Recent Hits and Misses: Spring

Continuing in the vein of last week's Recent Hits And Misses winter recap, I here present a recap of hits and misses among outfits I remembered to photograph over the spring months.

I spent the whole day in this next outfit feeling like a cute Japanese anime super-hero character!And not only did I get to wear my silver super-hero boots and that cute new tunic top, but I was able to top it all off with a silk scarf that was given to me as a gift to mark the beginning of my friendship with a Chinese graduate student named Huihua, who I met in the fall.The scarf is printed with designs of Beijing opera masks, and Huihua understood that I was especially excited about it because it's not only pretty, but also relates to what I do for a living. Offering me this gift as a token of friendship was such a kind gesture, and I was so honored and humbled to receive it from her. Huihua is back in China now, but I hope to get to visit her there one day.

That scarf also worked its way nicely into this HOLY-CRAP-I-WORE-THIS-SPARKLY-TOP-HAT-TO-WORK outfit.I bought this silly little sequined top hat headband on a whim after browsing an accessory rack, thinking maybe I could wear it for a New Year's Eve party or something like that.I have worn this jacket with jeans many times over the years, allowing me to feel both comfortable and work-appropriate but not boring, but I felt like I'd worn them the same way so many times that they needed some pop. I was rifling through my scarves and headbands for an interestng accessory... et voila!

The phone rang after I pushed the timer button on my camera, so it caught this shot of me answering.I feel like I look like I'm getting away with something, which... yeah, I am. I'm wearing a sparkly miniature top hat to work!

I'm surprised to find that I think this next outfit looks rather nice in the photos, because every time I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror that day, I couldn't wait to go home and change. I kept thinking that I wished I had just worn my long brown leggings instead of these cropped leggings.I didn't like how the white skin between the tops of the boots and the bottoms of the leggings felt like the biggest focal point in the outfit, and broke up what would have been an otherwise flattering leg line.

But with this next outfit, I was very happy with how the cropped leggings worked on my legs, even with my Dansko clogs which can often make an otherwise lovely outfit feel a bit schlumpy-frumpy.When I first puchased this short and slinky spaghetti-strapped dress, I imagined that I would only wear it for going out social dancing (my non-work life revolves around ballroom, latin, swing, Argentine tango, etcetera). But I decided to challenge myself by trying to find a way to make it work-appropriate, and it was surprisingly easy because these leggings, shrug, and flower clip in my favorite color, which I like to call Caribbean blue (see also the wall behind me :-) ) almost matched so well that they looked like they were made for it.In fact, this outfit is more matchy-matchy than I usually go for.Wearing one of my going-out-dancing dresses all day made it feel like so NOT a workday, even though this was actually a week when I worked very long hours every day.

Due to my recent dancing-induced weight loss, I had to do a major alteration to this skirt, but I'm so happy with how it turned out!It's such a simple shape that you wouldn't think it would have been difficult to alter, but that patchwork corduroy is suprisingly awkward to work with, and a lot of the seams I had to separate were double- or triple-stitched.

If you saw my stage blacks post a few months ago, then you might guess that this next outfit is one that I wore during a dress rehearsal week in order to be a good example to the wardrobe crew students that I was training.You would be correct. With the removal of the colorful accessories and the addition of long sleeves, this outfit would be an example of acceptable attire for a wardrobe crewmember working backstage during a show.It felt very functional and comfortable, but I also honestly felt so pretty that day. And I had yellow flower clips in my hair!Every day is better when there are yellow flower clips in it.

Recent Hits and Misses: Winter

Hi! Yeah, I know, it's been a while. My dancing addiction sucks up all my non-work time nowadays, but I have much more non-work time than usual available for the next two months, thanks happily to seasonal unemployment. I love July and August! So maybe I'll stick around and be a more active blogger for a couple of months, eh?

I still managed to take pictures every once in a while over recent months when wearing something I just loved (or just loathed), so I do have some fun stuff to share. I'll do two of these "recent hits and misses" posts - one today covering more wintry outifts, and one later this week covering more springy outfits.

My favorite thing about this outfit was the way that the silver dots on the cheap plastic (dollar store!) belt tied in with the dots on the skirt......though I was also just thrilled with the textures and the color mix that reminded me of fall leaves. Never mind that I wore it in February.

