Tonight is my friend Claudia's First Thursday Trunk Show at the Green Closet! It starts at 7PM. I might be taking the day off from work tomorrow - my oldest friend Adam may be coming to visit, and I can take the extra time to prepare for my interview with the paper peeps on Monday. And by prepare I mean sew my fingers off. I got an email from the reporter today - they are going to take pictures of me wearing my stuff!!
I also forgot to mention that last weekend, or maybe it was two weekends ago, my friend Xmas got an email request to provide three green outfits (not the color green, but minimal impact to the environment, socially responsible green) for this marketer friend who was going to LA for a design industry trade show. We headed to the studio on Saturday and Sunday and tried to come up with some stuff. To be honest, I spent most of my time cleaning and organizing my space because I had let it get WAAYYY out of hand with all the sewing I did for the Drag ball. I can work in a cluttered environment, but even I have my limits, and that limit had been reached. Sunday afternoon came around and I had made nothing. I started digging around in my trash bags full of clothing for something to transform (quickly!) and remembered The Skirt.
Back in the days when I was a woefully underpaid employee of the University of Vermont and full-time student, I would go thrift shopping downtown during the spring, summer, and fall. Every Monday I would hit the Ohavi-Zedek synagogue and another church downtown that I never can remember the name of. The Possibilities Shop was every Wednesday and Friday, and Tuesday and Thursday, if I could swing it, were spent at the Olde Warde Robe filling up bags for $1. I amassed quite a collection of ready-to-wear and ready-to-cut-up clothes this way, and have moved them around town with me over the years, slowly but steadily reducing the pile, until now I am left with just a few bags.
As I get better at sewing, deconstructing and reconstructing, I find the courage to cut into some of the better pieces - the ones I was saving for "when I get really good." This brings us back to The Skirt: Vintage 70's high waisted; back zip; maxi-length with sewn down pleats in the front; 100% polyester made in France; a white background with thin blue stripes; and a red, orange and yellow SAILBOAT BORDER PRINT. I had to think fast - do I attempt something that shows off my formidable skillz and risk ruining the thing - with a deadline no less? Probably not the best idea. I had always thought I would end up making a halter dress, but there clearly wasn't enough fabric for that if I didn't want to cut apart the pleats and remove the zipper (which I definitely did not). In the end I made a very simple trapeze tunic with cap sleeves that perfectly showed off the novelty of the print while at the same time remaining "free-size" enough to have a good chance of fitting a model I had never seen and would not meet. And the happy ending? I got this comment from Xmas the other day:
"I'm happy to inform you that your little sail dress was a huge hit at the California show! We did it!!!! The model said she received constant compliments on her outfit. Great Job. Thanks for the quick deadline."Now I just hope that it comes back to VT in time for me to bring to the interview on Monday.
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