a few musinsgs on clothes

I've been thinking a lot about clothes recently.

I took the pledge at Wardrobe Refashion in October as a Life member. Sadly the Wardrobe is changing and I may not be able to continue my membership but it will always be a part of me now. I haven't really been one for clothes since I left university. A seriously fluctuating waistline has been mostly responsible for this teamed with a general abhorrence for modern fashions. So my spending has been limited to the ubiquitous stretchy vest. Having discovered the Wardrobe I thought this was the perfect opportunity to increase my sewing skills and get some "new" clothes. It also fits in with my hatred of waste and my eco choices. Sure I've veered many times into the wonder of new fabric but in general I've done quite well. I've not refashioned much due to needing help as I haven't a dressmakers dummy. We are planning on making 2 of them soon out of gaffer tape. One will be my standard body and the other will be in my corset. This way I should be able to (eventually) drape stuff to go over my corset. Having these will help immensely with the sewing but I imagine it's going to shatter some body perceptions. No more vanity measurements and fudging of figures. With these dummies I will be able to alter clothes I already have without Spadger's help which will help our relationship lots. Currently he gets snapped at a lot as he is trying to help me out because I can't really see what is going on and I don't really know enough to be able to direct him better. Plus I get quite frustrated as I have mentioned before with not having an "average" body so there are occasionally tears. He doesn't deserve to put up with all that so me being able to shut myself away with my yet to named dummies will be good.

I've found myself looking more and more at fashions of the 40's and 50's recently. Now I am far from the wasp waisted figure of that age but I do have an hourglass. My bust and hips are the same measurement which is almost 8 inches bigger than my waist. So definitely plenty of in and out. Everything today seems to be designed for the willowy or just plain underfed. Clothing designed for people with a bit of difference between waist and hips is perfect for me so this is my era. Stuff from the 20's not so much. What I find fascinating about older clothing is the emphasis on quality that we are so lacking today. As we have worked harder and harder to make things easier and cheaper we have lost any sense of the worth of things. By sewing my own clothes and things I appreciate how much effort goes into making something that wont fall apart (see some of my earlier attempts which are now in the mending pile). I appreciate how much nicer against your skin a good quality fabric feels. I want these clothes to last because I made them. And this is where I am fighting the last real demon I have with clothing. Boredom. Fashion runs in seasons so you must have new stuff for each season or be a fashion outcast. We also feel our clothes are disposable now because of how cheap they are. Why mend something when you can just buy another? So I want new stuff all the time partly through cultural conditioning and partly through a love of pretty things. I also feel I have to justify the space my sewing machine is taking up. I do plan to sew some things to sell, purses and bags and the like. Maybe some hair clips. Who knows.

So that's a few musings on clothes. It's kinda been a ramble as I think of it so it might not make any sense. Welcome to my head hehehehehe