Sunday, May 27, 2012

Inspired by MMM

As I promised, I've finally got a few pictures of me wearing my latest me-made pieces, my blue Ginger and my plaid estate sale dress. I've been really impressed and inspired by all of the Me Made May outfits I've seen this month, and, even though I didn't' sign up to play along, I have been putting a little more effort into making myself wear my own me-mades...something I've been known to struggle with.


Instagrams (sorry!) of my Ginger  --  is anyone else as HYPED as I am that PicMonkey finally has collages??

In all honesty, I have to admit that I have some issues with this skirt. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the fabric insists on always being at least a little bit wrinkly. In addition to that annoyance, though, I think there are some slight waistband issues. The band seems a tad loose (which the little yellow bow belt helped fix), so I'm constantly re-positioning the darn thing whenever I wear it. I'm also not sure if I like the pointed waistband. It seemed like such a cute, kind of quirky, design feature when I first laid eyes on this pattern way back when, but, now in real life on my torso, I feel like it kind of just takes up extra space and makes my chest stand out too much. These complaints have not stopped me from wearing it, though I am planning to make another test version with the straight waistband before I finally cut it out in my denimy fabric.

fuller-sized image
I wore my Ginger  to work with a cardigan, which didn't make it into the photos. I was a little nervous wearing it to work, wondering if anyone would comment on it or ask me if I made it, but luckily no one did (I'll look at that as a positive thing!), so I didn't have to do any awkward "I like to sew..." explaining. Phew!

I also wore a cardigan when debuting my Estate Sale Dress to the world. I wore it to work and again to the art show over the weekend. Unfortunately, I've only got the one photo of me in it. It's such an easy, comfortable dress to wear - I love it!

Estate Sale Dress in action at the art show - ignore the dopey hat pose I'm trying to pull off. It was a million degrees out and high noon.

When I wore this outfit to work (sans sun hat) I ended up being complimented on it, so went into my whole spiel about liking to sew and making this dress. It turns out the coworker I happened to be talking to this time (unlike with my mad men dress debacle :)) has a mother who sews a lot and would make her clothing when she was growing up, so she didn't look at me like I was a freak. She did declare I was "weird" once I confessed I sometimes wake up at 5am to shower then blog or sew, though. Sigh, maybe she's right.

I wore it with the tie in front all day.
After work I met up with friends who suggested I turn the waist tie around, so it ties in the back, for a less casual look. I like it both ways, but hadn't really considered wearing it tied in the back until they mentioned it. 

All in all, I'd say wearing these me-mades has been a success. They're both comfortable and casual enough to be practical, and also make me feel good, even if they're not perfect ...and wearing them means I have to sometimes talk about my sewing to non-sewers. :)

14 comments:

  1. Really cute Ginger! I like the way it's styled with the little bow belt!

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  2. They both look great on you! Participating in MMM had really made me appreciate classic, versatile pieces, which both of yours are. (I, on the other hand, just finished a Cambie dress and promptly realised that it's only ever going to be appropriate for a garden tea party! Darn.)
    My MMM post on flickr today was actually about the topic of being asked if you made something... I usually hate it, except when it's a class of students - Then i'm happy to show them that sewing is a cool thing to do! Here's what other people said: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22576189@N00/7281505260/in/pool-1932524@N24

    Happy sewing! :)

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    1. Ooh, I really love the Cambie pattern...I'm really showing some restraint by not purchasing it, since I don't actually NEED it right now.
      Re: your "did you make that?" post, I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the question! I usually end up doing exactly what you mentioned, blushing and point out flaws. Sigh, I'm trying to work on that response, though. :)

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  3. I think the pointed waistband looks fine and is quite flattering in the pics (I know it can be a completely different story in real life though!)

    And I know how you feel about wearing clothes you've made. I used to feel really awkward at first, and had this irrational fear that everyone was secretly laughing at me!! Turns out most people either don't care, or they just say "that's a nice dress" and leave it at that. On the odd occasion someone asks where I got it from, I just say "Oh, I made it" like it's no big deal and it's a perfectly normal thing to do!

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  4. I'm similarly ambivalent about the shaped Ginger waistbands...I haven't sewn it up yet partly because I can't decide what to do about that feature!

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  5. Ginger and your dress are both cute! I like the dress with the cardigan :)

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  6. I feel the same way about the pointy waistband on my first Ginger. I still love it but my next two versions both have the straight waistband. I love yours with the bow belt, may have to steal that idea! You look lovely in your me-makes, they both look totally professional. X

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  7. Love, love, love your estate sale dress! That cute little collar really looks great with it. Great job on both outfits!

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  8. they really are great looks! i love that estate sale dress, it looks so perfect for summer.

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  9. These are both so cute! I like how you styled them, and they're both so sweet and flattering. I like the shape of the waistband on the Ginger-- I like the way that it breaks up the waist... I feel like I look a little less frumpy in mine with the pointy waistband than I usually feel in A-line skirts.

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  10. People tell me I'm weird all the time (for very similar reasons than yours). I've learned to take it as a compliment: I don't really want to be ordinary ;)

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  11. I really like how the Ginger looks on you! Especially with that little belt! I do have a few clothes that I don't feel comfortable in, even though I get complimented on them, though, so I know how you feel... Cute dress, too - I love dopey hat poses... ;)

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  12. Both of those are really nice, especially the dress - the large gingham pattern even looks like it'd be super-comfortable to wear. And I do the 'getting up at 5 am to sew or blog[/write]' thing too; relieved that I'm not the only one!

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