Today at the library I wore a crazy dress that looks like I made it out of a tablecloth stolen from a picnic in the park. (it is A True Fact that wearing a garment such as this one can make a good mood better, improve a marginal mood, or at the very least arrest a bad mood. FACT! I'm telling you, it's like prozac on a hanger. It can even cheer other people up, believe it or not.) Anyway, despite the dress, I was still in kind of a shitty mood because of course I haven't heard anything official about my test (although a little bird told me I passed), I had an almost flat tire so I had to go take care of it right away which made me late, wah wah wah. I could go on and on, but just read the past 5 or so blog entries and you'll get the picture. Even though people were being kind in their usual way or saying they liked my dress or expressing surprise that I can sew (I worked for a number of years in an industry where sewing was considered to be a basic fact of life, like breathing oxygen) and generally being the all-around good eggs they are, I was still feeling compressed and tetchy. I was pulling books for the paging list (which was HUGELY LONG and had pages left over from yesterday) and kept finding myself right in the way of this little old lady. This often happens when people are browsing; usually I just go to another aisle and mark my place so I can go back, which is what I did this time. Only no matter where I went, there was this woman with her freshly set hair and sensible pantsuit, and I was always seemingly right in front of what she wanted. I scooted around the corner AGAIN (because even in a bad mood I know that patrons absolutely have the right of way in a library) thinking sweet jesus lady, I am getting out of your way as fast as I can! She finally caught my arm and said "it's so nice to see someone wearing a dress. You look very pretty."
I had to laugh! Here I was, once again, making assumptions that were 180 degrees wrong AND I made a nice old lady run all the way through the fiction section. You'd think I'd have figured it out by now.
The tablecloth dress is view A of the pattern above, which goes together fairly easily as I recall (it's been a while since I made it). For my dress I used a turquoise-y blue fabric for the front, and this insane print with fruit and flowers all over (tableclothy) for the wrap part. I used black bias trim like in the picture. As much as I'd love to wake up one morning with the perfect vision of how to acheive a streamlined casual yet sexy elegance, I always seem to find myself, when not wearing jeans, saying things like "I'm sorry my skull skirt got glitter on your upholstery." But, you know... SKULL SKIRT! I am helpless in its thrall.
Old people can be so sweet. And no, I don't mean you. I mean you can be sweet but you aren't the old person I refer to. You know what else? After reading that entry I realized that I don't see people in dresses all that much anymore and it is sort of a shame. They can be so fun. And they make that game about London and France and underpants so much easier to play.
ReplyDeletehee hee! She was really sweet and I was suitibly shamed about my crankiness.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I don't wear more dresses -- they're so easy. No fussing with what goes with what, you just put it on and you're dressed!
Exactly what I was thinking. Little fuss and muss.
ReplyDeleteHooray dresses! I need more dresses. My wardrobe is very skirt/top heavy (hee top heavy...so not my problem - I'm more of the classic weebil shape!). I still covet a dress like that. I even have imaginary fabric for it in my head. Someday the battle between my inherent sewing laziness and my need for material gain (hee...material gain! get it? I am the master of the badly innocent entendre!) will be won and I will have one and oh to have some clothing involving skulls!
ReplyDeleteTo ready yourself for the great battle of Inherent Sewing Laziness, you should hie thee to a fabric store and pick up one of these patterns on sale! I'm pretty sure they still make it, although the number may have changed.
ReplyDeleteDo it!
what is the fabric you have for it in your head?
Don't ask me why, but it involves cherries on black with red piping. I did figure out the mystery of the alternating fabric which is I thought was my own idea, but appears to be subliminally inspired by the blue and white model on the pattern (except my version is red).
ReplyDelete