difference between one SUV or another. And my mom could tell me the differences between horses. I'm wondering what it is that draws us to certain things. And why it is I'm drawn to these silly fabrics that make other people cringe.
I used ribbon to trim the neckline, arm bands, and bottom hem.
I made house-cleaning-themed Shrinky Dink buttons for the pockets and sleeves.
Last summer I wore this dress a lot. While standing in line for Art vs. Craft, the ladies behind me said, "I'm seeing my life flash before my eyes" in a somewhat disparaging tone that made me feel sort of uncomfortable. They were obviously saying it in a manner that was making fun of how the "younger generation" thinks something is cool that they detested while growing up. This is familiar to me, of course, because I cringe whenever I see people wearing '80s styles. I love the dress, though, because 1) it's really comfortable and 2) the fabric makes me happy. It's pink and fun and whimsical and silly. I don't necessarily enjoy it for the "ironic hipster" factor, though I can see how it could be construed that way. This is what makes me uncomfortable about it. Sometimes I get confused about what I like/what my eye is drawn to and how that might be perceived. I forget that my sensibility doesn't necessarily translate very well. That I like things for reasons that are often very different from either their intent or from what the general population sees. Basically, I don't want to be weird for the sake of being weird. So I get kind of freaked out when other people see me as doing that (being the "jester cap" type).
This morning, for example, the brother-in-law-to-be said he thought he saw the Mr. and me yesterday when he was in the park. He proceeded to describe these people, saying that the girl was wearing a skirt (or dress) over pants. I feel the need to state here that I do not wear skirts or dresses over pants. I either wear a skirt, a dress, or pants. But never do I wear them together. This is a fashion statement I'm not quite on board with. (Not to say it can't be done well, just that I can't do it very well.) So I was kind of appalled that he thought this woman wearing this outfit was me. That my own style is indistinguishable from someone who does prescribe to this sartorial predilection. I realize, though, that he sees me this way because his own style leans toward gangsta rapper. So to him, I look just as ridiculous as that woman at the co-op who wears an afghan as a skirt over her jeans with duck boots, and, incidentally, just as ridiculous and clownish as his baggy pants and shiny white sneakers look to me.
It's interesting, though, isn't it, the way humans catalog, delineate, compartmentalize, and categorize things in order to better order their own understanding of their surroundings. Further, what we choose to place emphasis on, to specialize in, to focus our attention to get greater depth and better detail. Someone out there, for example, could probably tell me the difference between one SUV or another. And my mom could tell me the differences between horses. I'm wondering what it is that draws us to certain things. And why it is I'm drawn to these silly fabrics that make other people cringe.
Labels: dresses, fabric, predilections, sewing, Shrinky Dinks
posted by tea at
8:00 AM
2 Comments:
Hi Tea! love, love, love the collar on that dress. I was also thinking about the skirts/dresses over pants thing...I totally do it, mostly because it makes me feel more covered and less self conscious. Love the blog. Thanks for visiting mine as well!
Thanks!
I know what you mean about extra coverage. When I lived in Boston I rode the subway all the time and lived in a neighborhood I could afford, so I wanted to be covered all. the. time. I didn't want to risk not being able to run if I needed to. These days, I wear practical enough shoes that I think I could run in a dress.
One look I would be interested in cultivating is the flowing pants with extra-long tunic (that could be mistaken for a super short baby doll dress) look. That's one form of dress over pants that I admire on other people. Unfortunately, due to my bottom half being twice the width of my top half, all the emphasis would be in the wrong area. Or the right area. Depending on the eye of the beholder.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home