Knitting

Knitting is something I learned the basics of from my mom when I was six or seven.  For years I'd do it for a bit and then lose interest.  I only knew the knit stitch and how to cast on and bind off so that was probably part of it.  Post college it took me three and a half months to find a job ( miracle, I know) and in between the job hunt I had some time on my hands and I decided it was time to learn to purl.  That was my downfall.

One of the reasons I love knitting is one of the reasons I love dressing like it's 1938 (or '28 0r '48, etc . . .).   It's a way of connecting with and better understanding the past.  Not just in a "people used to knit more" way but in a personal way.  I never met my paternal grandmother.   In fact I think I've only seen pictures of her once - though I am told I look like her.  I do know some about her, including the fact she was a master seamstress and an excellent knitter.  I can't ever get to know her personally but I like the idea that the simple act of putting one loop of yarn through another is something else that we share.

I just finished Dinah's Lacy Jumper from A Stitch in Time Vol. 2.  There are only six other projects on Ravelry which surprises me since it's a rather cute sweater and the lace pattern is pretty but not complicated. Right now it doesn't have button or button hole, but I may change my mind later.

Peachy Keen

I didn't post last weekend because I was at Sun City Scifi.  I was a volunteer part of the time and a regular old convention goer the rest.  Which brings me to my first outfit post: Death.  I've dressed as Death from Sandman twice before - once for Halloween and once for another convention.  In that time the outfit has evolved from something very close to what she wears in the comics to something closer to my everyday wear.  I am a newbie to cosplay but as I get more into it I realize I'm not the sort who strives for accuracy but for recognizably.   Even if I am dressing as someone else I want to be comfortable and have it reflect myself as well as the character. 

Thus, a 1940s Death. 

When available, convention photos must be taken with a TARDIS.

Details:

 parasol - local vintage/costume shop
ankh necklace - Seller on Amazon, similar here
dress - Target
gloves - Claire's, I think
purse - vintage
Not pictured: stockings from What Katie Did and torturous shoes that were too small and got tossed as soon as I got home. (note: these were also badly worn and in no shape to donate)

As cosplays go this is still a work in progress.  I want to sew a black dress from a 1940s pattern and I obviously need to replace the shoes.  Also, I'm still figuring out the make up.  Except for the lipstick.  It's Styletto from Lime Crime and miles better than the kind you can pick up around Halloween.  I'm trying to think of ways to wear it in a non Death capacity.

And for those who have no idea who Death is, a link.

What They're Saying #1

My return to blogging has been a long time coming but this post and this one were part of what made me actually begin.  I've spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be a modern woman who prefers to dress in fashions of another time and I want to get more into that but the posts also highlight an aspect of dressing differently that fascinates me.  Total strangers approach me all the time and say all sorts of things.   Mostly nice, but I do get strange remarks and bizarre reactions.  I've just been made aware of Cosplay is NOT Consent which to me is a similar situation.  A person's clothing is never an invitation to harassment or rudeness. I want to share some of the remarks and reactions I've encountered due to my style of dress.  Some bother me and some are just amusing.

I've noticed hats seem to elicit comment.

Today I'm going to highlight this remark:
                                            "You were born in the wrong era!"
Okay  . . .  As near as I can recall my response was something along the lines of "Uh,No, I wasn't"  This comment came from someone I know but not  very well so I neither wanted to get into the intricacies of all I found wrong with the comment or say something curt and rude.

I don't believe this comment was meant unkindly or as an insult but then what we intend isn't always what the listener hears.  This was also early in my adoption of vintage style and perhaps the person who said it felt she had to comment on my new look but wasn't sure how to react - which I get a lot.  Some people just don't know how to deal with anything different.

That said there are several things wrong with this remark.  It assumes that because I like the fashion of another era I must like all other aspects of said era.  This is like saying "You love pasta, you should move to Italy!"  Italy is more than pasta and the past is more than a dress or hairstyle. (BTW I am not meaning to slam Italy here - I love the Italy. I'm not so keen on pasta though.)   It implies either she or I are naive and unaware of the realities of history.  That I long for a "simpler time" that never was (I don't) or that I'm okay with McCarthyism, polio, institutionalized sexism/racism, and so on as long as I get to wear a hat and gloves (I'm not).  I am well aware now is not perfect or necessarily superior to any other era but it is my time.

The past is a place I like to visit but I know I could never live there.  So, no, I wasn't born in the wrong era.

Or as my friend put it when I told her about this remark: I like having rights.

Every Superhero has an Origin Story

Me, as a young troublemaker (the young lady in the framed photo behind me is my mom wearing the same dress.)

When I was young I actually wore vintage quite a bit.  I used to go around a lot in my mom and grandmother's - and even on occasion - my grandfather's old clothes.  But I got bigger and those items ceased to fit.  I branched out a bit - all black, sarcastic t-shirts, slips as dresses, nightwear as clothes . . .
When I was working in an elementary school in my early 20s I got a bit of a tell off for wearing pink tights and was informed to be careful about what I wear because I could get in trouble.  So for a long while I have to admit I suppressed my more flamboyant fashion urges.
Then I stumbled on some vintage fashion blogs.  I looked with amazement and envy at what some people were wearing everyday.  I couldn't do that.  But then I found some cute things in a thrift store and I gave it a try.  And it changed me.
Only in hindsight do I now realize I had reached the point where Halloween was the only day of the year I truly felt happy with what I was wearing.  My efforts to not offend others were actually messing with my own feelings about myself and even my body.
Now I wear whatever the hell I want and feel much happier.  I also work at an elementary school (not the same one) and get compliments from staff, kids, and parents.  I do tone it down for work but it's not like I pretend to be another person when I do it.

Me, as an older troublemaker.

 "Vintage" I is probably the best descriptor but I wear a lot of self-made, repro, and modern that just happens to look older.  I tend to favor the years around WWII but I like the 20s -60s and I am found of anachronisms as well as dressing as characters - which I know seems counter intuitive to what I said above about dressing as myself but some days I do feel like a certain character.   I admit sometimes I don't get what I aim for - one day I decided on Nancy Drew and got Dorothy Gale comparisons.  Must have been the red shoes . . .