7.03.2012

advice for a young kalkatroonaan



if i were to talk to my high school self about the shitty jersey tube mini dress she wore to senior prom, i'd tell her i made this drapey jersey maxi dress for 5 dollars.




she would know that all she needed was a hot iron and an eye for organic placement (read: cocktail) to bling it up.

  


and stink eye, you must have stink eye.   how else do you expect to keep those randy boys in their place.




you could go the demure route.  young high school oona certainly did, as cocktails were not an option.




i'd tell her: if you ain't got it in the front, party in the back.  (and no, young oona, they won't be growing much more.)



and i'd DEFINITELY tell her don't sleep on the 2 dollar a yard bolt found at international silks and woolens, even when the uninspiring shoplady opens said bolt to reveal an oblong hole cut smack out of the middle of it. because, young high school oona, when you take that jersey home, you'll find it's actually a tube, and the oblong hole makes a perfect drapedrape neckline to step right into.  and of course you bought a sheet of iron on studs from fabric planet to play with.  because you're smart and pretty and amazing, young high school oona, and one day you will rule the world.

(or you'll get tipsy on the regular and post stuff on a fun little blog too early and totally gum up the works.  hey by the way GOOGLE READER SUCKS.  my updated promaballoona got bumped to the back of the line.  you could say it was my own damn drunken fault, but i prolly wouldn't listen to you.  check out the new details, including incriminating photographic evidence of ruggy.)

what would you tell your prom (or formal, or grad...) age self? 

61 comments:

  1. LOl.. oh my firmed.. when does your posts aren't funny. Thats is a great dress..miss the funky prints on you though.

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  2. dear younger self: start reading sewing blogs sooner! And don't be afraid to interact with all those wonderful people online.
    :)

    And I could certainly warn myself about plenty of fashion bombs, but some things need to be learned by experience, non?

    Great dress Oona, I love the open back!

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    1. oh definitely, you must war the horrible trendy (or not) stuff and find your way. so awkward.

      glad your now self is interacting :))

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  3. Love that studded fantastical draped dress! I would tell my prom aged self to get thyself to the prom even if you don't have your dream date, (he was going with someone else..)and wear a really killer dress!

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  4. You have it all...smarts, sass, creativity and a gorgeous dress. You are beautiful and so is your style.

    Hmmmm, I'd tell myself to pay more attention 'cause I don't even remember there being a senior prom. I'd tell my junior prom self not to "go with the crowd" and wear white. A ghastly white crimpoline (you are waaaaay to young to know what crimpoline is) pantsuit, sewn myself using Style 2686. I still remember thinking how beautiful my friend Clair looked in the flower print dress she made!

    Too soon we get old, too late we get smart.

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    1. thank you, liz!

      "crimpoline"? is that like a crinoline? no, it must be fabric... couldn't find the pantsuit pattern, but i kind of love that you went with a pantsuit. it actually sounds rocking.

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  5. Oh, wow, promoonna would have been so lucky to get your advice!
    And this dress is awesome.

    I only went to my senior prom, with my friend Colin. It was fine, I suppose, not a blast but not Carrie or anything.

    I would have told promleah that she looked amazing (I really did, red silk halter dress whaaaaaaat?)and that I should bring a sweater, because we did afterprom in Atlantic City in April at a hotel with no heating system and that thing was COLD.

    Strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com

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    1. "not carrie or anything"

      HAAAA.

      sexy red picture, please. and EY, no boy offered you his jacket? WTF, teenage boys?!

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  6. Oh wow, this dress is amazing...I especially love the cheeky dropped back! You look divine in it!

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  7. That's right, You tell yourself how it is! This is FAB-U-LOUS!

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  8. I love the little gathers at the small of your back. All the senior boys would have been itching to rest their hands there when you slow-danced. ;)

    Wow, what would I tell my 18 year old self?:

    Stop the stupid on-again-off-again relationship with the "cool guy" and ask out that nerdy guy who was way more interesting and I secretly had a crush on. Would have made senior year sooooo much more fun.

    Don't study engineering just because you got a scholarship in it when what you really want is to study Biology and Costume Design. At the same time.

    That teenagers are the most conservative, closed-minded people you are likely to ever meet. They sniff out the tiniest variation from the norm and peck it to death. Play your cards right and never again will you be forced to spend your days with people like this.

