when do you buy?

                                                                           
                                                                           Source: shopanaise.com via Sallie on Pinterest

i think this is a question for both sewists and non-sewists alike, but it becomes particularly more complicated and convoluted for those of us who have an interest in creating a handmade wardrobe.

lately i've been bit by the shopping bug. perhaps its a reaction to us buying a new car and adding a monthly payment into our budget that has me (ashamedly) whining "but but but... thats less money to spend on me".  or maybe its just that my sewing machines have been a bit quiet the last week or so, but i've been finding myself wandering onto ready-to-wear clothing sites and eyeing up the wares a bit greedily while a sneaky little voice in my head is whispering "buy it". some of these things are affordable and i could easily slip them into this months paycheck without hurting, others are so outrageously outside of my "fun" budget that i can't believe i'm even entertaining the thought! (p.s. all of these images fall into the latter category)

                                                                 Source: shop.emersonfry.com via Sallie on Pinterest

generally i enter into a ridiculous song and dance where i weigh my desire vs. need vs. can i make it? vs. do i want to make it? vs. will it make me happy? vs. will i secretly feel guilty? vs. will my husband disapprove? vs. do i need it? do i need it? huh? huh huh huh????!!!

you get the picture. it gets exhausting. usually this mental two-step is enough to tucker me out and dissuade me from buying anything and the crisis is averted and my credit card stays safely tucked in my wallet. but sometimes... its just not that easy.


                                                                   

                                                                        Source: theclothes.blogspot.com via Sallie on Pinterest

i do try to stick to some sort of priority scale when i buy things - it goes a little something like this (sewing related stuff excluded, of course, because that takes priority over everything!!):

1. beauty products - my number one weakness. whether its some diy ingredients to make an oatmeal and aloe mask or a miracle cream that i'm certain will turn me into a glowing botticelli venus, or a new lippy from the drugstore, this is the first thing that i'll break down on and buy.

                                                              Source: funkis.com via Sallie on Pinterest

2.  shoes - because i haven't yet (yet!) figured out how to make shoes, i usually find purchasing them pretty justified. plus i just love shoes. but i do already own a crapload of them, so that gives me some pause.

3.  jewelry and accessories - see above. at this point i'd be hard pressed to get into jewelry making. same thing goes for things like belts and scarves. i know i could make them, but i'd just rather buy them. also, i don't wear a ton of accessories on a day to day basis so i'm usually pretty cool recycling what i have over and over (and over) again.

                                                                            Source: neimanmarcus.com via Sallie on Pinterest

4.  sweaters - i've knocked around the idea of learning how to knit just to avoid this one, but i get dissuaded every time i imagine all the scarves and boring rectangles i'll have to knit first before i'm competent enough to tackle something like a cardigan. plus, its so slow!! and thats coming from someone who likes to work slow!

                                                                  Source: images.anthropologie.com via Sallie on Pinterest

5.  swimwear and underwear - i have a hard time with this one. because i really know that i can make them. but my desire to make them is pretty low. my desire to buy them is pretty low too, which is why i'm still romping around in an old bikini that no longer fits and every time i get hit by a wave i lose my drawers. and i won't even tell you about the state of my underwear. just know that its amazing my husband is still attracted to me - despite the fact that he's threatened to go through my underwear and burn things...

and there you have it! way low on that list are things like dresses and blouses and t-shirts and jeans, because i feel pretty competent at making all those things - but every now and then i see something, like a beautiful dress with knife pleats all over, or a ridiculous design that i can't find a pattern to replicate, and is beyond my drafting skills, and, oh! the song and dance starts again...

so i'm wondering - when do you take the plunge and buy something? am i the only one that does a mental mambo every time i come across a cute pair of shorts? do you have any weaknesses when it comes to rtw clothes? 

please share...

all images are just some things that have made my breath catch in my throat recently. if i could own them all i would...

xx

lightening bolts in my eyes

oh hello there blogland.

after a fight with a stomach bug this past week (i won) i've been left feeling a bit like a wet rag. when i become couch ridden its very easy for me to stay that way - well past my recuperation. when illness hits its like all my desire to be a normal, functioning human bean (because it sounds so much more fun than "human being") just drains out of me. so in order to kick my butt into gear i've decided i need to get organized and get inspired. it is with this impetus that i now turn my attention to my plans for spring/summer sewing.

spring in texas usually comes early (technically we've been having "spring" since january) and is generally quite lovely - and short lived. its merely the veil behind which the evil beast that is summer hides. our summers are like winter to all you northeners. its a marathon season which you hunker down for, pool your resources, and get ready for endless months of blinding heat and suffocating humidity.

sure, the weather might waffle back and forth a bit longer in my part of texas, but its undeniable that hot weather is around the corner, and when it hits, it hits hard. and if you're not ready for it you may find yourself a miserable hot mess. well, you'll still be a miserable hot mess regardless, but having a wardrobe full of sunny colors and easy breezy shapes helps to make one feel pretty regardless of the boob sweat (ooooooohhhhh the boob sweat!)