I don't wear this next skirt very often because I'm afraid of getting it dirty (my job offers many opportunities for getting dirt, paint, glue, etcetera on my clothes), and because it's surprisingly difficult to style even though it's such a simple, versatile piece.But it has a very special history. Once upon a time - oh, just a bit over ten years ago - it was part of the wedding dress that I made for myself when I was 21, young and stupid and in love, and marrying my college boyfriend. Then, about five years ago, I chopped the dress up and repurposed (refashioned) it, incorporating the bodice into a dress for a show for which I was the costume designer, and shortening and modifying the skirt into the shape that you see here. We celebrated a milestone anniversary last month, and if we ever renew our vows, I'm guessing this skirt will be a part of my outfit for the day.

This was also the first time that I wore this necklace, which I randomly won for participating in Mervat's "One Jacket Five Ways" challenge back before she had to shut down her style blog for privacy reasons (which is why I'm not linking to her other blog here).I found this necklace suprisingly tricky to style, so I was excited about this outfit because I wore two of my challenging pieces at once.

A close-up of my wedding-dress-changed-to-casual-skirt fabric:I looooove raw silk/dupioni...

Speaking of difficult-to-style necklaces, here is another one I was excited to finally find a way to incorporate into a work-appropriate outfit.It is one of the fun pieces of costume jewelry that my grandma handed down to me after my great-grandma passed away. She often gives me things thinking I might use them for my work on a show or donate them to costume stock, but I'm always like: "Give it away? No, I'm keeping it for myself!" But I do occasionally borrow pieces from my collection for use in shows. I am grateful to have them.
This interestingly-printed dress was a recent purchase from a consignment shop. The neckline is absurdly low and would require a camisole or something else to be worn underneath it unless I want my bra cups to be the day's focal point, so I either wear it backwards as shown here, or I wear a layer over it that covers the low neckline in front.The color, something like wilted celery stalks, is rather blech on me, so I need to wear something with a better color near my face anyhow.

I really liked how it worked out with this pink cardigan and green boots.The boots brought out more of the green in the dress, and then the cardigan made it pop because they are complementary colors.

But with this purple sweater and brown vest... not so much.
You can even tell from the look on my face that I am just: Not. That. Into. It.

I just felt frumpy. The photo angle actually makes it look much more flattering than it was in person. You can tell I'm not wearing the dress backwards here, because the front neckline dips down way below my vest neckline. Next time, I'd layer it with a brown sweater so it's less busy, and I'd love to find a shorter vest, maybe in a little cropped or even empire-waist length, to layer over it. It would nip in the dress and give it structure without making it feel frumpy. Maybe in dark blue denim? Feel free to share links if you've seen something like that that I can buy online!

Another new item that I enjoyed styling over the winter is this dark burgundy sweater from Victoria's Secret. It's super-warm and thick, but it's made with some percentage of spandex, so it never feels sloppy or bulky.This outfit actually felt very dignified and pretty, despite the unflattering camera angle and the apparent frump of the legwarmers. I wear those legwarmers when I want to give the feeling of boots, but with the on-my-feet-all-day comfort of my Dansko clogs. I have black ones with spat-like buttons for with my black Danskos, and the same ones in brown for with my brown Danskos. I really need to just make myself some leather spats at some point.

Worn with jeans and my brown vest (and once again the on-my-feet-all-day Danskos), it felt stylish and super-comfortable.Holy moly, my hair is down and headbandless in that picture! That almost never happens. My hair is a bit wiley.

This next oufit made me happy because I managed to wear two tricky-to-style tops at the same time. I prefer to wear this striped shirt under another layer because I rarely find horizontal stripes flattering on anyone's torso. And I have to wear a layer beneath this salmon sweater because otherwise the wool would be too itchy for my easily-irritated skin. It's not something I would have bought for myself, both the style and the fiber content, but my friend Sarah offered it to me as a hand-me-down and I've been really happpy with how it has worked every time I have worn it.That hat usually only gets worn for the chilly commute, but I forgot to take it off before I started taking pictures. But it is cute, no? Wearing these pieces together, I think I look like a high school student. I looked a little more grown up again once I removed the hat and put back on the jacket that I wore for warmth most of the rest of the day.

