I've been to Saturday drama classes. I'm the veteran of summer theatre courses (Grease in a week!). I've done GCSE, A Level, heck I've even done a degree in drama. So I can improvise all right. [Freeze!]
Which is a good job because I've started sewing some new additions to my wardrobe and gosh darn it, improv is an essential tool to have in your needlework box. Second only to fabric scissors which I soon realised I wouldn't get too far without. My first creation was a nipped and tucked sassed up versh of an old dress; my second I began today and it's going to be - thimbled fingers crossed - a swishy dirndl skirt in a fun print. The material's an absolute biatch to work with though - it puckers and creases at any available opp and my machine has endless issues. The needle breaks or it runs out of thread or it won't move and I don't know why... I'll never be a seamstress, though I'm enjoying these dabbles.
Thriftiness is certainly in style, if that's possible. You can hardly pick up a glossy supplement or free tabloid rag without being told all about credit crunch fashions - works for me as I am about to begin a six month (hopefully career enhancing) unpaid stint and it's certainly a stylish office. What better reply to a compliment than to say your skirt is home-made? This relies on getting the compliments first, of course. It's much much more difficult to pick out a second hand skirt or to sew a top than to pick a garment off a rail at (insert fave shop here) and have the result look good. Unfortunately, thriftiness doesn't make up a percentage of style - you don't look better just 'cos it's vintage. In fact, you're more likely to look worse - hence the cachet that comes from getting second hand/vintage/own-made/reclaimed right. Instant style credit that never crunches.
So when I finish my twirl-able navy skirt I'm going to have to force myself not to be sentimental (a feat the writers of tonight's episode of Gossip Girl were unable to manage). That's if I ever finish it. Turns out the folks at Burda Style were optimistic when they said "Beginner" and "hour or two". They hadn't figured TBOG might be at the pedal.
Wish me luck.
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1 comment:
I've done some sewing too, and it's difficult, I agree. The fist skirt I did was a tulip shape, and I chose a black tulip-print fabric. It had pleats (it was the '80s), and was really cute. It came out well. Except the waistband was too tight, it was too small. My heart broke! But I sewed it, and that was more important to me than being able to wear it.
I wish you luck in your travails.
Have you ever visited this blog? Erin talks about sewing with vintage patterns. You might appreciate it:
http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html
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