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Knickers, boots,vintage mink, and
the arrogance of youth, circa 1977. |
Once upon a time, I was a clotheshorse. Like many other things in my life, I came by it naturally--my fashion-model thin mother has a taste for fine clothes and accessories, and the skills of a dressmaker--and I grew up with a closet full of the latest fashions. In college, I read a book called
Cheap Chic (by Caterine Millinaire and Carol Troy), and my own personal style was born: a mix of vintage and classics, seasoned with a lot of hubris.
Somewhere in the early 1990s, I misplaced my fashion sense and my clotheshorse tendencies. Some of it might have been the move to northern California (the Bay Area really is less appearance-conscious than Los Angeles) and some of it might have been the jobs I worked at (the last ten years of teaching I wore jeans or khakis to work every single day). No matter: the result was a closet full of thin V-necked sweaters appropriate for the classroom, and drawers full of T-shirts and jeans. The few items I still have from my days of working in offices are wool suits--nice, but Boring.
I've been out of the classroom for two years, launched on my current career as An Artist, and I've discovered that I have Nothing To Wear. Part of being an artist is being seen in public: there is a monthly local ArtWalk, weekly get-togethers at the local coffee roaster, and a host of other events throughout the year that require a bit more than jeans and T-shirts. I tried to fill in the gaps in my wardrobe with some basic pieces, only to discover that: a) there is little that fits my personal style; and (more importantly) b) most of what is available as ready-to-wear is poorly made crap. Example: I bought a long black rayon skirt to wear in the evenings. I wore it only 3 or 4 times before I found a hole in the fabric (not at a seam), simply there because the fabric wasn't very good quality. That skirt cost me nearly $10/wearing--not a good investment.
Fortunately, there's a solution: I sew. In fact, I sew pretty darned well. I can go back to making my own clothes. I stopped sewing because teaching took up all my time, but I now have a bit more time, and I can indulge myself with high-quality handmade clothing. I was already leaning in this direction--I recently picked up a length of beautiful Italian wool tweed to make a Chanel jacket, and that started me down the rabbit hole of couture sewing--so it didn't take much to decide I'll simply start making nearly all my own clothes again.
First up on the list is a new skirt to wear when I want something casual, but not jeans. Hancock Fabrics has McCall's patterns on sale this week, and I think this skirt pattern, executed in lightweight denim, will fill the bill nicely. Now, if I could just find that hubris...
