‪ménage à‬ shoes...

YES YES Y'ALL AN YOU DON'T STOP GOT STREP DON'T CARE IF I FEEL HOT

scusi, been listening to de la soul 24/7 and there it is.  my brain, hip hopped up on tunes and natural remedies.  

CAUSE THIS SHIZZ IS VIRAL, YO.

i'm actually feeling mui better now, but man, last week?  during the stitching of this?  WAS A DOOZY.  this was another case of a challenge i tried to prepare ahead for, with not one, but two outfits inspired by my sky high wedges... and another week where my left brain disagreed with my right and went merrily off in its own stubborn, woozy direction.

during what was certainly the height of my strep, i made the lace bolero/shrug out of guipere trim.  the lovely carolyn gifted it to me months, maybe even a year ago, and it was glaring at me.  i wanted to use this competition to push myself to be a better sewist, and hand piecing lace fit the bill.  see that triptych at the bottom?  lacey didn't come like that.  after draping the front sections to my liking, i held my infectious breath, cut into the lace...

and dove in.  once the cut was made at the shoulders, i pieced the back section together (unfortunately, my stylist did not catch the one little dangling blossom stuck in my dress, MEH INVISIBLE STYLIST).  tack on eight more hours of playing jigsaw with carefully dissected bits and bobs, reattaching them by hand to the lace to create shapes and seams: triangles at bottom front, waves round the underarms, the armhole, the shoulder & sleeve seams....and you have my sickly saturday. 

do me a solid and scroll back on up and see if you can find the sleeve seam.  I CAN'T YO.  

but let's talk about the kicks!  the inspiration for le challenge!  i don't know if you've noticed, but i don't like to be matchy matchy.  ruggy has certainly noticed.  babe, he said,  i like your outfit.  

really?  i'm really worried about this one!  REALLY REALLY!  (we've been saying everything twice like the olympics sports announcers.  "that was tremendously tremendous!")

no babe, it's great.

so you like the shoes?  you get it?

no.  but i never like your shoes.

MEH.  WHAT A THING TO TELL A SICK GIRL.

the pairing makes perfect sense to me, but then again i'm a bit nonsensical.  i love print mixing, and i love print matching...what can i say, imma mixed chick.  these shoes provided the opportunity for all kinds of interfabic harmony!

lookit the care they took in wrapping those cottony babies!  the shoes are perfect examples of print placement.  i wanted to put the same thought into this mexican cotton from hancock's, and man. SO MANY CHOICES.  i draped and redraped the skirt meself, being careful to match the more pronounced stripes up with the princess seams of the top, till i came up with the right stripey combo. pockets are a wonderful thing, i gots em. and these ones are big enough for a pint.

to play with the outlandish proportions of the supertall shoes, i went with midi skirt and teeny top.  i horsehaired the hem, can't seem to get enough of the stuff, and ironed it at the pleat edges on the bottom, creating a permanent crimp so the skirt would balloon out a bit without the help of a crinoline.

PLEATS TO THE LEFT OF ME, CHEVRONS TO THE RIGHT!  COTTON, AND YARN BOMBED EARRINGS!

i highly recommend yarn bombing some earrings.

the green and purple bits took center stage to contrast the tone of the shoes.  and heya heya... guess who used a facing.  YEP.  that little V in simplicity 1803 needed something, and it wasn't gonna be a full lining as i'd like to wear this medium weight cotton dress come summer.  (y'all remember summer?) much as i hate me a facing, the insides are PRETTY.  turquoise overlocked seams and magenta bias enclosed armholes!  i'll have some gutsy shots for you later in the week, along with some lacy operation bits...

and wouldja like to see the outfit that didn't make the cut?  mebbe i'll show ya?  it's PANTS!  I WAS HELLBENT ON SHOWING YOU I COULD MAKE PANTS!  at one point on saturday i said to ruggy i could hack this skirt off and make it into culottes.  ruggy gaped.  No.  No  One  Likes  Culottes.

french lace, mexican cotton, and ikat shoes... or are they more native american?  tribal?  either way, that's my threesome, my ‪ménage à‬ shoes for week the third, and i've got my fingers and toes crossed y'all like it enough to throw a vote my way.... EEEEEEK!   or as the olympic announcers say, EEK EEK!  week three is here, head on over to project sewn and make yer choice!