Self-Stitched September Wrap Up

collage created at Picnik 

I admit that on September 30th I was crowing about how "Tomorrow I can dress without thinking! I don't have to consider the "Me-Made" factor!"..but the funniest thing happened. I wore Me-Made on October 1st and 2nd without thinking. October 3rd was the first day I wore nothing Me-Made, and that was contributed to by the fact that I was home most of the day and a strong desire to not wear a bra.  I don't have any Me-Made tops with shelf bras, which is something I need to make, just because they are easy and fun.  Even though I still wear bras with tanks that have shelf bras, it's nice to have that supportive extra facing too.

One of the things I learned about myself during Self-Stitched September is rather obvious, most of my homemade creations are skirts.  Skirts, besides being my favorite thing to wear, are the perfect landscape for most of the fabric I am drawn to.  Luckily, I'm also consistently drawn to the same colors and that makes for an easily coordinated wardrobe.

For a dress I feel terrific in each time I wear it, I've taken only awful pictures of me in it.

Another revelation is that the most useful thing you can do for your self-esteem is force yourself into a situation where you have to photograph yourself regularly, if not daily.  Not only does self-preservation inevitably force you to experiment with poses, but you gain a lot of perspective on the image of yourself you might not realize you're projecting out to the world.  You also find yourself with a greater insight on what flatters you.

I've certainly learned that you can contort your body into some poses that feel really really weird to hold, but make for flattering, completely normal looking photos.  For example anytime I would choose to arch my back to a ridiculously cartoon level, those were the pictures where my boobs looked the most normal and flattering in the photos.

I feel like many of my more simple garments are the ones I'd reach for time and again.  Elastic waisted skirts paired with my growing collection of purchased/thrifted belts made for some satisfying combinations.

Many of the things I enjoyed the inspiration/creation process of, I don't think to reach to wear often.  I can't really count the Skyline skirt as one of these, because I've worn this regularly all summer, but I've only worn my Proper Attire skirt this one time and specifically because of the challenge.  That being said, it's FAR more wearable than I ever dreamed, and I will probably wear it again, which is funny because it was specifically designed to have more hanger appeal as a sample garment than designed to flatter me.  In fact, one of my very favorite pictures I took of myself features that skirt...

Self-Stitched September feels like a turning point for me.  I feel more confident in my skills and how they define me than ever.  I love the fact that I was stopped by strangers on the street to receive compliments, and that my response of having made my garment was met with a surprise and pleasure that indicated they didn't look handmade.