Every time a new year rolls around, when the noisemakers have been put away and the champagne headache has worn off, I like to take some time to reflect on the year before me. Usually, I go through the major milestones from each month, reflecting on all that came to pass. This year I’ve decided to do something different – which is to reflect on some of my favorite sewing projects from 2021. Cause let’s be honest…not much else of note was able to happen!
Generally, in my daily perusals of IG or some other addictive social media platform, I will occasionally come across the original ad for dresses that I own. I swear it never gets old to see a garment hanging safely in your closet on the pages of the vintage Sears Catalog, imagining a time when I could simply order my dream dress in multiple for 3.99 a piece…
Well, what a year this has been. Safe to say it ended up the way NONE of us would have expected when we turned the calendar to January 2020. I can hardly believe that the entire world can literally turn upside down in such a short timespan. Never before has a year moved so glacially slow and at warp speed at the same time…
And just like that, we’ve bid farewell to 2019 (and the 2010’s) and started a new decade. When I was a kid, time would never move fast enough – I simply couldn’t wait for the next milestone. For my birthday, for summer vacation, for the single of sleigh bells signaling Santa was on his way. Nowadays, time moves so quickly I practically get whiplash, and all I want to do is slow it down. It’s crazy to think another year has passed.
One of the biggest buzzes I get is spotting a vintage ad for the garments I own. In some weird way, although they’re made of fabric and I can actually hold them in my hand, vintage somehow still feels unreal – like it could disappear at any moment. But, when you see the ad for the dress, there’s something that takes it from the abstract and into someone’s living room. A thing that existed in a shop window or a catalogue. It’s not a piece of the past, but was once very much a piece of someone’s present.
Happy New Year! Well, here we are yet again, at the start of another year. It feels like on the dawn of a New Year, we should be full of Big Thoughts and Big Plans. But, I have to admit I’ve been enjoying a LOT of down time. And with down time comes available minutes for the things you forgot about throughout the year – sleeping in, sipping lazy coffees, binge-watching Mrs. Maisel or indulging in cheesy romantic comedies, and reading a book for the fun of it. I’m not one for making resolutions (because New Years is somewhat arbitrary), but…
I’m sure this will come as no surprise to any of you who have been following along for any length of time, but I have a thing for a cinched waist. I know, shocker right? But, I swear it’s my super power. When my waist is nipped, everything else seems to fall into place. I stand up straighter, feel more confident, have a bit of extra swing in my step. In general, I am just a little bit extra.
One of my all time favorite posts that I do on occasion here on the blog is where I turn the spotlight on one of my favorite vintage shops. I always think it’s important to support small businesses – and knowing what goes into sourcing vintage (from the endless searches and estate sales, to the cleaning and mending, to the photography and promotion), I appreciate these entrepreneurial rockstars all the more. They keep our vintage-loving closets stocked and happy and that is no small task…
At last, at last the sunshine is here and I can start to imagine all of the glorious sundresses and summer sandals that might enter my closet! I don’t dress seasonally most of the time, but I admit I was holding off on some cute summer styles for fear of jinxing it and having winter cackle maniacally while gleefully hanging around for yet another few weeks longer.
Phew, what an amazing first quarter of the year this has been! I swear, I blinked the day after Christmas and suddenly found myself in April. Now, April is one of the best times of year in my world. Firstly, it’s when the weather here in NC stops being fickle and turns plain lovely. Secondly, it’s the final month of the semester – all of us Professors have a bit more bounce in our step, as the end of the madness is in sight!