I carried out a small experiment over the last two weeks, rather by accident. I wore three of my handmade dresses over three days, and realized they were all in shades of blue. This made me wonder how long I could continue. Turns out I have more blue clothing than I thought!
The interesting thing was that as I examined my closet each day, putting more unexpected outfits together in order to keep on my blue streak, nobody noticed. No-one at work, coworker or customer, seemed to notice any theme at all. Nobody commented on the lengthy repetition of blue of all kinds.
As sewists, we often feel critical of our own makes -- oh, but the zipper isn't perfect, the stripes aren't exactly matched at the side seam, the collar isn't perfectly symmetrical, and so on. Nobody else but us (and perhaps a few sewing friends) will ever see those so-called mistakes, but sometimes they are all we see, instead of the beautiful finished garment that we are wearing.
The last two weeks showed me that not only do others not notice our small errors, they often don't notice anything at all! What was I wearing yesterday? you might ask someone. They will have no clue. Because really, your appearance isn't all that important to them. If you wear a clown suit every day for two weeks people might start to wonder, but dress neatly and averagely and rest assured that NO-ONE CARES what you're wearing.
So wear what you want, don't apologize for your good-enough sewing, don't limit yourself to wearing only styles that you think hide your 'trouble spots' -- own them. Nobody else is going to care; hey, they probably won't even notice your outfit at all! This is a strangely comforting thought.
But after I finish my next two blue projects, I'm probably going to try to branch out colourwise, just a little bit, and brighten up my closet. Blue's not even my favourite colour! What about you? Do you tend to sew in one palette -- intentionally or not? If so, which one -- and why?
Great post and I totally agree, most of my non-sewing friends get quite annoyed at me when I point out the flaws in my makes! Like you say nobody else sees them.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard not to point them out but only other sewists know what you're talking about anyhow... ;)
DeleteIsn't the aim to have people notice you and not your clothes? There's a famous was it Coco Chanel quote. However, there's no doubt that I'd we are comfortable in what we're wearing we project a better image. Someone who is constantly tugging at their clothing or concerned about some flaw in it, not so. Then you do notice the clothes as you do if they really don't fit - bad fit that is not our imagined/overthought issues with slightly mismatched stripes etc.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that if there is a major flaw like bad fit and not just the overthought issues it's a different story. Feeling awkward and uncomfortable is never a good thing. And yes, isn't it that you should wear the clothes, not the clothes wear you? Good point!!
DeleteI wonder if the color has anything to do with it? Blue is such a color of the earth, peaceful, calming. But what if you were to wear red everyday for 2 weeks? I think the experiment might be quite interesting 😊
ReplyDeleteYou've got me wondering! I don't know if I have enough red for two weeks...but certainly enough for one... keep watching this space... LOL
Deleteyour post reminds me of a comment I heard one time. I was attending training to become a personal fashion stylist. when the instructor learned that I liked to sew my own clothes she bluntly told me I needed to stop doing that if I wanted to be fashionable. I've never been able to completely let go of that comment. when I think of sewing since then, it's with less freedom (will it "measure up?"). something to work on! nice post
ReplyDeleteJulia
Yikes! There is certainly that kind of attitude still prevalent (ie: the rude commentary about something looking "Becky Home-Ecky" which I always find very patronising and snobby). But as people aren't generally buying couture or even finely made clothes these days I think many home sewists make more fashionable and classic clothing than you can buy. What a hurtful comment - you can see how those linger.
DeleteI was early 20s and went to see a dermatologist about removing a rather large, but flat, mole on my face. He told me that no one notices it. "Seriously. People notice your eyes and your smile...they aren't looking at that mole." I never got it removed and now *I* barely notice it!!
ReplyDeleteSo I agree that people either a) interact with you on a deeper level so they don't notice or b) don't really interact at all so they don't notice.
Blue is my favorite color and goodness knows I sew a lot of it. I also sew a TON of black/white prints and grey. So much grey :)
I like you point that people don't notice your surface either because they are looking deeper or not at all! I know when I know someone slightly I can picture their physical appearance much more clearly than someone I know well and have known for a long time. Their personalities outweigh the visual!
DeleteI'm not sure what my favourite colour is -- I do love yellow but don't think I sew with it all that much overall.
I sew a lot of different colors. I recently noticed that I have several dresses that are mostly navy blue or have a navy blue background and it's definitely not one of my favorite colors. Weird.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd isn't it? Maybe we think of blue, esp navy, as a kind of neutral and so it makes its way into the lineup often.
Delete