    If you want to do something, do it. Fuck them all.

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    1. ha! and Young Oona prolly would've run to the bathroom to hide.

      i like your advice to young Vicki. especially that last bit.

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  9. This dress is incredible! I love the "studs" along the neckline!

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    1. i seriously thought of your style when i was making this one!

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  10. Your younger self is drooling with jealousy! And I'd tell my prom girl (we called them semis or formals where I come from) to calm down and be grateful for the natural tautness of everything :-)

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    1. oh, semis, i've heard of semis...

      tautness, yes. i tell myself that once a year.

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  11. great dress! prom or no - i love the iron on studs.
    what would i tell my 18 year old self on her way to her senior prom which no one asked to be her date for so instead she gathered up all her girlfriends and made one big solo girl table? i would tell her to go and try and have fun - like she did. and to keep moving forward and don't look back and YES high school really was the worst - it wasn't just your imagination!! haha!!

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    1. your prom sounds awesome. a big bunch of girls would've been SO much better.

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  12. Love this so much! Looks comfy and stylish. Win!

    I would tell my young self that my formal wear choice was rad (Mum-made ball gown skirt with a plain white shirt and a pair of Doc Martens) but not to become conservative. Your 20s are for getting crazy and working out your style not being scared into looking like everyone else. Oh, and try gin. Dodgy vodka firewater is a big no-no. RUN!!!

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    1. um, i LOVE your prom outfit! and i think you're taking your advice with that HAWT pink cape, lady.

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  13. Lovely dress. Are you bring sexy back?

    Hmmm, what would I have told 18 year self?:

    Don't go into graphic design, you are not going to like it.

    Go to community college than I apply for art school.

    Let your mom show you how to use a sewing machine.

    Stay awesome and independent

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  14. One must have stink eye. LOL :))

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  15. Love this! Better late than never, I say!

    I'd tell prom age me a LOT of things, including "peach is not your colour" but I'm certain (as my mum could likely tell you) that I probably wouldn't listen because I already knew everything ;)

    Glad I got over that! ^__^

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  16. Oh this is lovely. The studs really make it! My prom dress was a big white fluffy piece of 80s but I loved it to death. I didn't have a date either. So I would tell little Amy to stop worrying about how boys don't pay attention because some day you will meet a genius and loving man. (Funny enough, his prom date looked a lot like me although we were yet to meet for another 12 years.)

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    1. oh, that sounds like a "back to the future" prom pic needs to happen...

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  17. I love love love this dress! Very creative and unique and it makes quite a statement! I don't know what I would say to younger me, but I know we probably wouldn't get along! ;)

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  18. I would tell my self not to wear dried, red-painted pasta in my hair. Seriously. It's never going to be a 'thing'. Admittedly it was the late nineties.

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    1. of course you did. and you prolly looked cooler than you think.

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    2. I saw somewhere that this is trendy now, to take the bow shaped pasta and paint it red and attach it to a hair clip.
      You also have an emergency snack on you at all times.

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  19. I'd tell my teenage self that even when 80's-inspired fashion becomes fashionable again, some 20-odd years later, it'll never look as completely devoid of style as the real 1980's thing. I'd tell myself to never let myself be photographed wearing any of it. (Alas, I didn't get the ear of my teenage self in time, and the damage is done.)

    But I am LOVING the drape, girl. You rock.

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    1. right? no one does it as horribly as the real thing. let's see that damage!

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  20. This dress is just amazing. Love it!

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  21. love the drape of the dress and the back is amazing. I would have told my younger 18 year old self, Stop being afraid and tell everyone you really wanted to go to FIT and study fashion design and merchandizing instead of the state college and studied business.. OH Well, we live and learn..Life is still Wonderful!

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  22. love the iron on studs on the dress, gives it an edge! very trendy. I would guess that in 2000, when you were 18 (compliment? way off?) everyone would have pointed and laughed at you for wearing studs and believe the world really did come to end because who wouldn't want to wear low rise jeans and belly shirts?
    I'd be like, hello, did you really have to dress like you're michele obama? (I wore a black lace dress and pearls) wear something sexy goddamit

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  23. You look amazing in your new prom dress!! As always :o)

    Advice to my young self? Don't diet. Oy.

