The weekend doesn’t start until tomorrow, but I’m coming at ya a day early. Why? Because today starts the month-long commitment to handmade and home sewn clothing and accessories. It’s Me Made May y’all.
Started 4 years ago by So Zo… What do you know?, MMM asks participants to take a pledge to wear one self stitched or refashioned garment a day. “I, (insert name here and blog address if applicable), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’14. I endeavour to wear _ each day for the duration of May 2014″ is what the participant spits out on day 1. What’s great about this challenge is that the number of clothes you made is not a deciding factor for if you can join. If if you only have one me-made garment, you can pledge to wear it however many times during May. Also, MMM is illuminating. You learn throughout the month what silhouettes, fabrics, etc work for you and on the flip side, what is missing from your wardrobe.
I’ve always thought this was a great community initiative, but I never participated. One, because even though the rules specify that the number of self-stitched clothing doesn’t doesn’t matter, I felt I didn’t have enough to warrant my participation. It just seemed silly to commit to wear one item throughout May. Two, because my projects up until recently have been a little too over-the-top to wear on a everyday basis. Let’s be real. If I wore a gown to work, I would probably receive stares from colleagues who already question my sartorial choices. But this year, I honed in and defined my style. I looked at my closet in January and thought, “I have so much junk.” I didn’t want it all anymore. I wanted simplicity. So, I threw it almost all of it away (about 90%). My wardrobe is smaller than its ever been, but it’s much more effective. Also, now that I know what my style is, at least for now (I’m sure it will change when I’m 30), it’s easy to find sewing project and thus, I’m sewing more. Proof: last year, I made a total of approximately 5 garments, and this month, I made 5 garments!
So for MMM 2014, I’m participating! I probably won’t document it because I already hate taking selfies, but “I, Maddie Flanigan of Madalynne, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’14. I endeavour to wear 2 self stitched garments each week for the duration of May 2014.”
Like chanting during a sorority or fraternity event (I swear I never did that!), I feel a little korny participating, but it’s for a good cause and I agree with the message behind it.
