Talking Tuesday: Mark Judge

An interesting brief read from Mark Judge, on modern ideas about style.  It strikes me that the proliferation of fashion and style blogs (and the commentary contained therein from frustrated women) reflects a loss of societal structure about what we wear.  We no longer have rules about what is and isn't proper to wear for every day, or even for special occasions, and the resulting sartorial chaos of our post-modern age is deeply unsettling.  It is frustrating to be at odds with one's closet, and I think that the fashion industry in the post-modern world is predicated on the idea that women need to remain dissatisfied with their looks and overall appearance.  It is a soul-discomfort, to feel like one has nothing to wear, to live in the anarchy of fast fashion.  One might make the argument that industrialization creates this anarchy across society, not just in clothing, but I see it most keenly reflected in the sartorial sphere.

Mark Judge reflects on modern ideas about style, and how style and fashion in the first half of the 20th century was dictated by a small cohort of women who viewed their vocation as that of artists: creating loveliness and style in the everyday.  I think this quote gets at why I like to dress the way I do, why sewing my clothes and thrifting most of the rest makes me feel good about the way I look--there is a certain art to taking care of one's appearance, an art that shouldn't be discounted for modern utilitarian notions.  I'm not saying everyone should go back to dressing the way people dressed in the first half of the 20th century, but I think we should dress with the understanding that our sartorial choices reflect part of who we are.

 "The Dress Doctors held that our clothes and how we wear them reflect and shape our souls, and there is something intrinsically truthful about that: you just feel different, more elevated and even smart, when you’re in a suit or a glamorous and intelligent dress than when you’re coming home from the gym."

"Helen Binkerd Young, one of the Dress Doctors – she graduated from Cornell and taught Home Economics at the university – put it well: if a woman could “learn to see the arrangement between orderliness of arrangement and tranquility of the soul, between confusion and nervousness, between harmony of color and harmony of the mind, between honesty to form and directness of thought, then she will have realized the essential meaning of art in daily life.” "

Acculturated blog, Mark Judge, "Have Stylish Women Disappeared?" April 23, 2014

Images via pinterest

Green Dress, Take 2; or, how a belt can save an outfit

Today, I give you: the belt.  Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy.

I wear belts a lot.  They help define my waist, add a pop of color, and generally make me feel like my outfit is "finished".  I have belts in a variety of widths/materials, from leather to elastic waist cincher-types, but I find I most often reach for one in the 1" wide range.

 

Skinny belts tend to slide around on me, and don't define my waist enough for my liking (they work better for belting thicker shirts or with maternity wear), and my 2-3" wide elastic belts look best with my Downton Abbey-inspired looks.

For my everyday 1940s look, I've found that a good 1" belt helps my me-made skirts fit better, and the $5 leather ones I've been getting from ebay are just the thing because they have a slight nub to the backside that keeps them from going on walkabout on my torso. Always a win.  They come in a wide array of colors, and I recently purchased three (red, dark green, and yellow) to make some of my clothing combinations a little more wearable for warmer weather.

Take 2 on the green dress.  I realized after I took the Palm Sunday photos of this dress that it really (really) needs a belt.   (For the record: I did not gain 50 pounds this Lent; I realized those original photos may have given that impression.  Although, it must be said, I did eat a lot of bread.)

Much better!  Still a little on the 60s side of styling for me, but it is comfortable, and easy to wear, so I'm just gonna go with it.

New-to-me summer Danksos.  My old summer danskos bit it right at the end of last summer after two hard summers' wearing, so I was very pleased to find this pair on ebay recently.  They are sling-back, so I can wear them with or without the laces, and they have a slight 1" heel (enough to keep my high arches happy) but not so much that I can't run around in them.  And the neutral beige goes with everything.  I'm wearing them with tights here, but they are perfect for summer.

