What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Why Yes, Those are Trousers I'm Wearing

Jacket: Comme des Garcons
T-Shirt (not visible): Three Dots
Pants: Velocity
Socks: Calvin Klein
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: The Hole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

Sweater: Agnes b. with visibly mended moth holes
Shirt: Rivamonti
Skirt: Carnaby pattern knit by yours truly
Tights: Wolford
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Thanks, Mom & Dad

Sweater: No label; '60s ski sweater originally given to my uncle by my father who then gave it to me last year
Skirt: J. Morgan Puett - thrifted from Mom
Tights: Hue
Boots: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Trying New Combinations

Dress:  J. Morgan Puett (thrifted from Mom)
Sweater: Pattern by Wenlan Chia; knit by yours truly
Tights: Hue
Boots: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: I Love a Good Cowl

Dress: Woolen Moss
Vest: Ekby pattern for Noro by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton (knit by yours truly)
Tights: Wolford
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Kind of Early To Be Looking Down

Shirt: Etro
Skirt: Yohji Yamamoto
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Sparkle, Sparkle

Shirt: Theory
Skirt: St. John
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: While the Weather's Still Warm

Dress: Rue du Mail
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Summer's Over

Dress:  Issey Miyake
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

(PS - I will be returning to this blog with more than just pictures of what I'm wearing to teach.)

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Pile it On

Shirt:  Trend by Les Copains
Dress:  Comme des Garcons
Pants:  Comme des Garcons
Socks:  unknown
Shoes: Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: You Should See This on the Bike

Shirt:  Junya Watanabe
Skirt:  Yohji Yamamoto
Shoes (obviously not seen): first I was wearing Robert Clergerie but switched to Betabrand FlipSlips because I got a blister.

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Hey, It's Not Black; It's Grey

Dress:  Issey Miyake
Shoes:  Robert Clergerie

MeMadeMay 2016 Wrap Up

I'm pretty happy with my MeMadeMay participation this year.  I'd vowed to wear a foundational item everyday, and except for the one day in Nova Scotia where I simply wore socks I'd made, I managed to make it happen - even when I was roofing (ofttimes after the work was done).

There were a few things I discovered doing this.   Firstly, I knew I liked that wrap-around skirt I made, but I didn't realize how essential it would become.  The part b of that discovery is that I haven't made a lot of bottoms or bottoms I felt like wearing (important distinction).  It also went with more items than I'd originally given it credit for.

 I was also concerned that my me-made style isn't quite up to my regular (?!) style.  But when I put these pants I'd made with a Junya Watanabe shirt and Robert Clergerie shoes, I felt pretty good about it.   However, I'm now conscious of how easy it is to drift into the "let's make lots of loose tunics" camp, which only addresses part of the way I like to dress.  Two lessons learned - make some more funky/high style items and maybe I like to just wear loose tunics sometimes.  Consolidation lesson?  My style is more varied than I might have thought.

As mentioned in previously, I also discovered things that heretofore I hadn't realized went together.  I ended up finally wearing a vest I'd knit a million years ago (I know, you wouldn't know I was that old unless I told you - hah!) and loving it.

Yes, this vest also went with the wrap-around skirt!

I wore my Alabama Chanin dress a few times.  At Squam it was quite a hit, as it were (there were times when I was a little shy/embarrassed about the attention it go, but I love a crowd that understands what went into that dress), and I'm planning on starting another one this summer.

MeMadeMay has inspired me to continue making my own clothes and has filled my head with ideas.  There's a pair of white jeans (Birkin flares) on the horizon as well as a number of other tidbits.   And I just finished the Ondawa Wrap that I started at Squam.  Images to follow!

Anyone want to share other lessons learned during MeMadeMay?  I'm definitely looking forward to Slow Fashion October, but I won't be waiting until then to continue to rock my me-mades.

Week One Plus for Me Made May 2016

Here's the round-up of outfits worn since May 1.

• Bottom right:  Rowan sweater originally made for the ladyfriend.  It got a little felted in the wash so it became my sweater.  The pants are J. Morgan Puett.
• Bottom left:  Me-made wrap skirt with Imogene + Willie shirt and my Blundstones
• Middle right:  Cappucino dress with Robert Clergerie shoes
• Middle middle:  Saint James top with Alabama Chanin skirt
• Middle left: Long sleeve t-shirt (worn with Prana jeans, not seen)
• Top right bottom:  Junya Watanabe shirt with Betsy Ross patterns pants
• Top right top:  Lisette top (worn with Prana jeans, not seen - again)
• Top left:  Wrap skirt with mustard top-down sweater, Blundstones, and a Wrangler jacket.

I'm in DC now, visiting family, and what I'm starting to realize is that I don't make enough things in black.  Putting together a little capsule collection for the trip (brought only carry-on suitcase) made me realize that while I have a fair amount of me-made clothing, I need some to make some things that are more easily integrated into my overall wardrobe.  As it happens, I've been mulling over a little capsule collection for the fall/winter although it's not black.  We'll see how all this pans out.

If you're participating in MeMadeMay16, how's it going?  Are you encountering any challenges?

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: It'll Be a Cold Day in Palm Beach...

Turtleneck:  Uniqlo
Pants:  Betsey Ross pattern made by yours truly (fabric from Britex)
Shoes:  Robert Clergerie

A Little Sole-Searching? The Story of a Pair of Boots

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I recently had these boots resoled and reheeled (a dying art in a world of fast fashion), and as part of my commitment to make/mend/thrift, I felt these boots encapsulated a lot of those values as well as some other, nonsartorial, things.

I’m pretty sure my mother bought these Robert Clergerie boots for me at Bergdorf Goodman in 1995/1996.  I remember that the ladyfriend and I were still maintaining separate apartments and more importantly, separate finances.

For years my mother and I have had a semi-annual date to go shopping in New York, a tradition that has lasted into the almost 11 years I’ve been in Hamilton.  On each of these trips, my mother buys something for me.  My receptivity to this has varied over the years.  There was a time when I didn’t want her to buy me anything because I thought it undermined my independence and sense of adulthood; there was a time when it made me anxious because I knew she’d feel the day was a failure if I didn’t have something to show for it; there was the passive-aggressive phase when I tried to maximize my haul.  Over the past twenty or so years, I’ve come to a more nuanced understanding of this dynamic.

--> But in ‘95/’96 I was in the early years of my relationship both with my ladyfriend and living in NYC.  Shopping with my mother let me feel, for an afternoon at least, that I was not struggling financially in a demanding city (my mother had initially been against my move) and that I was really the woman I presented to the world i.e. able to afford her well-appointed life.  It was important that I had a moment where I felt like the concept I had of myself (yes, fostered at that time by my mother) was authentic to me. 

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Pleated, Not Wrinkled

Dress:  Issey Miyake
Shoes:  Robert Clergerie

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: First Communion

Someone walked in while I was taking this; a little embarrassing

Dress:  Rue du Mail
Shoes:  Robert Clergerie
Sunglasses:  Tom Ford

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Last Day of Classes (for Me)

Hoody:  Brooklyn Industries
Shirt:  Banana Republic
Skirt:  Comme des Garcons
Tights: Wolford
Shoes:  Robert Clergerie