The Continuing Adventures of the Case Against Pants

When it comes to fashion, I still dislike pants. True story. I've only worn pants three times so far in 2010. My goal in 2011 is to NEVER WEAR PANTS.

"But why," you ask, "do you hate pants?"

Well...

#1: They don't always flatter me. I am a hair under 5'0" but was blessed with curves. Lots of them. I have a proportionate hourglass figure with some extra squish on it...and abnormally short legs. They're nice, sturdy, shapely legs, but mega-short. Wearing pants just makes me look...well, stumpy.

#2: I don't find pants comfortable anymore. I'm really not sure why. All I know is that unless there is an elastic waistband and a considerable amount of stretch (or flannel, flannel is good too...) I am distinctly uncomfortable.

#3: I am a girly-girl. Aside from second grade, when I became a tomboy because my BFF Samantha said she wouldn't be friends with me other wise, I have been a girly-girl. Frills, lace, bows...the whole nine yards. And I feel my girliest in skirts.

#4: I have to dress up for work. And let's face it, it's easier to throw on a dress and call it a day than stare at a pair of basic slacks and think all right, let's get this going...

#5: Dresses are easier to sew than pants.

So that's why, when P and I were moving into our apartment, I tossed a megaload of crap. Jeans with holes in the heels, khakis that I wore day in and day out in high school, knit tops that were faded and pilled and had a tendency to slide up my tummy squish. All the stuff that I wore to death in college, but I really shouldn't wear as a young grown up.

All in all, it was rather cathartic.

However, that left me in a predicament. What shall I wear to work? Pretty much everything that's still in my closet is still ancient (you buy a lot less when you stopped growing at the age of twelve) and is splattered with the remnants of a life as a theater kid. You know...diluted paint. Wood glue. Glitter. Snags from getting caught in the flies. (Don't laugh...it happens.) Am I really supposed to wear that to my new big girl job?

Luckily, my parents offered to help me get some new pieces of clothing. HALLELUJAH.

And, oh wait, it gets better.

My mother has become a fan of getting me things from Modcloth.

That's right, the Holy Grail of all things adorable and retrochic. I am now the proud owner of four Modcloth dresses.

How This Dress Got Its Groove Back (which I wore for my rehearsal dinner)

The Soda Fountain Dress in cola (because I have to wear black for trunk shows)

The Tea Rose Rendezvous Dress (so comfy!)

The Indie Darling dress (which is currently awaiting me at my parents' house)

I'm going to have to face it, I'm addicted to lo...um, Modcloth.

Now I just need to sit down and figure out how to match up my outfits and figure out what else to get and what else to get rid of. So...maybe I'll start doing fashion entries? Maybe? Yeah...that'll be fun.

I also have plans to sew up plenty of things to augment my wardrobe. The only thing is I have about a hundred unfinished projects. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I spent about three years going "ooh! I wanna MAKE THAT!". So I would buy up the supplies, perhaps get started, and then move on.

It's ridiculous.

So I'm trying to sew through my stash in hopes of putting together some redeemable outfits. Some of them, however, are just awful. You know how I was going to make New Look 6722 in yellow knit? Yeah. Yeah, that was a travesty. Just awful. Thank the pattern gods that that bad boy has been discontinued.

(I'll discuss it further when I've figured out how in blue blazes I can salvage the remaining fabric, but let's face it- there's only so much you can do with a highlighter-yellow knit.)

Oh, well.

I hope you enjoy my further fashion endeavors! Now I'm going to give Simplicity 2622 a try!

Wardrobe Overhaul: the Case Against Pants

A while back I decided to overhaul my wardrobe. And recently I purged through my whole closet. It was an interesting experience. I've sorted through my wardrobe before, but I did this time with two ideas branded into my brain.

#1: I'm about to be a married lady instead of a little college girl, and I need to dress like one!

and

#2: I want to have a distinct style rather than my current one...which can basically be described as "whatever is on sale right now."

I pitched several pieces that I was holding on for no real reason. Like my button up shirts. After being forced to wear collared shirts for all four years of high school, I pitched my polos as soon as I graduated, but I held on to the blouses as a sort of safety net. I realized, thought, that I haven't worn them in forever. So out they went!

I went through a phase where I felt I needed a lot of "business professional" blazers. I had a couple...and hated them. They made me look top heavy and awkward and overdressed, no matter how or where I wore them. Out they went!

I also finally got rid of some pairs of hand-me-up shoes. That's what happens when your little sister is taller than you...she gives you her outgrown shoes. Some of them (like the gray plaid flats!) are terrific; some of them (like the kitten heel slingbacks with the awful velvet bows) needed to go.

The big thing I got rid of, though, are my skirts. I had a profound realization: I hate skirts.

Weird, right? I'm such a girly girl. You would think I would love skirts. But no.

Well, I guess to make this completely correct, I should say that I hate my skirts. I got rid of most of them- the ill-fitting khaki corduroy skirt, the ill-fitting denim skirt, the ill-fitting pink corduroy skirt (see the pattern here?) I also released my light blue peasant skirt and a hot pink floral skirt.

I like skirts, but I like mine with a vintage shape and vivid patterns. None of mine measured up (except for a brown and pink silk skirt that P lurrrvs), so I got rid of them.

My final realization was something that had been nagging at me for a while.

I dislike pants.

I own two pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis, a pair of brown pinstriped pants, and a pair of black pinstriped pants. And I dislike them all.

In previous years, I have worn these items in glorious abandon, pairing them with inexpensive knit fashion tops purchased from the clearance rack in the junior's department. Now that colder weather is upon us, I dread putting on these staples. They're just so dull and bland. Plus, the cheap knits are pilling and worn and faded. It is most disappointing.

I think I'm going to write out a game plan on how I'm going to go about this. I'm determined to start my new life as a wife (hey look, rhyming!) looking like a grown-up pretty girl, not an overexcited six-year-old who just learned to dress herself.

(Case in point: this is what I wore for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince midnight show...)
(but this is what I would like to dress like, feminine and retro but not childish:)
(and just for poops and giggles, my work uniform:)
(lawlz polyester mom pants!)