Outfit one: 

Red twill skirt: me made

Percale cotton button down blouse: me made from vintage fabric and pattern

1" "turquoise" leather belt: beltparadise

 Telephone Brooch: loveevol (similar, from same seller)

Shoes: not pictured, but they are Bass Weejuns via ebay

Outfit two: 

Green button down dress: eshakti (customized sleeves)

1" dark green belt: beltparadise

Earrings: Mrs. Meow (etsy seller no longer in business)

Danskos: ebay

Last Sew For Victory Dress: Tossed Flowers

My final Sew for Victory project!  I'm calling it the Tossed Flowers dress, because I'm super original like that, but it is Bright Week and my brain is tired, so we're just going to roll with it. 

 I made the New England dress pattern again, and made the changes I noted in the first go-round--interfacing the yoke pieces, and using tailor's chalk to transfer the pattern markings instead of chalk marker, and it came out even better this time!  

I think the fit is even better on top, and the interfacing definitely helped.  

I still need to figure out a neater way to join the facings at the shoulder, but that is a problem for another dress, because I'll probably make this one again.  

The construction went a little faster this time, since I understood the process, and the zipper insertion went better after a false start, so all good things.  

I made the self-belt by interfacing a 3" wide piece of fabric, and then seaming one side and turning it right-side out, like a tie, which worked okay, but was a royal pain to get turned right side out with the fusible.  It is functional.  I used a butterscotch plastic buckle that perfectly coordinated with the yellow flowers for my  belt, and added a big ol' honking snap to the end to keep it from flying apart at an inopportune moment. 

On a 1 1/4" belt--just for scale.

 And, zee finished dress (interspersed with some random flower and herb pictures from my back patio, because, hello spring!):

I should take a minute to talk about the fabric drama of this dress.  I ordered the fabric at the same time as the Hello Birdie! dress fabric because they were both on crazy good sale, and both arrived a few weeks ago, but when I went to prewash them, I noticed that half my yardage of this fabric was missing the yellow printing on the flowers!  So half was red, cream, navy, and  yellow flowers, and the other half was just red, cream, and navy.  

It wasn't nearly enough to make a dress out of the correctly printed portion, so I called Joann's customer service line, and they said they would fix it and send out a replacement length for the amount that was printed incorrectly.  I cut out the bodice and skirt facings out of the fabric I did have, and then waited a week.  The replacement package arrived, and they had sent me the Hello Birdie fabric instead!  

I called again, and they were so sorry, and said I could keep the extra fabric, and express shipped the replacement, which arrived just as we were departing for the latter half of Holy Week.  Probably just as well, since I would have been tempted to pre-wash and cut it out as soon as it arrived, which I did on Bright Monday instead.

I made the hem a little wider this time, and shortened the sleeves about 1/2", which I think I like better.

 

 

I love daffodils--so bright and cheery.  Our local hardware store had a bunch of spring plants out this week, so I picked up a few things for the back patio; we'll see how they fare back there.

 

 Warm weather shoes and ashy legs.

Odds and Ends, Vol. 8

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! A very happy Bright Week to us all. I mentioned last week that I had another Odds and Ends in the hopper, and so I do! A great list of links for your reading pleasure. 

photo via Lettuce Lift Up

Even though we are just past Holy Week, and all its temptations and trials, I still think this article is worth reading and thinking about: Work, Rest and Holy Week.  I think the lesson can be applied throughout the year.

Vladimir Denshikov's amazing knotted linen icons.  Stunning, just stunning.  Be sure to look at all the photos and take in the detail to fully understand the intricacy of his work.

Vladimir Denshikov, via

This article had me at "overwhelm".  Brigid Schulte talks to a staffer at The Atlantic about her new book, which discusses why Americans are so stressed out, tired, overworked and yes, ovewhelmed all.the.time.  The article is geared more to women who work outside the home, but honestly, I know just as many SAHMs who would find themselves in this article, myself included.  From the article: 

"We all feel like we’re not doing enough for our children, so in our guilt, we do, do, do, and overdo: more lessons, more teams, more sports, bigger birthday parties, more educational outings. And we all feed off each other—particularly as we look to the future, see a changing global economy and so much uncertainty about what “success” will look like. There’s so much fear and we’re so worried that our kids will somehow be left out, or left behind. That’s part of what fuels the craziness of the parenting merry go round.

