Are you all as sick of seeing selfies as I am of taking them? Me-Made-May went by really quickly until the last few days, and then I was ready to not take any more mirror selfies for another year!
One of the reasons I enjoy participating, though, is that May always seems to be a month where I have lots going on, and weekly outfit posts are a way of documenting that. At the end of the month, it's fun to look back! Last year, I was finishing high school right around this time. This year, I finished my first year of university, moved into my first apartment, flew back to see my parents, drove to Canmore, moved into my uncle's condo for the summer, and got a job here! Whew - it's been quite the month!
Here's the final round of photos:
Saturday, May 23
I just finished this dress Friday night, then wore it to work the next day! Saturday was my second training shift, which went quite well.
I also biked to work this day, so I got to test how bike-proof this dress it. The verdict? It's not bad, but the skirt could be a little roomier, because it tends to ride up. Next time, I'll make it a little more flared!
Sunday, May 24
Cardigan: Consignment (Jackpot)
I decided that the skirt on the Moneta is a lot more bike-friendly than the Natalie when I biked to work on this day! It's still not quite wind-proof though, so I did some googling, and found this tip for making skirts and dresses more bike-friendly. I'll have to try it out!
Today was my first full (8 hour) shift at the cafe where I'm working - until now, I'd just been working half shifts. I was tired afterwards, but I'm really enjoying it there!
Monday, May 25
Skirt: Me-made (Deer and Doe Chardon skirt)
Ahh, another outfit of unblogged me-mades! If nothing else, MMM has made me realize how behind I am on blogging...
This was my first day off since beginning work, and I spent the day cleaning, doing some little errands, sewing, and working on my blog a bit! It actually cooled off enough that I changed and put on pants later, but for running around inside, this was perfect.
Tuesday, May 26
Top: Consignment (Tristan)
And yet another unblogged make... I had another day off, and it was cloudy and a little rainy most of the day, so I spent most of it inside sewing. When I finally left in the evening, I realized that what I was wearing was way too cold and had to change again.
In the evening, I went to a knitting class at the local yarn store here! It was for knitting socks, and I found it quite helpful. We knit mini-socks so that we could cover all the techniques in one class (although we didn't quite finish so we're going to meet again), and now we're doing a knit-along and meeting sometime in June to show off our (hopefully) finished socks.
Wednesday, May 27
Skirt: Me-made (Sewaholic Hollyburn)
I had another day off, and it warmed up quite a bit. I originally wore jeans, but after biking into town to sort some errands out, I realized it was way too hot for that, and changed into a skirt. I just find this blouse a little too stiff to wear tucked in, so I don't usually wear it like this.
(Is it just me, or are these posts turning into weather reports? My bad.)
Thursday, May 28
Cardigan: Thrifted (Nicole Bridger)
I think I've proabably worn this dress more than anything else this May! It's definitely my favourite of all the Monetas I've made. I was back at work today, and I'm come to realize that pretty much anything goes in terms of clothing at the cafe that I'm working at. I was a little worried about having to make a bunch of "work clothes", but my current wardrobe is fine. I always take off my sweater as soon as I get there, but I need it for biking there in the morning.
Friday, May 29
Jeans: RTW (Guess)
Cardigan: Consignment (Jackpot)
I can tell that it's the home stretch of Me-Made-May because of how lazy I'm getting with my outfits! I've worn every me-made garment that I brought from Montreal with me, so I'll fulfilled that part of my pledge. Just a couple more days to go!
Top: Me-made (Sewaholic Pendrell, modified for a knit)
Jeans: RTW (Guess)
Belt: Thrifted
Again, not all that much to say about this outfit! I actually wore this top quite a bit this year, despite almost never wearing it in high school. It was in my give-away bag for a while before Me-Made-May last year, but I'm glad I rescued it!
Dress: Me-made (Muse Natalie)
Ah, nothing like an exhausted post-work selfie to finish off Me-Made-May. I usually take my photos before leaving for work in the morning, but forgot today (I was busy making granola! Mmm...). So, there you have it. I have a giant oil stain on my new dress, and my hair is a mess after being tied back all day...
