Perhaps They Were Right After All…

Yesterday I had an entertaining conversation with Big In Japan, in which I questioned the addition of certain Facebook friends to her list.  My question was, “Is it mean, churlish, just plain b*tchy to ignore friend requests from people who I barely remember but who feel in some way compelled to add me to their friends list simply because we happened to graduate from the same high school in the same year?”  We decided that no, it wasn’t.  I mean, we are talking about people I barely remember the existence of.  I have also not set foot in the town of my graduation for at least 16 years.  So no. I am not going to add as a friend the person who, based on my admittedly very hazy recollection, had one thing to say to me in all four years of high school.  Which was to tell me I was a stuck-up b*itch.   So, no.  I’m not mean.  I’m just not interested.

Then I was sitting here sniffling and hacking up a lung (because someone at work brought in a vile illness last week and then generously gifted it to me) and trying to think of a new post topic and I wondered whether I am after all a bit of bee-atch. 

Because all I could think to say was:  “I hate Adrienne Vittadini.”

Which frankly is a teensy bit, well, unkind.  I mean, I don’t even know Adrienne Vittadini.  But I can honestly say I have hated her for years and years and years.  You know how I said I love Anna Sui?  I hate Adrienne Vittadini the way I love Anna Sui.  She is my anti-girlfriend (because no, Angie A., Anna Sui is not your fashion designer girlfriend).

Here is a classic example of the monstrosity that is the Adrienne Vittadini collection (as shown by MyShape.com).  Apparently the crack-smokin’ fashion ladies at MyShape think that I would like to put this garment on my body.  They are seriously mistaken.

You know what would be cool?  A thumbs up/thumbs down button at MyShape.com.  You know, how Pandora.com has that feature so that if they play you a song that you loathe, you can thumb-down it and they promise to never ever ever play that song again?  For a month?  That feature.  Wouldn’t that be cool?  Someone get a hold of the crack-smokin’ fashion ladies and let them know.  I won’t even take credit for it.

On a more positive note, the crack-smokin’ fashion ladies also recommended this Jessica Howard dress (despite my own shape being the only letter not attached to it) and if I could get into it I would totally put this on my body.  So there’s some hope for them after all.

See.  I’m not so bad.  No.  Really.  I’m not.

 

A Shameless Plug For People I Have Never Met

I will say up front and immediately that this next installment of "Eye Candy: A Splendid Way To Waste Your Not-so-valuable Time" is not a museum collection or picture archive.  It is, in fact, an actual store.  Yes.  A store.  Which means, among other things, that not only do I feel compelled to warn you about this as potential advertisement but also that you can buy this stuff and have it for your very own.

The mind boggles.  Yes it does.  Boggles.

This company used to be called "Charles Rupert Designs", they're now called "Historic Style" and they're based in Victoria, B.C..  I have personally purchased items from them (albeit about 5 years ago under their old name) and so I feel I can say with some confidence that the quality of their products is lovely.

Still, even if you have absolutely no intention of wallpapering your home in a William Morris print or covering your couch with a C.F.A Voysey linen (and if not, what the heck is wrong with you, anyway?  Oh wait, it costs how much?), you can still enjoy the beautiful images.  And now they have fabulous tiles, hardware and other cool stuff.  They also have a very small selection of Charles Rennie Mackintosh fabrics, which are harder to come by than William Morris prints.  Unfortunately for us, their fabrics are intended for interiors so they have a somewhat limited use for garment construction.  They make for some interesting options in the coat-designing department, though.  And there are a few lighter-weight linens and some voiles that maybe have some potential for clothes.  You can order samples for a fee.  And yes, their yardage is crazy expensive.

Mostly I just like looking at them.

Do you ever get the feeling that you were born in the completely wrong time?  I’m pretty sure I was supposed to be born in 1864.  In England.  And very wealthy.

But then, who wasn’t?

Like Weeds.

I am very very very disorganized.  I know.  Shocker.  If it makes you feel better (it does me), I’m pretty sure I have ADD.  I know I have dyslexia.  I also have Seasonal Affective Disorder and… oh yeah, I know.   A terminal case of over-introspection.  Or: I am very very very disorganized.

Which is a problem.  In terms of my trying to be organized, that is.  It’s not so much a problem in terms of, for instance, world peace or global warming.  However, it could result in my children running stark naked in the streets.  For midgets, my kids sure do seem to grow a lot.  How is that possible?  It’s like some sort of quantum physics zen riddle thing: If the children continue to grow out of their clothes on a weekly basis, how do they remain midgets?  Uh…  (The answer is “42”).

I’m so disorganized that I just realized that I forgot to make a post about TLo’s shirt from three or four months ago.  Oh yeah.  That shirt.  That I said I was going to post about two months ago.  Right.   So what the heck, here it is.  Despite the fact that she now won’t even wear it and it’s probably too small.

Ottobre 1-2009 #18

This top has two sleeves that are attached at the armscye, so you have the option of using one or the other or both. I used the long sleeve.  Right off the bat I’ll say that this shirt was made from an old Cacique sleep-shirt that I have no idea how I acquired.  I mean, don’t you find that a little disturbing?  I do.  It’s very odd.  Do random pajamas just appear in your house?  And I have two of these.  Two!

Anyway, I bring this up because this was not a very good fabric choice for this top.  It’s very flimsy, very stretchy and very hard to work with.  Plus, I didn’t quite have enough fabric so I had to cut the front yoke in two pieces.  I decided to do the front rather than the back, because I figured I could attach some decorative buttons on the front in a sort of faux placket concept (without actually bothering to make a faux placket, of course). 

Voila!  Decorative buttons.  I thought this was pretty clever, especially since the original shirt came with about fifty buttons so these matched perfectly.  If only that made up for the crazy warped seams and stretched out smocking.  I used some FOE I got in Portland for the neck binding.  I also used the curved hem on the existing shirt rather than making a hem.

I keep meaning to make more of these for TLo in a better fabric but now of course she’ll need a bigger size, which means retracing the whole thing.  Which to my mind sort of defeats the whole purpose of re-making something.  Plus Ottobre will persist in sending me new issues of their magazine, chock full of new patterns that are so appealingly… new.  Who do those people think they are, anyway?