8.08.2013

mountain mama


there are clothes that women love on women, there are clothes that men love on women, and never the twain shall meet.  well, the fairer sex can usually go both ways, but the harder sex, if you will forgive the pun, can't get behind certain styles: high waisted jeans.  bubble skirts.  gathered waists.  drop crotch.
   

as you may have gleaned, i have not had the luxury of being around my better half for more than the better part of summer.  the obvious consolation prize in this situation: make and wear the things he will undoubtedly dislike. the booby prize (if you will again forgive the pun): reap the praise of the female company i'm keeping at work!

is this gender pleasing dress code meant to spite him?  no!  never!  look, if my man's not here to compliment me, what good is it wearing the curve hugging styles he adores?  am i going for appraising looks from strangers in bars?  no! never! i'm going for chic comfort!  and a nice smoky bourbon!


this heavenly soft jersey from mood fabrics (online) actually began its life with me as a self draped maxi dress. and when i say draped, i mean hacked and pinned and thrown on and off in hotel closets for want of my dress form, half a country away.  it's a large panel print, with a dusky purple mountain scene.  and no, it does not break my self imposed ban on jersey.  it's my birthday week, all bets are DECIDEDLY off.

the initial dress was inspired by a floaty jersey maxi worn by one of our deliciously curvy dancing trees, but by the time it was finished, it hugged my curves in ALL.  The Wrong.  Places.  one seam actually landed right across the horizon line of mount crackatoa, creating the stunning illusion that my waist, hip and abdomen were indeed a redwood forest. at this point i actually should have gifted it to any number of long legged ladies at work, but instead, i hacked off the bodice, turned the skirt upside down, decided not to fight the flow, and draped a pear shaped number.

right now, ruggy is looking at this concoction and seeing this:


MOUNT SAINT OONABALLOONA

meanwhile, while out for drinks with tinkerbell, she saw this:


SEXY CHIC YOU CAN TOTALLY EAT IN THAT

me, i'm in the middle.  i don't really shy away from shapes that might not, erm, accentuate my shape...but i do think this gives my trunk a bit more junk than necessary.  


oh yeah.  really.  that's just wrong.

ah well.  it feels delicious, and looks dressy when paired with the right kicks.  


no, these are not the right kicks.  these are neon yellow wedge sneakers that ruggy will hate even more than this dress.  when the cat's away...the mouse is very sad and buys wedge sneakers.

will such items journey back with me to new york, or will they end up on tinkerbell?  only time and testosterone will tell.

this ruggy repelling dress was made using my monthly fabric "allowance" as part of the Mood Sewing Network.

66 comments:

  1. I love drop waisted numbers, and the print is amazing!! I vote keep this one!

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    1. guess what... THE HOTEL WASHER SHRUNK IT!!!!! i think it was kismet, i'm so keeping it now. still loose, but that waist seam is just a bit higher!

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  2. I think you look like a sexy mountain goddess; I don't understand some of the stuff that men hate, fashion-wise!

    Also, those shoes? Sweet jesus, those things are amazing. If Ruggy hates them so much, feel free to toss them my way ;) hahahahaha!

    Also, I'm totally late on this, but happy birthday week, lady!! ♥

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    1. and girl, i got those kicks on sale at ross dress for less. how i LOVE ross dress for less!

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  3. Ha ha! Well-worn and well-put! :)

    Aren't wedged sneakers the greatest?

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    1. :) my coworkers were all studying them, trying to figure out where my heel was! that is, my co workers of a young and old-er age. the median set were already experienced.

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  4. Oh yeah, I totally forgot to mention on your MSN post-- I really, REALLY love the shoes! I have a pair of wedge sneaks and Man Friend hates them, too. For some reason I get empowered and extra sassy when he doesn't like something and I'll trumpet around in it even more so than usual... bad!

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    1. that is exactly what i do! i get such a kick out of the crazy things ruggy gives the stinkeye to.

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  5. Glad to see that I'm not the only one who experiences this divisiveness at home with what I like to sew vs. what he likes me to wear! You look lovely, and uber-comfy, so I'll raise my glass to your yellow wedge sneakers. Job well done!!!

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  6. My me-mades fluctuate between curve hugging dresses which my husband loves on me, and very loose tops from the Japanese dress books, which my husband hates. I love that they look gigantic.

    So I wear the loose dresses when he's not around.

    Love the outfit and the yellow shoes

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    1. eeeeeeexactly. i've been in loose dress mode all summer long, it seems...

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  7. I've heard it said women dress for themselves and other women. Men would prefer we not dress at all. I think that'd be a might chilly and also two hobbies out the window. I don't remember what my point is or if I had one. But I love the dress.

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    1. this had me laughing out loud. in fact i just reread it and laughed again.

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  8. That fabric is gorgeous and what a lovely way to use it.

    You are so right about guy clothing likes vs. gal clothing likes...I think we all have an outfit or two we wear when the other half isn't around. ;)

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    1. thanks aleksandra! and you know, ruggy has some horrible old tshirts that i KNOW he's wearing to pieces while i'm away :)

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  9. This print is A-MA-ZING!!! :) I might just have to get some for myself! How many yards did this lovely creation take??? I could never pull this look off as well as you, but I can definitely see it as a high-low racerback jersey dress - maybe Mission Maxi? :)

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    1. wouldja believe, it took ONLY one yard??? and this is AFTER i lost a good amount of it in the re-hacking of the maxi dress. a mission maxi would be stunning... you might get away with one yard, if the skirt isn't too full..but you might want two yards for print placement (mountain directly on ass, anyone?).