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i've really been feeling these punchy pink hues paired with earthy browns, greys and olives.

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i always find myself drawn to these loose, easy shapes at this time of the year. particularly when made up in a light silk, these types of dresses are perfect for allowing a breeze to pass through, and there is just something magical about silk blowing against your skin - its like a built in air-conditioner! i also love that last image - that picture has been implanted in my brain every time i imagine my summer wardrobe.

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hot summer + white dresses = perfection. need i say more? yes. yes i do. because that picture of frida, like the lovely lady in chambray standing in the surf above, has also been burned into my minds eye in association with summer. i've never cared for her paintings much (just a personal preference) but every time i see a photo of frida kahlo i'm always blown away by her beauty and personal style.

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by hook or by crook - this summer i will be making one of these pairs of shoes mine! about once a season i like to make a major shoe purchase, and shoes are one of those things that i generally feel okay spending a bit more one because, well, my feet are no laughing matter. also i feel that one great pair of shoes can be worn practically daily for an entire season and no matter what, they'll take your outfit up a notch. and i just really like shoes. i mean, lets call a spade a spade here...

in conclusion - friends, do you ever get the sewing blahs? oh, didn't i say i have the sewing blahs? well i do, despite my convalescence, i've been feeling a bit uninspired behind the sewing machine the past week. this post from mpb and this fabulous chart from oona are definitely hitting home for me! this is funny because i'm actually making something - something i hope to have finished and ready to photograph for you this weekend. anyway, if you do get the sewing blahs - what usually gets you out of it?

xx

for your viewing pleasure: shoe + art

so since i already spilled the beans on my rachel comey obsession i thought i'd just ride this lovefest for a bit longer. while the clothes set my heart a-pitter-pattering, my devotion is really to the shoes.

a fellow comey lover once told me that rachel studied sculpture before she began designing clothes. this struck a major chord with me, and also made total sense. her designs are incredibly sculptural - with just the right combination of toughness, timelessness, elegance and awkwardness. perhaps not the combination most people would look for in a shoe, but for me they possess something just slightly off which makes me want to keep looking at them. if ever i could make a case for adding a bit of artistry to an outfit it is in ones choice of footwear. basically i'm saying, quit being a pansy and put some sculptures on your feet!

after a trip to the philadelphia museum of art this past summer (seriously one of my favorite musuems, and its not just my philly pride thats talking...) i came away with brancusi on the brain. constantine brancusi was never one of my favorite artists. its always amazing to me when you can look at something you've seen a million times, read about and studied, and yet all of a sudden its like you're seeing it with fresh eyes. this is what happened with brancusi. its like a light went on and something i had always glossed over came into focus. i just can't get over those forms (i know... nerd alert...)

perhaps its a bit of a stretch to make a connection between rachel comey shoes and brancusi sculptures - but i don't think so. the restrained palette, the references to classicism, the elegance and awkwardness...the stacking!

all rachel comey shoes via solestruck, brancusi images via the pma, here, and here.

xx

my new shoes

when i buy something new - its kind of a big deal, to me at least. i usually hem and haw for months, putting things into virtual shopping carts, seeing the total with shipping and then flaking out. so when something actually makes it to my door, i consider it a triumph.

ever since my new worifshofer shoes arrived my husband has been giving my feet the sort of look he usually reserves for small children who are acting weird. you know, like, " oh honey... you are special..." looks. which has my once confident shoe purchase a little, um, deflated.

i first saw a pair of worifshofer shoes sitting by the front door of a friends house. upon declaring how cute they were, said friend replied, "oh yeah! i got them off this website, endless.com. they have alllll the good granny shoes". i later saw another friend wearing the slip on variety. i asked her about them and she declared them the. most. comfortable. shoes.

i opted for the lace-up, sling-back style. double trouble! i thought they had sort of a quirky style to them that i really liked. kinda 70's, kinda punk, whole lotta golden girls, and arch support! sold. i'm sure all these recommendations should have prepared me for my husbands concerned looks at my choice of footwear. but i didn't think they were that orthopedic looking!

i'm finding myself reliving a sartorial situation i have been in a number of times throughout my life. like the time i bought this pink high-waisted skirt from a thrift store. when i wore it around my family for the first time it garnered some weird looks, especially when i announced that it was the exact same brand my grandmother favors! isn't that funny? i then went on to say how it had this great, comfortable, elastic waistband... then there was the time that i went out to a bar with my brother and his friends. before we left my brother gave me a withering up and down look and asked if that was what i was wearing? "that" referred to yet another high waisted skirt, a cardigan, scarf and heels! he put a fraternal hand on my shoulder and said "sallie, you're a really pretty girl. why do you have to dress like an old lady?"

there are many other instances of this sort of thing in my life (high waisted pants, loafers, short haircuts, lace...) and it leaves me wondering if, fashion wise, i've missed my mark. have i somehow bypassed the "sexy librarian" look and just landed at "librarian"? are my new shoes granny chic? or just granny granny? at least this isn't a blog about my bunions.... yet.

but there is even toe support! sigh.... granny or no, i love my new shoes.

xx