Monday, May 18, 2015

OOTDs: Made by Me May. So Far.

I already posted one photo from May, in which I wore a handmade item, here at this post.  Then the crazy came, in the form of a fever that lasted four days (me, up to 103!), a Communion suit that needed completing, and a pair of dresses I needed to sew up for a post at Fabric Mart.

I still wore "me made" items, I just didn't get around to posting them here until today.  So below are a couple weeks worth of ootds all featuring handmade items.  (For more on Me Made May*, check out this blog post.)

*Ugh, hate the term "me made." It goes against every fiber of my Language Arts teaching degree.  Sigh.  I do like the idea behind it, though.  Wish it was called "made by me" May.

I didn't photograph everything with my nice camera, but I usually tried to capture all outfits here at Instagram, so there are probably a few there that you won't see here.

Okay, here goes, and in order of date worn...


Day: Saturday, May 2, 2015.

Where:  A Bar Mitzvah and a Communion Retreat.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This dress is so wonderful, I am glad I spent the time working on it last year to exactly fit my shape.  The cotton sateen has a touch of stretch and it is lined in a stretch silky knitted material.  It's like heaven in the form of a dress.  :-)

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using Burda 7137); Necklace and shoes, J. Crew.

Anecdote of the Day:  The Bar Mitzvah was beautiful and I am so glad I was able to make it for at least part of the ceremony to see my friend's son participate in this very special occasion.  I then went to my son's Communion retreat to volunteer, and halfway through, I got very chilled and couldn't bend down without it hurting.  I asked everyone if they were cold too and no one else was.  My spidey sense went crazy and I suspected a fever (both boys had it earlier that week).  Little did I know it would be a four day fever that wouldn't break.  I finally had to go to urgent care on Tuesday.  I didn't have the flu, I didn't have pneumonia, and I didn't have strep.  I just had something.  Ugh.

Instagram here.


Day: Wednesday, May 7, 2015.

Where:  G Street Fabrics and School Pickup.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I feel like such a broken record, but man these handmade dresses are all so easy to wear.  I also really love these new sandals from J. Crew that were kind of a "whim" purchase.  They really are very vibrant in real life and fit well (I did size down to a 9 from my normal 9.5 since I have very narrow feet and I know the 10 would have fallen off of me).

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using Simplicity A1636--may be available at Walmart, too); Malta Crackled Leather Sandals, here at  J. Crew; Cardigan, Boden; Necklace, gift.

Anecdote of the Day:  I went to G Street hoping to buy a bunch of pressing supplies I needed, like a tailor's board or a sleeve roll, but the walls in the notions department were EMPTY.  I am getting really concerned that the beloved G Street is going down, and will soon shutter its doors.  I really really hope not, as much as I love online fabric shops, I adore G Street for his selections of beautiful high end fabrics and its gorgeous selection of notions (normally).  And they have the most amazing vintage buttons for sale.

Instagram here.


Day: Sunday, May 10, 2015.

Where:  Mother's Day and some time with my Grandpa.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  My matchy match dress with my daughter (last worn Easter) was more comfortable this time around.  I have washed it since the last wear, so maybe that is why it is more comfortable.  Hmmm.

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using New Look 6262); Necklace, J. Crew.

Anecdote of the Day:  So my Grandpa came to visit for a few weeks, and on Mother's Day, my dad was part of an "intermission" play at the local community theater.  We went to go see him first (where my Grandpa declared that my dad's performance was far better than the rest of the actors, lol, of course he said that), and then we headed off to a very late lunch.  Just a nice time all around.

Instagram here of Grandpa and me.
Another Instagram here of the kids and me.

Day: Monday, May 11, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This printed linen dress was perfect for the very hot and humid day that Monday was, and I felt exactly right, not too hot, and definitely not too cold. 

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using Vogue 8615); Sandals, Boden; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day:  There isn't much to say other than Kindergarten kids are a whole box of energy.  I stayed on top of the situation, but man, I always sleep well the nights I sub the little ones.

Instagram here.

Day: Tuesday, May 12, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I love this skirt, but I have to say it felt a bit short for wearing that day, though I realize it is fairly modest.  We went to church and I prefer skirts and dresses to hit right at the knee.

Outfit Details:  Skirt, handmade (using Simplicity 1887); Top, J. Crew Factory; Sandals, Saltwater; Sunglasses, Anthropologie; Bag, Hobo, Intl.

Anecdote of the Day:  We had the May procession and living rosary at school that day.  It was awesome.  The Kindergartners even managed to pay attention the whole time!

Instagram here.

Day: Wednesday, May 13, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The voile of the blouse is very soft and feels so nice against the skin.  Love this shirt so much. The Esska sandals are the best, very secure on the foot, and a nice, cushioned footbed.  I wish more American retailers would sell this brand.

Outfit Details:  Shirt, handmade (using vintage Simplicity 9559); Turner Pants, here at J. Crew; Sandals, Esska; Glasses, Madewell.

Anecdote of the Day:  Another day of subbing!  Not much to add to that. :-)

Instagram here.

Day: Thursday, May 14, 2015.

Where:  Subbing Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) For a dress that didn't take me long to sew up, it sure feels great on, and though fitted, it isn't so skintight as to be innapropriate. The J. Crew Factory version of the Malta Sandals (you saw those in green above) fit exactly like the retail version, nice and fitted in the size down from my normal 9.5.

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade (using McCall's 6886--you'll notice the photo has the knitted version of my fabric from the Burda dress at the top of the post!); Factory Raffia Boardwalk Sandals, available here at J. Crew Factory.

Anecdote of the Day:  Last day of subbing.  I was glad to have Friday off.

Instagram here.

And for those of you curious, here is a link to my son's Communion suit review (will eventually blog about it here), a link to the Lilly Pulitzer inspired dresses I made for the Fabric Mart blog post (will also include those in an ootd post), and a link to the instagram of today's outfit (which will not be published here).

Hope you all have a great day!