6.25.2008

my 8th grade dream


my grandmother (who i called "nan", but let's go with grandmother to avoid confusion-- whenever i say "nan" people think i had a nanny, which is baffling. maybe it's because i live in lalaland) my grandmother used to take me shopping at least once every two weeks. we'd climb into my mom's car or take the bus, a straight shot up a curvy hilly avenue, and we'd stop in EVERY STORE THERE. and if i found something i liked, she would be sure to buy two, hopefully in different colors. come my 8th grade graduation, i was used to finding exactly what i wanted in the legend that is the New. Jersey. Mall.

my obsession with everything prince started the search for the graduation dress of my dreams. i had just forced my mom and brother to accompany me to the unveiling of prince's masterpiece, under the cherry moon. (dad was at work, probably one of the few times he was grateful for the diversion.) it was absolutely terrifying. it was even more nervewracking than the listening session i forced my family to sit though when the great one released his follow-up to purple rain: around the world in a day. (dad was home for that one, he got lucky.) would they accept the dramatic falsetto of "condition of the heart"? would i have to leave the room during his talk with god in "temptation"? i was sure that due to my level of adoration, i had everything to do with the success or failure of any princely venture. and this time, he had really gotten himself into a mess. you see, prince fired his director halfway through shooting under the cherry moon, and was steering the ill fated ship all by his diminutive self. and it would be ALL MY FAULT if it didn't work out.

well, it did not. surprisingly, i didn't die. (prince, however, did, in the last scene of the movie, where an often delightful and very eccentric romantic romp goes completely awry in one of the most misguided death scenes ever filmed.) but the costumes were FABULOUS! kristin scott thomas wore this gauzy sheer polkadotted crisp kiss of a dress that i HAD to have. she stood on a yacht while "alexa de paris" played in the background, the wind whipping the fabric around. this dress was so perfect, i was sure that said wind would accompany me whenever i wore it-- a breeze would just want to be near it that badly.

 
nothing else than this marie france creation would do for the departure of a middle schooler, and the debut of a High Schooler. but after three malls (that's a LOT of shops, mind you), no luck. i had to settle for a white lace dress, floor length, that in hindsight was a bit child-bride.

i loved shopping with my nan. it was one of my favorite things to do growing up. but now that i'm sewing, i've found i'm tired of shopping. i'm tired of walking into stores and finding things overpriced and poorly made. not to mention wasteful trends that end up in the garbage. (please let's don't mention my errors in sewing that also end up trashed. thank you.) and now! without the aid of a mall! thanks to burdastyle and my moth-in-law... I SHALL HAVE THE LONG AWAITED DRESS!

 
as an early birthday prize, i got EIGHT YARDS of black and white polka dotted loveliness (at top). eight yards! i feel frivolous buying three. but i'm going to cut this on the bias, which means i need a lot. it also means i won't be making many garments on the bias (see previous comment about being wasteful. hypocrite much?). and burdastyle's jonny pattern is even more glorious than the original.

what??? more glorious than prince's version?  i must be grown up now.  and soon i'll have the prepubescent prize to prove it! 

14 comments:

  1. That is going to be absolutely stunning. I love this back story, too! Ah, the New Jersey mall. I know it well. I cannot wait to see how this goes; it's going to be so gorgeous.

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  2. Way back when, long before we moved to NJ, Nan had a black and white polka dot dress. We used to call it her Cinderella dress. I can't wait to see yours, Oona.

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  3. I love that fabric. I have one yard that someone has given me, and I cannot for the life of me figure out a use for it! But eight? I drool in envy!

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  4. You're grown up, but you keep your dreams. That's a good thing. Otherwise, I, too, cannot wait to see your version. Bias cut, wow. I'm still afraid of that, after my experience with necktie headbands and piping. I can manage those, but a garment... plese, not yet.

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  5. I have no idea what bias cut is but I'm sure it will be FAAAABULOUS!

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  6. big daddy, i think bias cut is french for EX-PENSIVE. and how cool that nan had her own version. that'll make it even better when i finish it... that is if i do it correctly (i am terrified, hana).

    cheryl: really, what can one do with one yard of fabric?if you cut into it, and surely don't have enough, it's almost like you should have left it whole to stare adoringly at.

    ah, mick, you know of the NJ experience? i knew i liked you.

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  7. Aw Oona just have a sip of wine and let your creativity fly with that fabric--on second thought maybe not such a good idea to drink beverages near expensive material.
    Anyway I'm sure it will come out just marvelous, I love that story--will we get to see the finished dress??

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  8. hah! i've always imagined a nice glass of wine next to my featherweight. then i imagine sewing right through my finger. and i will show the finished dress, whether it comes out right or not!

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  9. I had the same expressive love with depeche mode in my teens. In some point than I moved to radiohead and now I am a bit of a music whore... But I am seeing radiohead live in two weeks when I think about it.
    Did I ever showed my johny white silk black dots fabric on my blog - I think I will put it there for you. So funny we had similar ideas about the johny. I am still afraid to cut it and it hangs on the wall in my bedroom...

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  10. Eh, now I feel guilty for not having white-with-black-polka-dots-silk idea for Jonny... Nonsense. Mom loved that dress, maybe I should make it for her one day. Personally I don't like buttons very much, so Jonny isn't that appealing to me for myself...

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  11. I once bought 8 yards of a fabric... I really loved it and thought I could use it for several things. The first thing I used it for was to make a wrap to carry my son, then recently I have ripped those seams out and used it for Frank's Emmeline apron, my Emmeline apron, and the blah swimsuit coverup I just made! I still love the fabric, and I still have about 4 yards of it! I can't wait to see what your dress looks like with those polka dots!

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  12. It's gonna look so fabulous, I just know it. What is it about polka dots, I always love them. Can't wait to see it. I was always a cocteau twins fan in my youth, aah 80s music...

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  13. Lovely! I can't wait to see it. I've been disillusioned with shop dresses myself and am having 3 new dresses made. I have a feeling this could get addicting : ) I'll send you pics when I get them back.

    p.s. maybe we can have a Xanadu watch party sometime. It is possible I could be overidealizing it. Just a smidge though.

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  14. "i think bias cut is french for EX-PENSIVE."

    lol. tell me about it! when my sister got married, her seamstress decided that all the bridesmaids dresses needed to be cut on the bias, so we all shelled out a pretty penny for all those yards of silk!

    i cannot wait to see your finished dress. love the back story!

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!