And as for chores—man, all you have to do is open up any magazine and you’ll see that, for women, you can never be enough. Debora Spar, president of Barnard, called it the “triple whammy” in her recent book Wonder Women: Sex, Power and the Quest for Perfection. You have to keep house like Martha Stewart, parent like Donna Reed, work like Sheryl Sandberg, and look like Jennifer Anniston. That’s nuts. We all know it’s nuts, and yet it’s hard to break away from those cultural expectations."  Yes, yes, yes.  

And more: 

"How to try to live and work in a sane way when you’re in the middle of insanity: a voracious workplace that will eat you alive, friends and neighbors who raise eyebrows if you pull your kids out of some competitive activity. He gave some important advice: Create your own community, a network of like-minded people. Humans are wired to conform—that’s why these cultural pressures, however silly they may seem, wield such power over us. So find a group that fits your values that would make you happier to conform to."  

This has been our goal since day one of having children, since we knew we were going to making choices against the grain, and while we are still seeking out like-minded individuals, we are starting to have a nice little group around us.

Tired of trying to make childhood magical? Yeah, me too. (Although in truth, I was never trying that hard to begin with)  I think this article applies not just to raising children, but to a general attitude toward life, which is messy, difficult, and not usually magical. To find beauty in this life, we must actively seek it out, not passively wait for it to find us. "When we make life a grand production, our children become audience members and their appetite for entertainment grows. Are we creating a generation of people who cannot find the beauty in the mundane? Do we want to teach our children that the magic of life is something that comes beautifully gift-wrapped -- or that magic is something you discover on your own?"

Dreher discusses living in the Christian shadowlands--the post-secular landscape of belief/unbelief that characterizes our society.  A good commentary, and a nice jumping off point for an online discussion that has been making rounds in Orthodox circles about raising children who stay faithful.

In related parenting articles: Raising A Moral Child (it's trickier than you think)  We all want our children to be kind, compassionate, and helpful, but teaching them to internalize these values is a little bit hard.  This article tackles the why and offers some ways to help.

Sometimes being a student of history is useful for putting things in perspective, and sometimes it is just a scary reminder that what goes around comes around.  Benjamin Lockherd discusses how the common mind (and with it a sense of shared civil society) is at risk of falling away.

And in further esoteric news, the internet is ruining Big Words.  People no longer learn them, and they don't fit nicely into 140 characters.  This makes me so sad.  Sometimes complex words are the best way to convey an idea, or to express oneself adequately.  Narrowing language by definition narrows the mind.  That said, I do agree that one shouldn't use big words simply for the sake of using big words, or to obfuscate.  (how's that for a doozie??)  One should be clear, precise, and yet maintain richness and complexity.

Via

A sprawling mural drawn only in Sharpie.

I've known for a long time that the garment industry does a number on women's psychology with sizing and numbers and so forth.  One of the reasons I like sewing for myself is that I'm very familiar with my measurements, which are a better indicator of size, rather than a randomly assigned number on a tag.  I found this article to be particularly illuminating about the whole rigmarole.  In short?  We'd be better off giving some random non-numerical assignation to sizing, because it really means nothing.  In a somewhat related article, fozmeadows unpacks the bad science behind BMI as a measure of health, and how the number on the scale is only one factor.

I think a lot about clothing (clearly), as it is such an obvious point of self-expression and even, dare I say it, a kind of stress outlet for me? Sewing and knitting my own clothes gives me such an outlet of creativity and tactile satisfaction, and I love the thrill of the thrift hunt, and finding reasonably priced vintage clothing that fits me well is such a treat.  I'm increasingly disturbed by the waste of the modern fashion industry, and was distressed to discover that most "fast fashion" clothing isn't designed to last more than three washes!  It has certainly given me pause to reconsider those "bargain" purchases, and to think even more about sustainable living, particularly in regards to clothing.  I'm sure there's another blog post in there somewhere.

