I LOVE the cool clothes comments. Thank you.
I pretty much would add your garments to my own list. I am going to wait a few days and then post a master list.
Got me thinking too.
Why not sew these things for ourselves? Now?
I have a friend, about my age, who feels she has "lost her style." She isn't sure she likes how she dresses these days. Sound familiar?
Once you hit 50 it's kind of weird. Do you:
1. Go conservative, or dress by formula, and then worry you look too old?
2. Go classic and then worry you look unimaginative?
3. Say to hell with it and follow the trends and then worry you are making yourself actually look older because you aren't your daughter and it's bad to look like you are trying to be.
4. Go for comfort first and then look like you have said to hell with it and given up (or in)?
5. Go for arty and then worry you look like someone who lives with 89 cats? (Not that there's anything wrong with that).
Behind 1-5 is in fact only one real question.
Am I looking like myself?
My friend has an intriguing solution.
She is thinking of all the clothes she has worn in her life and tried to remember the stages, styles of dressing, where she felt her sharpest. In her case it is when she wore high-waisted full pants and in fact has gone eBaying to find patterns like this.
You might not go there but when in your life did you feel sharpest?
This is a very good question.
Is there any relation between that and your own private cool clothes list?
Are there clothes you wish you still had but threw out or wore out?
What are the characteristics of the clothes you felt snappy in, whatever the era? Are these characteristics still in your wardrobe now?
Something I am going to be thinking of while I beach walk and then stage a full on assault on the Chanel sleeves this afternoon.
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- Barbara
- I am a mother, a grandmother, and a teacher. But whatever happens in my life, I keep sewing. I have worked as a political communicator and now as a teacher in my formal life. I have also written extensively on sewing. I have been a frequent contributor and contributing editor of Threads magazine and the Australian magazine Dressmaking with Stitches. My book Sew.. the garment-making book of knowledge was published in May 2018 and is available for pre-order from Amazon
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8 comments:
Yes, I remember a couple of sharp outfits. And I still have the patterns, but they are soooo dated. Early 80s stuff. I had an outfit to wear to a class reunion a couple of years ago and my son commented w/o prompting that he didn't know his mom could still look so classy! Navy blue silk Armani, purchased, of course. It's a keeper. In fact, I wore it to a big do a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if I look that good but remembering the compliment makes me feel as if I look good!
In college, I wore 3 shirt-dresses w/ full sleeves. I wore them to death w/ Keds in the summer and boots/tights in the winter. I wish I kept them so that I could make patterns from them.
I also made a bunch of dresses from Perry Ellis patterns from the 1980s. I still have the patterns but not the 25" waist. A sack dress looks great if people can see your slimness underneath. They just don't look the same on me now.
Over everything, I tossed on men's sportcoats (Annie Hall) bought at thrift stores or a Levi's denim jacket, which I later lined in polarfleece when I moved from CA to CO.
After moving to LA, I gave away the polarfleece/denim jacket to a friend moving to Canada and bought myself a lightweight denim jacket, which my daughter tries to steal. I bought her her own so she would leave mine alone.
Oops, make that long sleeves and full skirts.
I go for 2-1/2 - Go classic but with a trendy side. Nothing too out there, but not too fuddy-duddy either. I think I do well, but that could be all in my own imagination. lol
I think I felt snappiest - and probably was - in the 80's. Still have my favourite patterns...but the SHOULDERS ! There's no way I could carry those off now, unless I put on 10 kilos round the neck ! Then I was a film producer, now I'm a florist - totally different look required.
P.S Do you know anyone with 89 cats to hire ?
I think I'm going to dress 'loud'.
I dressed my sharpest in the eighties and what I did definitely would not work now. Back then it was career, career, and I wore sharp little tailored suits, silk blouse, and spike heels every day. Much of the clothes I made myself but I specifically remember a Calvin Klein suit I splurged on that gave me so much wear for quite a few years. I wish I could dress like that now but is an anachronism for me as well as for today' workplace.
This is the big issue, IMO. Making the transition from career to non career or one that is vastly different from what one did in the past. I haven't got it figured out yet either.
Sewing clothes for yourself is a brilliant idea if only you know how to do that well. There are always times when you think whatever you wear do not suit you or whatever you have are not cool enough. I do regret getting some clothes out of my wardrobe because they got back into the trend.
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