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  10. Love, Love, Love this. You wear it well!

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  11. Happy belated Birthday Oona! This dress looks so comfy and chic! LOVE it and you look fab! Now I'm having shoes envy!!!

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    1. says the shoe GODDESS!!! i need basically all of your shoes!

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  12. Innovation at its finest. You didn't like what you had and hacked it into something that you did and paired well with yellow kicks!

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    1. yeeeeessss, let's go with innovation. that's way better than inebriation.

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  13. If you like smoky bourbon I recommend Woodford Reserve :)

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    1. i do, and i DO. have you ever had their bourbon balls? for real.

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  14. It looks great on you! But yeah, I can see where the "harder" (giggle) sex might not think it's as fabu as we women do. *sigh* L'amour, l'amour! (as one of the characters in the 1939 movie "The Women" was fond of saying)
    You know, being 5' 8", with fluctuating measurements that are basically poor up top and generous around the bottom (a fellow Crackatowian!), I honestly think that this can be rocked (like you do) amazingly well on most body types - it's totally terrific that way!

    Excellent work, as always! :)

    Love,
    Mugsy

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    1. oh, l'amour!!! only one of my favorite movies, ever.

      and yet, you have those extra vertical inches to work with. when are you gonna show those curves off in sewing blog land?

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  15. you are amazing and we miss you.

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  16. Oona, the problem is that you ask. You have to make the garment, put it on, and then, BEAMING with happiness, ask, "Don't you love it?!?!" How could he say no to that? Hehehe

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  17. You look gorgeous! I say 'BAH' to men when it comes to their 'fashion' sense with women!

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    1. please tell me you actually say "BAH". that would make me ever so happy.

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  18. I think you look funky! and this is something I would so wear, sneakers and all! I never dress for men only myself, well sometimes for my boyfriend but we wont go there ;)

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  19. I would like to mention that the military--an organization pretty much owned and operated by the male gender, whatever inroads women are making--has traded in all those lovely tailored khaki and olive and navy uniforms, as well as sailor outfits, for what is effectively a color-keyed camouflage tracksuit. If you go to the W*Mart--and you are in Texas, so I know you have them, even if the 5 boroughs don't--of a Saturday, you'll see men rolling up in hordes in A-shirts and flip flops (and as with so much, those you are most likely to see half-naked are those you'd really rather not). So to my mind, no man gets to tell me how to dress until he's done his bit fixing his own kind, TYVM. Cool dress--in both senses--and great kicks, but I totally don't get your concerns about Mount C--curves are good (keeps a girl from being mistaken for a boy!) and until someone sets a beer on your bee-hind at a barbecue...and it doesn't fall off...you've got nothing to worry about. (True story, I swear. No, it didn't happen to me.)

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    1. oh, i like my urves, i'm just not a fan of the droopy gathers i added to them! but, the hotel washing mahine had its way with this, and she shrunk a bit. gathers are now under control.

      camo track suit...i actually shuddered...

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  20. If my husband ruled the earth (as he thinks- shh, don't tell him of his limited powers!) yoga pants, overalls and wedge shoes would be outlawed. Women would escape to the hills to live quietly together, never sucking their stomaches in and enjoying the ease of flaired calves.....

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  21. You rock that mountain dress girl! Love the quirkiness of your clothes as I'm catching up on your past blog entries. Your "Italian fireworks" dress on posted on July 4th was really absolutely fantastic!!!

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  22. This dress and its print are so badass, and the sneaker wedges are great! My husband is into mine despite the ridiculous spikes that adorn the hidden Jeffrey Campbell heels.

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    1. oooooh.....spikes........i sense a DIY coming on...

      by the way i've been rocking candy colored toes this summer and thinking of you!

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  23. Groovy! I would have never thought to put those gathers there!

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    1. that may be because one should not put gathers there.... :)!

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  24. I would not wear that, which is the sort of compliment I used to give my best friend all the time. :D
    In other words, whoa, way out of my comfort zone, but WHOA! You seem to have the attitude that a dress such as this requires, while I don't, and that's the way it should be in this colourful world. ;-)

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  25. Love love love those dreamy purple mountains, and the yellow trainers - WOW. This is an amazing outfit. I want it! xxx

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  26. So. very. excellent. Oona, I love this too bits. Well done fancy lady pants. Nice kicks too xx

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  27. I've been lurking this print on the Mood website FOREVER! So glad to see it somewhere other than in my dreams! I love the dress so much! Keep it and love it forever :)

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    1. you ought to snap it up! it's deliciously wide for all the ahem, mistakes one might make.

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  28. The neckline is fantastic, and what a print!!

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  29. Well, I like it on you. The colors are soft but intense, you have tight hips and thighs for the huggy bits of the new dress, and Ruggy alone should know the joy and wonder of what is underneath the loose bits of the new dress. When my own DH is out of town, I cook scrambled eggs and sometimes partake in carrot-and-raisin salad ... .

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  30. Oh yeah! This is awesome. I'm really jealous for that fabric and I looked at like 15 times a month ago! My man must be on a different planet because he loves all the Man Repeller clothes. I bought wedge sneaks last year and he said, "you look so French cool!" I wear high-waisted jeans and get pinched all day. Beautiful colors, you.

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    1. your man seriously has the eye for fashion. do i recall him wearing a white linen suit? what EVERY woman wants their man to rock??

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  31. WOW! How stunning is this dress?? I love love love that awesome mountain fabric. Too cool :)

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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!