Dressing & Decorating

In the introduction to Making A Complete Wardrobe From 4 Basic Patterns, author Rusty Bensussen writes:

Dress-up is a game we play as children. We borrow freely from the adult finery of bygone eras, lovingly stowed in trunk and storage bag, attic and closet, creating wardrobes with imagination and elan. But what happens as we grow up? Following the uniform of the day, we crawl into a shell of conservatism and the fear of being different from the crowd. We copy the wardrobes of friends or neighbours, trading imagination, fun, and personal identity for conformity and boredom. Falling into the trap of sameness, we dress like everyone else.

When I think about my childhood, I don't remember playing dress-up. We didn't have a tickle trunk of clothing although I must have wanted one because I made sure that my daughter did. What I remember is playing Barbies. LOTS of Barbies. I loved dressing them up, managing their lives, and decorating their homes and cottages. None of the work. Just the good stuff - dressing and decorating. My Barbie was a career woman with a maid and a cook. LOL - you can see I'm not much different years later. I wish.

I can identify with falling into the trap of sameness. If we don't sew, or if we won't sew anything that's uniquely different, is there any other choice? The stores are filled with the same old, same old and everyone is wearing some version of one another. I often find myself not buying a style I like simply because everyone else is wearing it. I'd rather wait a year or two and pick those up at the second hand store when I'll then be different.

EVEN IF you do sew, it's difficult to find affordable fabrics in out of the ordinary textures and colors. At Fabricland, there is a lot of black, blue, cream, and brown with intermittent spots of purple, red or turquoise just as there is in the retail outlets. Being different takes a lot of work. Rusty goes on to say...

Clothes can be fun; if you let them. They can make a personal statement, brighten your day with wonderful colors, and create a mood, an aura of individual style. A trip to your closet can be like a trip to a deli where you can find variety, spice, and color, and can experience a sense of adventure. An exhilarating sensation comes over you when you're making your own choices.

Now the time has come to put fun back into your life; to sew with imagination from personal choices; to start dressing to please yourself; to re-examine that dream wardrobe you carefully laid to rest because you were afraid to look different.

A dream wardrobe doesn't have to stay hidden under your pillow, nor should your plans for it fade with the light of day. It can flow from a few simple patterns, fill your closet with wearable choices, and span the seasons. A dream wardrobe can enhance your life by giving you the clothing versatility and uniqueness you've always desired.

That sounds lovely. And it's nice to know that I'm not afraid to look different. That's not a problem. Of course, I'm not way out there so perhaps it's easy. What I know for sure is that I'm on a journey, discovering what is true about me. I only returned to sewing thirteen months ago. After twenty years of jeans and a black t-shirt, that's not a long time to be discovering new directions.

Nancy DaQ wrote: Also, too bad about the off-shoulder top. The color was pretty, but I wasn't so sure about the shape on you. Based on the dress form, it's style lines appeared to be very horizontal and I wasn't sure how it would work for you. I guess you came to the same conclusion. I noticed that the garments you seem to like have diagonal and vertical style lines -- both the tops and bottoms. Perhaps that's a good place to start with your analysis of what flatters.

Interesting comment about the styles lines Nancy. Thank you. I'll think some more about what that might mean to my choices especially when contrasted with my current wardrobe which - as near as I can tell - is barely diagonal. In thinking about the Vogue 2893 top some more, it wasn't the fuchsia color and it wasn't the shape or style lines and I'm even concluding that it wasn't the off the shoulder neckline because...

... I had sewn it before in a knit which didn't bother me and I had a top very much like Vogue 7997 above that I wore to two different Christmas parties and loved - danced all night in it. This realization made me focus in on what exactly it was about the silk dupioni top that made me uncomfortable. My conclusion? The fabric.

I never - as in ever - wear woven fabric tops. Over the last year, I've sewn several blouses and they all hang in the closet unworn. In contrast, I've made numerous knit garments that are worn weekly. This might be one of those unshakably entrenched ruts that came about because, for so many years, it was impossible to buy a blouse that fit and flattered and an aversion to the shapeless tops that don't. Knits worked.



A knit fabric clings, follows the curves of my body, and gives me soft shape. Whether or not they look better on me, knits emotionally make me feel better and wovens emotionally make me feel uncomfortable. Next time I'm snoop shopping, I'm going to try on blouses and see if I can find some kind of shape or fabric that feels comfortable. That might be a good starting point. Maybe something like Vogue 2946 - another pattern I've been attracted to but have never sewn. I might need to learn to tuck in, something I haven't done in years.

I have a triangle, pear, bottom heavy, whatever you want to call it, body type. Off the shoulder is one of the styles that suits my figure type because it visually widens narrow shoulders and balances wider hips. That's the goal with almost everything I wear - to create balance. Knowing that's true, there's a marriage that has to happen in order to dress with confidence - a match between style lines that flatter, fabrics that feel emotionally and physically comfortable, and a fashion personality that is uniquely me. That's the journey. I've realized that what I admire about women who I think dress amazing is their confidence. I'm on my way to having that same confidence. The journey so far hasn't been hopeless. I have discovered some truths but... interesting or not... many are truths I already knew. More and more it seems that I'll be shaking up my recognized rut.

Carolyn wrote - dictionary.com has two definitions for schizophrenia. I like the second one: "a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or uncompatible elements". So I'm saying that some patterns are uncompatible or contradictory for some women and they don't realize that they shouldn't be using them... thus pattern schizophrenia. Truly a condition common to a large block of sewists - they just haven't been diagnosed yet so they are unaware of their condition! *LOL*

YES - but... how will we know if no one tells us? And not just anyone, someone whose has style sense and the ability to see style on other people that we trust. Not easy to find. One thing I've noticed about forums is that no matter what someone posts, or how it looks, someone else will say it's wonderful and that for every item I dislike on me, someone loves it and for every item I think looks great on me, someone else doesn't. A personal sewing buddy/mentor is a desireable relationship.

I had the style conversation with a friend yesterday. We talked about the unshakable rut versus the styles that flatter concept and how to perk up the party. That's something I have blogged about numerous times. It's a topic of great interest to me.

The Self Imposed Sewing Club has been one approach to discovering more about myself. Trying on more and different RTW will be another. Perhaps another is to approach dressing task specific by asking questions like what would make me feel comfortable, flirty, and pretty at a Christmas party? What do I want my work wardrobe to say about me when I start a new job? What do I want my casual home and about town wardrobe to reflect? What's my Sunday dress for church attitude? What's my date night attitude? I think I'll start exploring those questions by going snoop shopping this morning. What fun!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - good discussions, learning, life-long journeys