It was interesting looking back while putting this together. I've covered a lot of ground this month, both literally and figuratively! The first two pictures were taken in my new apartment in Montreal, then for next week and a bit, they were taken in my parent's backyard in Vancouver, except for the one taken at Ballet BC (the 9th). There are a couple photos from while I was driving to Canmore (the 15th and 16th), then a few photos from while my mom was here with me to take photos, then the rest are mirror shots because I was on my own!
Saturday, May 30
Jeans: RTW (Guess)
Belt: Thrifted
Again, not all that much to say about this outfit! I actually wore this top quite a bit this year, despite almost never wearing it in high school. It was in my give-away bag for a while before Me-Made-May last year, but I'm glad I rescued it!
Sunday, May 31
Ah, nothing like an exhausted post-work selfie to finish off Me-Made-May. I usually take my photos before leaving for work in the morning, but forgot today (I was busy making granola! Mmm...). So, there you have it. I have a giant oil stain on my new dress, and my hair is a mess after being tied back all day...
And with that last mirror selfie, Me-Made-May 2015 is done! As a round-up, I put together a "calendar" of all this month's outfits:
It was interesting looking back while putting this together. I've covered a lot of ground this month, both literally and figuratively! The first two pictures were taken in my new apartment in Montreal, then for next week and a bit, they were taken in my parent's backyard in Vancouver, except for the one taken at Ballet BC (the 9th). There are a couple photos from while I was driving to Canmore (the 15th and 16th), then a few photos from while my mom was here with me to take photos, then the rest are mirror shots because I was on my own!
Me-Made-May was far, far easier for me this year. I feel like I've really filled in some gaps in my wardrobe, and learned what I really wear. I'm always reaching for my knit dresses (especially my fourth Cambie), my Pendrell blouse that I made from a muumuu, my knit Pendrell, and my self-drafted top that desperately needs to be replaced (the seams are falling apart and it's horribly pilled).
What's funny is that although my favourite dress I've ever made is probably my second Cambie dress, I only wore it once this month! I've realized that I have two kinds of "favourite" pieces - pieces that I love to wear, and pieces that I love for other reasons, but don't really get worn that often, either because they aren't practical, or because I just don't feel right while wearing them! Other examples are my second Moneta dress (I think I might shorten it to make it less dressy) and my Alma blouse (it's hard to layer over or tuck in!).
Then there are also the pieces that I never really reach for, but realize that I really like when I do wear them! Me-Made-May is great for rediscovering those pieces, like the Pendrell blouse that I wore on May 13, my linen culottes, or the gathered skirt that I wore on May 26.
Lastly, there are those garments that I forced myself to wear only because of my pledge to wear every me-made garment I brought from Montreal. My denim Hollyburn skirt is the perfect example - the denim is so terrible that it stretched out of shape and is pulling at the seams. At the end of the day, I don't even like it that much! For whatever reason, it feels very juvenile to me (and that's coming from someone who will wear a polka dot and bird print top without question).
There are also a few pieces that I left in Montreal for various reasons - some of them because they don't work that well for summer or aren't really that versatile, such as my Natalie top and my first Jenna cardigan (which really only goes with one dress), and others because I know I don't wear them as-is and plan to alter them in the fall, such as my wearable muslin for my grad dress.
Last year, I realized by participating in Me-Made-May that I needed to make more simple, wearable and comfortable pieces, since those are the pieces that I didn't have very many of, but I wore the most. That was when I really learned to sew with knits, and made myself some knit dresses and knit tops.
This year, the RTW garment that I wore the most, by far, was jeans! Which means that very soon, I'll be starting on my Ginger jeans (as soon as I buy some tape to tape together the PDF! My uncle's place only has duct tape.)
The one garment that I never did wear were my Smooth Sailing Trousers, but that's because they've been sitting with the hems unpicked for a couple weeks now. I really need to get around to re-hemming them! I've also just chucked them in the dryer to see if they shrink back into shape, so we'll see how that goes. As per my pledge, anything me-made that I didn't wear will either be altered or given away (except for some pieces that I know I do wear, but had to leave behind because I didn't have room in my suitcase, like the top and cardigan above). These pants will definitely be altered, because I love the style!