Armpit gussets tutorial for Aunt Nancy

Hi, fellow residents of style-blogging land. Sorry for my long absence. And this post isn't going to seem like much of a return. I still take photos of favorite ensembles occasionally, but I have so many dozens of outfits waiting to be blog-shared that I'm sure I'll never get to most of them. Other stuff in life has simply taken precedence. BUT I WILL RETURN TO BLOGGING THIS SUMMER!!! I'll have much more "me" time over the coming summer months than I have had in a number of years, so if I can't manage to fit blogging back into my life this summer, then I probably never will.

So, I was going to e-mail my Aunt Nancy these photos with explanations, but I realized it would be easier to share them in a blog-post format. She was talking about how she often encounters arm-lifting problems in garments she makes with set-in sleeves, so I said I'd share a solution I often use for that problem. I insert little bias-cut football-shaped gussets into the bottom of the armscyes. They aren't very pretty up-close, and they are a bitch to sew, especially when you're figuring out how to insert them for your first time. But they usually hide fairly well, and they can make a world of difference in terms of comfort and movement-capacity.

I apologize in advance for the poor photo quality. I took these with my iphone and mailed them to myself so that I could get this post up right away.

So take, for example, this leg-o-mutton-sleeved bodice:


Here is what the underarm looks like with the gusset in place:


And here is a view from the side seam:

I hope you can make sense of this shot. I lifted the arm all the way up and back, and folded the bodice in such a way that you're looking directly at the side seam, so you can see how the gusset is inserted horizontally between the bodice and the sleeve.

Here are some sample armpit gusset patterns:


Note the grainline: not horizontal, not vertical, but on a 45-degree angle so that it's cut on the bias. I was taught that this helps with stretch in that area.

The length and width of the gusset is something I always just guess at. Basically, you want it to be as big as it needs to be to get the job done, but not much bigger than that, because the larger it is, the more it might show. Sometimes, I'll simply go ahead and attach the sleeve before a fitting but leave about 6" under the armpit unattached, and then I'll decide in the fitting how long and how wide I want the gusset to be.

I also occasionally use another solution, that of actually modifying the sleeve and bodice pattern pieces so that the gusset allowance is built into them, so you don't end up with an ugly wedge-shape in your armpit. But it's too hard to explain that method here. And I find sewing them much more difficult, and then if they don't work, it's not simply a matter of taking them out and putting in new ones. I basically only use that solution if a designer insists that they don't want the football kind.

Gussets are wonderful little tools. A gusset inserted vertically into a bodice's side seam - at about the same level or a bit lower than this one, but up-and-down instead of side-to-side, and perhaps shaped more long and narrow than these examples - can make it fit an actress whose bust is just a bit too large for it. I have also used them in crotch seams: from front to back in order to give a performer more freedom of movement and prevent them from splitting their crotch seam in performance; or horizontally from side to side in order to ease "package issues" if a male performer has a particularly large front bulge and his pants aren't laying smoothly over it. That's one of those things we'll notice in a dress rehearsal, change it in time for the next run of the show, and just hope the performer doesn't notice it and ask about so we don't have to explain that their package was distracting because it was bulging too much. There are lots of other applications for gussets of all shapes and sizes, but I'll stop here.

I hope you get to try this sometime, Aunt Nancy. I want to see how it works out if you do!

Stage blacks, loss, and comfort

A few Sunday nights ago, something happened in my personal life that really threw me for a loop. I suffered a loss, in a way. There was not a death or a divorce or anything that typically comes to mind at the mention of a loss... but I had to give up something very dear to me, and it tore out a piece of my heart. That is all I can really say about it publicly. The situation has mostly ameliorated itself since then, but at the time, it felt like something I would never be able to get over.

