Before I get into my post, I want to thank everyone who left kind words about my engagement, as well as encouragement about making my wedding dress. After thinking it over, I’m going to do it!! That will definitely be an upcoming post once I start making muslins. Thank you to everyone who left links to their posts on wedding dress sewing, I definitely have some reading to do now.
I’m going to be moving in with Chris towards the end of the summer, and after living on my own for almost three years now, I’ve acquired quite a bit of “stuff” in my apartment that will need to be downsized. As I started to switch over my closet this weekend from late winter/early spring clothes to summer, it seemed natural to start purging the clothes that I own and don’t wear anymore.
When it comes to getting rid of handmade clothes, it can be hard to make the firm decision to part with something that you spent precious time on. For me at least, there’s more of an attachment to handmade clothes vs clothes you buy in a store: creating a wardrobe is a journey from picking out the pattern and selecting the fabric to actually making it, whereas buying something at a store and plunking it down on the counter is transactional affair that only has a monetary investment. As I went through my closet and reflected back on what handmade garments I wore the last twelve months, I asked myself these questions:
When is the last time I wore it?
Does it fit my current style/lifestyle?
Is there a sentimental attachment to this?
Am I proud of this garment when I wear it?
As it turned out, I had quite a few things I was hanging on to that I wore maybe once or twice in total since I made them, some garments I didn’t touch in the last year, and quite a few that just don’t jive with how I dress on a daily basis now. There was even a cardigan I made that had a hole in the middle of the back that I couldn’t fix!
I even have a small section of my closet that holds a few garments I need to finish or projects that didn’t turn out right and need to be tweaked. The reality is that even though I have every intention of getting back to these projects, they’ve been hanging in my closet for almost two years and I probably won’t get around to them. It’s worth determining whether or not I get rid of them.
It can be a liberating feeling to free yourself of things you’re hanging onto. Every garment I ever made is something that advanced my skills further and served a purpose at that time when I made it. And now, I have room to move forward with adding in new garments that fit my personal style and life, and I know each time I look in my closet I will only see clothes that I love and wear regularly. With Me Made May in full-swing right now, I encourage you to take a look at what doesn’t work in your closet and lifestyle anymore and free up some room!
![Pattern Review – Simplicity 2593 [Calvin Klein Inspired]](data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAlgAAAGQAQMAAABI+4zbAAAAA1BMVEUAAACnej3aAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAADRJREFUeNrtwQENAAAAwiD7p7bHBwwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgKQDdsAAAWZeCiIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=)
I find it really liberating getting rid of homemade clothes that don't suit – I guess I was holding on to them, but when I finally said "you know what? I've already got what I needed out of this dress" (which may have been as simple and discovering a new technique, working out I dislike a certain colour/fabric, etc) it was easy to get rid of them.
It certainly opened up space in my wardrobe, which I have now filled up with recent sewing! Whoops.
And, I didn't reply on the last post so congratulations! I decided not to make my wedding dress because I didn't think I could handle the stress, I would probably focus too much on my mistakes, and because I found a local seamstress who made exactly what I wanted (and wouldn't have been able to make at the time). And in the end it was cheaper to have a tailor-made dress made from lace and silk organza, than a polyester RTW dress (one that I tried on had BATTING in the BUM!). I loved my dress but if I was to get married again (not bloody likely) I'd make my own
I just cleared my closet and some handmade things were donated. I pretty much followed your reasoning that if I don't wear the things and I have no sentimental attachment to them, it's time to let go. Plus, I'm getting the chance to refill my wardrobe with new pieces that fit my current needs.
I find it very hard to get rid of handmade clothes! It kind of feels like I'm giving away little pieces of myself, lol. But I suspect a major closet purge is going to be in my future, once I have this baby and my weight stabilizes enough that I'll have a better idea of what will still fit me and what will completely not work for me as a mom. The thought makes me sad, but I guess I can also look at it as an excuse to make some shiny new things, right?
Also, I didn't think to leave a link to my dress in the last post. I blogged through the entire process, so it's all under this tag (though the finished project is the first one that comes up, if you just want the summary!) http://sew-and-so.blogspot.com/search/label/one%20dress%20to%20rule%20them%20all