I also haven't been documenting this, but a lot of my underwear is now me-made as well! I've used the free panties pattern from So, Zo to make lots of my jersey scraps into underwear. I also wore my handmade bra a few times, but I wear my RTW ones far more often. I'd really like to try bra-making again, and see if I can make some bras that fit a little better and are a little more wearable!
So, I suppose that's it for Me-Made-May! Even though I got a little sick of taking pictures by the end, I enjoyed participating, and as always, found it to be a great way to figure out where the gaps are in my handmade wardrobe.
Thanks for reading, and for putting up with some rather terrible selfies near the end of the month! If you participated, how did it go?
What's funny is that although my favourite dress I've ever made is probably my second Cambie dress, I only wore it once this month! I've realized that I have two kinds of "favourite" pieces - pieces that I love to wear, and pieces that I love for other reasons, but don't really get worn that often, either because they aren't practical, or because I just don't feel right while wearing them! Other examples are my second Moneta dress (I think I might shorten it to make it less dressy) and my Alma blouse (it's hard to layer over or tuck in!).
Then there are also the pieces that I never really reach for, but realize that I really like when I do wear them! Me-Made-May is great for rediscovering those pieces, like the Pendrell blouse that I wore on May 13, my linen culottes, or the gathered skirt that I wore on May 26.
Lastly, there are those garments that I forced myself to wear only because of my pledge to wear every me-made garment I brought from Montreal. My denim Hollyburn skirt is the perfect example - the denim is so terrible that it stretched out of shape and is pulling at the seams. At the end of the day, I don't even like it that much! For whatever reason, it feels very juvenile to me (and that's coming from someone who will wear a polka dot and bird print top without question).
There are also a few pieces that I left in Montreal for various reasons - some of them because they don't work that well for summer or aren't really that versatile, such as my Natalie top and my first Jenna cardigan (which really only goes with one dress), and others because I know I don't wear them as-is and plan to alter them in the fall, such as my wearable muslin for my grad dress.
Last year, I realized by participating in Me-Made-May that I needed to make more simple, wearable and comfortable pieces, since those are the pieces that I didn't have very many of, but I wore the most. That was when I really learned to sew with knits, and made myself some knit dresses and knit tops.
This year, the RTW garment that I wore the most, by far, was jeans! Which means that very soon, I'll be starting on my Ginger jeans (as soon as I buy some tape to tape together the PDF! My uncle's place only has duct tape.)
The one garment that I never did wear were my Smooth Sailing Trousers, but that's because they've been sitting with the hems unpicked for a couple weeks now. I really need to get around to re-hemming them! I've also just chucked them in the dryer to see if they shrink back into shape, so we'll see how that goes. As per my pledge, anything me-made that I didn't wear will either be altered or given away (except for some pieces that I know I do wear, but had to leave behind because I didn't have room in my suitcase, like the top and cardigan above). These pants will definitely be altered, because I love the style!
I also haven't been documenting this, but a lot of my underwear is now me-made as well! I've used the free panties pattern from So, Zo to make lots of my jersey scraps into underwear. I also wore my handmade bra a few times, but I wear my RTW ones far more often. I'd really like to try bra-making again, and see if I can make some bras that fit a little better and are a little more wearable!
So, I suppose that's it for Me-Made-May! Even though I got a little sick of taking pictures by the end, I enjoyed participating, and as always, found it to be a great way to figure out where the gaps are in my handmade wardrobe.
Thanks for reading, and for putting up with some rather terrible selfies near the end of the month! If you participated, how did it go?
Interesting that you say the denim skirt feels juvenile to me, because it's not the kind of thing I would have worn when I was younger but would definitely consider now that I'm older (although still young at 26).
ReplyDeleteI didn't participate in MMM this year because 95% of what I wear these days is handmade anyway - I have a couple of RTW cardians, one pair of pants, some tops and a few pairs of undies. So it's not really a challenge any more!
I didn't really wear denim skirts when I was younger either, so I don't know what it is about it! Maybe the length? I sometimes feel that it needs to be just 1/2" shorter.
DeleteI also wear something handmade pretty much every day as well, but I find that MMM is a chance to reflect a little bit more on what I actually wear, and why I don't wear certain pieces. I do feel like I could have made my challenge a little harder this year, though!
You have lots of great pieces in your me made wardrobe ;o)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Delete