So began a hellish tech week at work for a show that opened on the following Thursday. I had already known that the week was going to be awful due to the projected 15-hour workdays and only 4.5-5 hours sleep per night, which is typical for tech weeks in my line of work. You just suck it up and push through it. I had to dress for comfort, I needed to wear something I wouldn't have to think about much, and I wanted to never look in the mirror and feel frumpy or wish that I had worn something that makes me feel more confident. And, since I train my student wardrobe crew during tech week, I usually wear an all-black or mostly-black ensemble on the first or more dress rehearsal day(s) in order to be a good example to them of how I expect them to wear stage blacks for every dress rehearsal and performance.

Partway through Monday, I decided I should go with all-black ensembles for the entire week, embracing the ephemeral grief and making a wardrobe theme week of it, thereby making the best of the crummy situation by using it as Circle of Clothes fodder. There is something about mourning garb that I find comforting, so it helped ease my troubled state of mind. When anyone at work made an observation about my nearly colorless wardrobe that week, I simply chalked it up to dressing for dress rehearsals. Also, I feel really confident in black.

I did allow myself to bring in some accent colors, but only if they could be easily removed in order for the ensemble to be all-black for backstage purposes.

Monday:Sheesh, could I look any more morose?

Apparently so:I meant to remove those gloves for the photos. Sometimes it's terribly cold in the costume shop, so fingerless gloves are one of the ways I deal with it.

Tuesday:I always feel so pretty in this tunic. The princessy sleeves have a lot to do with it.

Wednesday:Notice how my mood was already starting to improve?
Your mood would be improving too, if you had a little wooden bird perched upon your shoulder!
On Tuesday night, someone dear to me had called me a "strange girl," so the quirky details of Wednesday's ensemble felt very appropriate.

Thursday:I'm imagining myself a 1940s starlet, bravely wearing pants and in need of a cigarette holder despite the fact that I don't smoke... but I think I just come off looking pissed again.

There, that's better:
I wrote earlier than I allowed myself to add accent colors to my all-black ensembles if the colored items could be removed for backstage purposes, meaning that all the accent colors had been small accessories until this day - but I'm cheating a bit with the buttons on these pants: the dresser aprons my students and I wear when working backstage would cover them completely.

I LOVE these pants. I had grown out of being able to wear them comfortably in recent years, but hung on to them because they're so cool. My recent unexpected weight-loss (explained in the post before this one) and ab-toning has made them fit better than ever. I love that they are nearly too long on me, especially as they appear to be in this no-feet shot; because it is so hard to find pants that fit my J.Lo-booty and my long legs at the same time, having pants that are almost too long feels like a luxury. The length when I'm standing still like this looks a little odd, but when I'm walking or sitting, they're fabulously dramatic.

This was my first time wearing Chinese hair sticks. It's hard to see them in any of these shots, though.I've had them for years, but only pulled them out because I was looking for more black hair accessories. I can't believe I never tried them before, because they're awesome. Hopefully I remember to use them more.

Friday:After the draining week, I enjoyed taking a scheduled furlough day that Friday, running errands and going to appointments. There was no need for me to wear stage blacks, but I continued the theme anyhow. It is fortunate that my snow boots are also black, because I needed them that morning.
I found this necklace at a little open air market in Buenos Aires. I hope I get to go back there some day, especially now that I can call myself an Argentine tango dancer. But the main thing I want to go back there for is to make more unique wardrobe acquisitions!

I could have easily gone another week with all-black ensembles without repeating any items except shoes and maybe my black thermal leggings. So, which did you like best? Or least?

Jane's Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge

I decided, rather last-minute, to join in Jane's Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge again.

I used to think I looked awful in brown. Then I bought the world's greatest boots, making it practically necessary to (oops, I guess I'll have to!) start incorporating brown into my wardrobe. It's still not the best color on me, but I have learned that some browns look much better on me than others, and I've learned how to accessorize in a way that helps keep me from feeling blah in it. So as a challenge, I decided to make this week mostly about brown, limiting myself to just one pair of shoes in - you guessed it - brown.

Rather than planning everything out on paper like I did last time, I winged it through Wednesday, not counting my items until figuring out what to wear for Thursday and Friday. But looking over these photos, I just realized that I may have failed, because I forgot to count my purse. I use the same sensible black purse every day, no matter what else I'm wearing (and I will keep using it every day it until it's so tattered that it must be replaced with whatever I can find that is almost exactly like it in form and function, just as I did with its mother and its grandmother), so I think of it as an extension of my body.

