A huge part of the last few months of our lives has been in redefinition. Redefining Normal. Redefining a successful day at work. Redefining a Friday Night. And, most recently: redefining a reason for having a dance party. Reason being: I simply needed it. And I have Trunk of Dresses and this spectacular hand painted vintage skirt to thank for a moment of pure, indescribable joy as I twirled and jived and forgot the world for a moment or two in my garden…
I’ve noticed an interesting trend lately in the wake of the coronavirus. Now that we’re rounding the corner on a month+ of social distancing (I just did the math and realized I’ve hit 6 weeks of not leaving my house. Holy isolation Batman!), I think we’re all feeling a different kind of stress. The first part was rife with panic – we all went into crisis mode, trying to find our footing in these new circumstances. But, now there’s a new kind of fear: coping with the fact that this is our new normal and likely will be for awhile…
Like most vintage-loving ladies, I have a sewing and tailoring pile that goes up to the sky. If you’ve been collecting vintage for a certain number of years, you come to learn that with great beauty comes great responsibility: a vintage wardrobe requires a lot of care. Ripped seams, unravelling hems. Learning to sew was definitely one of the best skills I ever gained in terms of managing the garments I love so much. But, over time that skill can become a curse, only to turn around one day to find I’ve collected pieces that “just need a little nip…
I don’t know about the rest of you, but days have certainly lost all meaning. I wake up and it takes a good 5 minutes to even know what day it is. It’s funny to think about this same time last year. The buds were just starting to break into flowers. The end of the semester was in sight, with thoughts of summertime looming. Nowadays, I’ve got lots of buds blooming in my sewing room, but not a lot of places to wear them. The end of the semester can’t come fast enough, but mostly because I’m exhausted at feeling…
There are a LOT of different coping mechanisms we all use to get through a crisis. For me, my go-to place for breathing out my problems has been the seaside. Lucky for me, I’ve always lived by the coast (occupational hazard), which has made it very convenient when I need to throw my problems out to sea.
A lot of my skirt designs have been based off of true vintage pieces that are so swoon-worthy, yet so elusive, I couldn’t wait another minute before making it mine. Occasionally, I will come up with an original design – sparked from my everyday wanderings, an inability to find just what I’m looking for, or based off of some crazy desire for a skirt that lights up. But this latest creation came from an off hand comment from a lovely friend and one of my very favorite handbag companies…
We have all experienced personal tragedy in our lives. Moments that throw our world upside down and off track, where we are just scrambling to find a foothold. And the weirdest thing that happens, is lifting my head from the weight of personal sorrow to find the world kept turning. I’m surprised every time. To see it didn’t pause for my grief, or wait for me to get back in my feet. It continued to spin as if this huge, tragic thing never happened.
I’ve always considered myself an introverted extrovert. I’m someone who feels pretty comfortable in social settings – I love meeting up with friends for a drink and have a blast at parties. But, I’m just as comfortable at home – I absolutely need my alone time and relish tinkering away at sewing tasks for hours in silence. Given what’s happening in the world at the moment, I’ve definitely been embracing the introverted half of myself a lot lately.
You never know what’s going to draw you to a certain piece. We all have a penchant for something. Some of us swoon for 1940’s shoulders, others for border prints, others for 1970’s flare. Regardless of how you choose to adorn yourself, there will usually be certain things that catch your eye in a garment that instantly make you start to style it about 8 different ways in your head.
There are a lot of things in life that come out of the blue unexpectedly and sucker punch you good. Tragedy can befall you when you least expect it, an sudden joy can hit you on a moment’s notice. I am definitely the kind of person who gets sucker punched by vintage on the regular. Scrolling lazily on IG or browsing Etsy, and suddenly all things come to a screeching halt. Heart pounding, palms sweating. You never know when or where it will come out of the blue.