Downtown Abbey costume exhibit at Winterthur (photo by me)

I was thrilled to discover that someone is doing something positive to combat the hyper-sexual message of fashion for young girls.  You can bet I'll be patronizing this young woman's business when my girls get to be that age.

Carolynne discusses the minimalist approach to wardrobe, both for women and kids.  (Links for all the articles in the series are at the bottom of the entry).

Via Chronically Vintage

Jessica shared some fantastic rare color Edwardian photographs a few weeks ago. It is interesting to me how a color photograph makes the people in them seem less remote to our time.  I also found a pinterest page for early autochrome photographs that was equally fascinating.

Jen Fulwiler on 5 Big Ideas that changed her life.  Jen is ever the good one for looking at forests instead of trees, and I found this article particularly thougtful.

Jessica Griffith talks about how cultivating an attitude of gratitude in one's children is overrated, and may possibly be the wrong approach all together.  This article resonated with me quite strongly, as I'm somewhat prone to feeling put upon, and wondering why my children don't seem to notice or care about all the things I do for them all the livelong day.  The point?  It's not about me.  Duh.

This one is important: My longtime friends, the Wilsons, have just adopted a darling little girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Legally, as far as the U.S. and the DRC are concerned, she is their daughter, but the DRC has suspended all exit visas for at least 12 months so they cannot take her home.  Please take a moment to watch this brief video, read a little bit about their story, and if you are so moved, sign a petition to Congress to apply some diplomatic pressure for all the children stuck in limbo in the DRC to come home with their families.

And finally, a little Dante to round out this list.  Dreher digs deep into Purgatorio, and notes that nostalgia is really a longing for Eden.  As a keen nostalgist, and historian, I found this a welcome corrective.  From the article: 

"It’s a psalm of praise to God, speaking of eternal joy and freshness within the shelter of God and his righteousness. Matelda is trying to make Dante re-orient his moral imagination around divine poetry, and the truths disclosed therein. Though the pilgrim has been purified of his sinful dispositions, he still hasn’t learned to see with new eyes. As Hawkins puts it, a lifetime of reading the classics doesn’t leave the memory simply because Dante’s will has been purified. Dante has a history; hishabitus cannot be easily eliminated. In other words, his will may have been purified, but his imagination has not yet been fully redeemed

...

The lady suggests that the ancient poets’ longing for a Golden Age is, in fact, an expression of the ancestral memory of Eden, of our race’s first home. All the poetry that speaks of Arcadia comes from the collective memory of the Paradise we once shared. Ovid and all the classical poets were not entirely deceived, though their moral imagination was fallen. Still, they captured in their art glimmerings of the real world beyond our own. Here in Eden, the dreams of the poets are made innocent again, and fulfilled. Dante’s mental images of the natural world and how to read it are being restored."

Hello Birdie! Dress

Christ is Risen!  Indeed He is Risen! Christos Voskreese!  Voistinu Voskreese!

Another Sew for Victory project today!  (I promise I will blog about non-sewing things soon--I'm just sewing a lot right now to get ready for the season change).  I finished this dress at the beginning of Holy Week, but as I took last week off from posting, I'm blogging it now.  I present the Hello Birdie! Dress.

I got a rather nice deal on this New York 927 pattern from Vintage4Me2 as part of their Sew for Victory sale, plus an end-of-season sale, and it was the right size to boot!  I was a little nervous about working with a vintage pattern, as pre-1960s patterns are not printed and are pre-cut, with less detailed instructions, and you sort of have to know what you are doing.

But actually, I found the instruction sheet to be incredibly clear and understandable.  The illustrations were much better than modern patterns!  It is also true that this pattern was fairly straightforward--just seams and a zipper.  I did have to draft the facings as the instructions noted to do so late in the process, but it was okay--the neckline is square and it was pretty easy to figure out.  I used the back bodice as a guide to draft the back neck facing.

The pattern pieces were in very good shape, although the tissue was just a little bit brittle, so I didn't dare to use pins on it.  I used tailor's chalk to trace the patterns onto the fabric and then cut out with a pinking shears.