My ten wardrobe items (not counting aforementioned purse):
1) blue jeans
2) brown cable-knit leggings
3) brown knit mini-skirt
4) dotted purple sleevelesss top
5) purply-brown metallic-woven jacket
6) brown cardigan
7) gold sweater-dress
8) refashioned purple-brown floral-print tiered dress
9) boring brown Dansko clogs
10) green crochet flower pin (I forgot about this item when keeping track of my accessories, because it is necessary to use a pin to keep the jacket closed, so it ended up being counted as one of my ten wardrobe items)

My five accessories:
1) brown wood earrings
2) brown shell necklace
3) red/orange/mustard bead earrings
4) red bead bracelet
5) sensible brown plastic headband

And my permitted outerwear of coat, scarf, hat, and gloves:
And now with the offending purse that sends my items over the limit if counted:
I don't remember if I've shared my outerwear on this blog before. Well, in case it isn't obvious, I LOVE this coat. It has become so worn and threadbare in recent years that I have had to patch it extensively from the inside on both elbows, on my left back shoulder, in one armpit, and over a huge area of my left hip. But it only shows if you look closely. People are always shocked when they notice it. I should show how I did that sometime. I have been trying to find a suitable replacement for two years, but finally accepted that I'm just going to have to make a copy of it. The process has already been started, but it looks like I won't finish it in time to wear it this winter.

Well, on with the show. Monday:
This jacket is made of a beautiful metallic weave. I wish I had a close-up shot to share. I bought it for maybe $10 at Jomar a few years ago. It was a sample piece, unwearable because the collar, while interestingly dramatic in theory, was completely wonky and unmanageable. A saw a lot of women excitedly try it on, then put it back in disappointment. Lots of factory rejects and failed sample pieces end up at the Jomar. So I refashioned it, taming the collar into its present form. I have to use a pin or broach to get it to lay nicely when closed, but that's part of the fun of it.

Tuesday:
I also wore the jacket over the dress that day, but forgot to photograph with it.

Wednesday:
Note: I wear scissors and a key on a cord around my neck for work every day, so it's not one of my accessories, or at least, not intentionally.I got a lot of mileage out of my sock collection this week. I figured I could do so since hosiery and underwear don't count in the ten items and five accessories, right? I'm wearing two pairs here, but it looks like three. Can you identify which layer isn't really a separate pair? :-)

Thursday:
You probably can't tell from the photos, but I have lost some weight. Between August and December, I lost about 16 pounds, dropping from 143 to 127. I wasn't even trying to do so. I was even a little worried at first, when I weighed myself in November and realized that the new looseness in my clothes wasn't just my imagination, but a concrete and rather large number. But I had simply made some lifestyle changes: less blogging/reading/commenting, starting a minimum 2-year hiatus from professional costume design gigs, taking pilates and belly dance classes about once a week, bringing ballroom dance back into my life in a huge way, and not coming home exhausted and starving from 15-hour workdays and scarfing down a bunch of carbs before passing out. Since free evenings that had been previously spent out for dinner and drinks with friends or at home on the couch (either of which involved alcoholic calorie intake) are now spent out dancing (and I can't drink and dance, or at least not ballroom dance), there has been a sharp inversion in my calories-consumed-to-calories-burned ratio. Since then, I seem to have stabilized in the 126-128 lb range. I feel great (albeit a little sore-footed and swollen-kneed sometimes, from all the dancing), I'm doing what makes me happy, my abs have never looked this good, and my body seems to be telling me that this is the size and shape it wants to be. I felt great about my body and all my jiggly bits even at my peak weight of 143, and I kinda miss what I had begun to fondly call my beer bump, but I'm thoroughly enjoying fitting into clothes I had grown out of and was about to give away.

Anyhow, the only reason I brought it up: beneath these jeans, I'm wearing a pair of medium-thick leggings and a pair of yoga pants with a fold-down waist (adding further waist thickness), and they still look a bit baggy on my butt. When the weather warms up and I no longer need so many layers, girlfriend is going to have to do some jeans-shopping.

Friday:

Okay, that's everything. I really need to polish those shoes, eh.