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  24. I am loving the gold of the studs with the gray of the dress! And I am always a sucker for covered up in the front, then BOOM it's a sexy back!

    My prom-age self needed to know that girlfriends > random boy you asked just for the sake of having a date, and don't be afraid to be different. Hah, how generic and overused is that latter piece of advice?

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  25. First: LOVE this dress. For realz.

    What would I tell my high school prom self? Definitely don't do that beer bong, then karate chop the bathroom door into the track star's face. Not cool, girl, not cool.

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  26. LOVE it! I would tell my 17 year old self "Get out from under that duvet pronto madam - even though you scrubbed your spotty chin to a fetching scarlet that won't take makeup without looking like pork crackling and even though the hairdresser decided today would be the day you'd look better as a boy than a little indie pixie, your Pride & Prejudice-inspired chocolate raw silk empire dress complete with chiffon overlay and gorgeous floaty matching chiffon neck scarf is the dogs proverbials and will always be so." Time machines - short on the ground non?

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  27. The things I would say to my high school self would probably be along the same lines - drink up! lol. I really enjoyed seeing all of your prom pictures from high school. It's always so much fun to look back on the past.

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  28. To start earlier. And to finish the insides properly, even though no one is going to see them. Not a very cool sort of advice for a 19-year-old, but then, I was the 19-year-old who made her own graduation ball dress and took advice from people around her who did not know so much more than her. So I might have listened to advice from older and more experienced me.

    The other piece of advice would be: Go on and do it! You can. Apparently, few others around you can, so cherish that ability. Go on and do many more! Just because you can!
    Which, incidentally, still applies. To any of my abilities.

    Ingenious use of hole on your side. I'm a bit put out by the strategically placed drape in the front, but you can totally pull it off.

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  29. Great dress - like it a lot!

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  30. I ADORE YOU and your uber fabulous dress of awesome. Those bits of metallic wonder add such pizazz to this unique and crazy stylish ensemble. My senior prom dress was $30, navy blue and covered with fake flowers. I was on the prom court and the only one with such an obnoxious dress - and I was happy as anything ever :) My date was my best friend, because I had asked him before I started dating my boyfriend. So my bf was all pissy but I had a great time without him and I've never regretted the decision to take Brad and leave Mark all mopey.

    I would tell my 18 year old self that I was right, it was a great idea to take Brad, and I should've added more fake flowers. Why be subtle? I wasn't going to stay in that city forever and I dont really care what most of those people think of me, anyway.

    I've started saying, "If I cared what people thought of me, I wouldn't make my own clothes." New mantra? Totally.

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  31. I love, love, love this dress!!! Have you posted a tutorial or if not, could you? Pretty, pretty please!!!

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  32. Yes we need a tutorial a clint of mine wants this dress and i can stash the money to make a trip to shop in chicago for fabric. Pretty please.

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    1. oh ladies, i wish i could explain it! i'll try and do a few drawings, really it was all based on an unlucky hole in a remnant proving lucky.

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    2. Ok I just need sketch of what it sort of looked like on the cutting table. I baught a halter top and I am gonna hang some muslin knit fabric in the shape of a tube on my dress form and play around with it. What I think I will end up with a seam down the front which might get hidden in the cascade. Or a seam down the back

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  33. GORGEOUS!!! I would tell my younger self pretty much the same thing you would tell young Oona. I was painfully awkward and introverted but also brash and in your face, if that makes sense. I wasted SO MUCH time being afraid to try things. If I could go back I would tell me to TRY EVERYTHING! (except the booze and drugs I had the good sense to stay away from ;p)

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  34. Oh wow, I love a good draping, this is the business Oona. Just love it. Clever Lady Pants.

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  35. Ok I came up with a drawing that I want you to see based on what I think the fabric looked liked when it formed this beautiful dress. My client is so in love with this mistake you developed that I have to make a smiliar one in lavender but cut the backup because she is on the plump side. CAN YOU PLEASE send me your email or send me an email to blackhands4@gmail.com. I can't attach the drawing to this post. PRETTY PLEASE THANKS OOh so much.

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  36. Interesting dress. very interesting.

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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!