The downside of this method is that I didn't realize that some of the perforations in the pattern pieces were meant to be transferred instead of being grain line indicators, and so had to go back and figure out what I should have marked in the beginning.

And yes, since I'm sure you were wondering--I do sew in my kitchen.  Our kitchen table is the largest horizontal surface in the house, aside from the floor, and I find it easiest to do my cutting there, and I like having a large surface when I'm sewing, so I just set up my machine and iron there too.  I store my machine in a cabinet in the living room, so it works out well.  

I don't like having to clean everything up completely at the end of my sewing time--sometimes it would be nice to just leave everything until the next time I'm ready to sew, just for convenience sake, but I also realize that having to clean everything up at the end prevents me from keeping at the sewing machine beyond the point of fatigue and mistakes.  (I found this out the hard way last week when my husband took the boys on a trip to a monastery a few hours away, and left me with the girls, and I didn't have to clean up at the end of the day.  Let's just say mistakes were made.)

And so, here's my dress!  I needed some easy cotton dresses for the warmer weather.  When I started working on this dress, the weather was weirdly summer-like for a few days, but the day after I finished it, it dropped back below freezing, so I had a bit of a cold photo shoot on my back patio!

I could probably stand to take the bust in slightly, and possibly shorten the sleeves an inch, but otherwise, it is a pretty good fit! I took the shoulders in about an inch on the outer edge (just pinned it back and then pinned the top of the sleeve cap to the pinned in part and trimmed it after sewing) and that was just about right.  I also skipped the shoulder pads that the pattern called for (made with a square of fabric and batting, so not like the 80s versions, but generally, I don't like extra bulk on my shoulders).  

I did make the seams on the back skirt gores 3/8" instead of 1/2" because of my previous back skirt experience with the New England dress, although I think I probably didn't need it. I put the waist ties about an inch lower than ideal (one of those markings I failed to transfer and then had to drape in relation to the pocket to figure out); I'll fix it on the next go-round.

I've already got a plan for another iteration of this dress using a small feedsack from my stash paired with a solid Kona cotton contrast fabric.  I realized recently that the reason why Make Do and Mend sewing suggestions work well is that so many of the dresses of the period were constructed in ways that panels could be swapped out and freshened up with small lengths of fabric.  This pattern, for example, has a contrast yoke, plus princess seaming, so you could do a lot with colors and patterns in different fabrics in the various panels/pockets/sleeves.  After I finished this dress, and realized how much I could vary the pattern in the future, my brain really started click-a-clacking away, and I can really feel the creative part of sewing starting to get into me.

I've decided I love square necklines.  Another nice feature of this dress (and really the primary reason I bought the pattern) is the central zip, which means it is super nursing friendly!  I was considering a lapped zipper after watching the free tutorial on Craftsy, but in the end, I just went with a regular zipper insertion. The pattern called for a 21" zipper, but I only had a 14" one, and just went with it.  It is fine.  

Pocketses!!  They are zee best.  

I love this fabric, but I didn't realize that the birds were directional until I was sewing it together.  Oops.  The panels sort of alternate direction because of how I cut them, so it kind of looks like the pattern is more all-over than it really is.  At least the two front panels are going the right direction, so it is less obvious.

Sometimes you gotta use whatever props you can find.  In this case: a plastic squishy ball.  If I was really good with photo editing, I would stick some kind of glowing light ball in my hand.

New-to-me shoes.  I've been wanting to get some spring/fall shoes that are not clogs (much as I love my Danskos, I can't really wear them without stockings or tights), and found these Softspots flats on ebay.  They are quite comfortable, and the little heel is just enough so my high arches don't ache.  (I can't wear flats)

An old Acorn and Will bird brooch that doesn't quite match color-wise, but whatever.  It matches the pattern well, though!  And no, I didn't cut my hair--it was fresh out of a good wet set that day, and I wanted a more 30s look, so I tried to disturb the curls as little as possible before pinning them back.

There you have it!  Happy Bright Week!