Describing the function of fashion school, Nicolas Ghesquière was quoted: “It’s a time for pure experimentation — for pure research, to refine your perspective and to create things and to materialize things as an exercise.” Having never attended design school, Ghesquière considered his stint at Balenciaga as a long learning curve similar to that of a college or uni student. He “graduated” Balenciaga in 2012 and recently took the reigns at Louis Vuitton as Artistic Director.
It might be too early for some, but not for me – with the end of the year approaching, I’ve been thinking about how to end 2015, how to pat myself on the back for the goals I achieved, how to move on from the goals that were never accomplished, and how to compile a list a reasonable goals for the new year. As I’ve been tallying all this up in my head, I feel the same sentiments as Ghesquière – that the past 8 years of my sewing career and the past 2 1/2 years as a sewing blogger have been pure experimentation. In 2012, I made about 5 garments, most of which were occasional pieces. A dress for a friend’s wedding and another dress for… who needs an excuse or an occasion for polka dots?
Until this year, I couldn’t grasp how other sewers did it. How the hell did they make an entire wardrobe (or close to it) of me-made clothing? Alcohol? Fairy dust? Bribery? If I could only have a few sips of Lauren’s Kool-Aid, I could whip up tees, dresses and more just as fast and fashionable. Maybe it was Sarai’s The Wardrobe Architect or maybe it was the inspiration from other sewers, but this year, I finally feel like I got my style and sewing figured out. I feel like I have this whole handmade life on lockdown. At least somewhat. I developed 5 core silhouettes that are now the foundation pieces of my me-made wardrobe and I’m well on my way to doing the same for my lingerie wardrobe. While I occasionally make things for an occasion, I focus more on these three things – is it wearable every day, is it fashionable, and is it uniquely me?
I’m still not set my goals for 2015 – it flutters back and forth daily. But living relatively sizeable handmade life no longer seems like a far off, unachievable goal. Who knows, maybe I’ll make 100 garments next year. Beat that, Lauren!
Are you a major planner and already thinking about your sewing in 2015?
Also, there is a lot of announcements, changes and exciting things happening on the blog the next two weeks – sewing inspired art prints, sewing inspired gift wrap, a new website and the announcement of my in-person bra making workshops! Stay tuned.