Looking around the sewing blogs at the moment, it seems a major theme is organizing ones sewing to ensure a coordinated and workable wardrobe. I think it's really exciting that this is something I can be thinking about as I start off sewing, and have the conception of a me made wardrobe before me so I don't veer off and make too many unwearable pieces.
The first thing I need to be thinking of is where I currently am in life. I turned 20 last month, which felt for me like a very big milestone in my transition to adulthood. I believe this is a good time in life to articulate how I want my life to be, as it's easier to form habits now. Of course life is unpredictable, but making a conscience decision now to live simply in a vintage style is something that will set me up in good steed for years to come. I am also about to embark on third year uni, so I can wear floral vintage dresses to uni everyday if I so wish. It helps when uni's right next door to the most hipster suburb of Sydney.
What is it I mean by living simply and in a vintage style? Not hoarding is a big factor. I have never moved house in my life, and considering the thought of moving out of home one day makes me want to throw out everything superfluous. I have been doing a lot of major room clean outs over the last months. This also translates into being frugal with what I buy.
But the biggest area I am working on in my life at the moment is my own personal style. Before i get to the idea of a wardrobe in this post, I'll touch on the few other areas I want to work on. Firstly is my hair. I love my hair, it's a beautiful color, and extremely thick, I've just never been able to style it well. My aim in the next months is to recruit my friends to teach me how to do things to my hair. I also want to take more are in my shoes. I've always just had a black and brown pair for each season and worn them till they wore out, but I want a little more variety. I also want more variety with my handbags. Lastly, I want to pay more attention to makeup, but this is definitely not something I will wear all the time.
Now, onto the wardrobe! Tasha from By Gum, By Golly had a fantastic piece the other week on what she called the
'Land of Wardrobe Enchantment'. I found this a very interesting concept, and it made me think a lot about how I want my wardrobe to be this year. With this in mind I embarked on a wardrobe clean out, and got rid of a very large pile of clothing, an that was just from the summer clothes, the winter ones are still neatly packed away. As I was sorting through clothes I thought very hard about the idea of my personal style, and predominately only kept pieces that fit with that theme.
So, what is my personal style. It is certainly vintage, specifically 1940s and 1950s. And it's very feminine. I love dresses, skirts and blouses, especially in florals. I don't like pants (though I did keep a few pairs) nor do I like things that are excessively bold or seem too modern. I even got rid of a skirt that i still wore, but that I had also worn to my Yr 6 farewell when I was 11. Some things just needed to go.
With my wardrobe now depleted to a good and workable size, I feel I am able to dress more in a vintage style, and am more able to see the gaps that exist. I am very glad I did this before completing more sewing, as it ensures what I make will fit the wardrobe. I need some more long straight skirts. And more blouses, and a few dresses won't go astray. Some of what I've kept will be going out one it can be replaced by a me made piece.
So, my next sewing plan is to go through the suitcases of dressmaking fabric, and decide what I'm going to make to fill in the gaps. I am not going to start with rigid rules about each blouse must go with three skirts, and all those things. Whilst they are good guidelines, I do feel that as I am starting out on this sewing journey I can give myself a good bit of leeway.
How are you going to ensure your wardrobe works better for you this year? What are your sewing plans? How have you successfully incorporated a vintage look into your everyday wear?
This is the first dress I cut out and sewed up, and the second I finished. I actually finished it a few weeks ago, but haven't been able to share it. I wore it once, but in my hurry to finish it, and my unawareness of the importance of correct sewing procedure I had left all seams unfinished. Trust me, trimming and zig zaging each seam after you have completed the entire dress is not fun. I got that done, but only got around to washing it this week, and then finally today I wore it again, and was determined to get photos.
