Dress from an old pattern and seven things you didn't know about me, part 3

I finally got around to making something based on patterns from the old booklet I found last summer. But for some strange reason I just cannot seem to make anything these days without adding some sort of personal twist to it. This time I couldn't stick to just one pattern, but used two, one for the skirt and one for the top part.

The skirt pattern was a simple "put together 8 identical pieces"-kind of thing and the top part is based on the top of the jacket below...with a twist too, as I wanted a different collar.

 

 I should have made a muslin first, I admit, but the dress didn't turn out too bad. But I have learned not to trust the patterns in this booklet too much without fitting...

 By the way, check out what I found on my last trip to the thrift store;

 

I've been looking for a suitable not too modern looking hand bag for ages, and this one only cost 80 cents! I was also very happy about the belt buckles (20 cents each) and the fabric in the background wasn't such a bad find either...Anyways, I've still got some facts to spill about myself;

Fact number three is that I haven't shaved my legs for over a year. I'm not kidding! Zoom in enough on the (original of) the picture of me above and you'd be able to see my hairy legs...The first reason for not shaving is that my sensitive atopic skin can't handle it. I've tried using moisturizing hair removal stuff but nope, my skin still gets so dry and itchy that I have literally scratched til it bleed. So I thought better to be a bit hairy than bloody, right? 

But I didn't stop there. My thoughts went on to wonder why women shave their legs in the first place? To please...who? My man doesn't really mind, and I don't really care either as long as there's no itchiness or stubble. Or blood. Thankfully I've never been one to care to much about what other people think about me either, so I decided to stop shaving. I admit to trimming the ehem, "lengths" every now and then, but the plan is that hopefully, soon, I won't feel the need to. I'm working on that confidence still...

By the way, have you ever thought about what a great way to make money hair removal product are? It's a never ending need...as long as our beauty standards make us do it. Ever thought about how much waste the industry produces? All those disposable razors going in the bin and hair removal creams going down the drain...I'm quite glad not to be a part of it anymore. And I'm saving both time and money!

Do your beauty standards require being hair free? Why/why not?

By the way, me and my hairy legs are probably lying on a beach without internet access when this post goes out, just in case you're wondering why I'm not replying to any comments...I'm of to Playa Del Ingles!

Seven things you didn't know about me, part 2

The "seven things you didn't know about me" series continues! Here's fact number two;

I'm a feminist. I have recently found several interesting (swedish) blogs about the subject, and the more I learn about feminism, the more it appeals to me. I think it's ridiculous that women get paid less than men and that 99% of the worlds assets are owned by men. It bothers me that women around the world still can be bought or sold as if they were cattle or something. I get annoyed when people generalize and assume that all women are a certain way, or say things like "of course he will react like this, he's a man" as if all men react the same. I don't understand why it's okay for a girl to wear trousers, but not okay for a man to wear a skirt. I mean seriously, anatomically skirts ought to be quite comfortable for men when you think about it, right?

Image from here.

Also check out this discussion if you're interested.

Okay so I got side-tracked. I just think it's sad that we are brought up and denied certain toys/clothes/colours because of our gender. I'd like all (positive) traits/roles to be available to all people. I'd like to live in a world where we treat each other as individuals, as opposed to women/men, white/coloured, gay/straight etc. I think women/girls should be able to do or wear typical men's/boys stuff if they want to without being seen as butch and probably lesbian, and that men and boys should be able to do or wear typical women's/girls stuff if they want to, without being seen as weak or feminine and suspected of being gay. Why are we so quick to judge each other? And why are typically feminine traits seen as undesirable?

In my own life I try not to expect anything in particular when I meet new people based on how they look. I try to be open to all options, and treat everyone the same. Of course this does not always work (I'm only human!) but I try...And when my friends start having babies they won't be given anything pink or baby blue from me...but if it's a boy he might get a doll and a girl might get a toy car just in case no one else thought about giving the kids more to choose from than the "normal" set. 

Of course it's okay with pink dresses and dolls for girls and cars and blue trousers for boys, but shouldn't it be okay the other way around too? What do you think? Why? 

Anyways, here's a picture of a feminist going out for a meal with the workmates. No skirts in sight!

Last but not least, here's some links to the swedish feminist blogs I read;

Lady Dahmer
Höja våra röster
Zettermark med Z
Fumikofem

Three black tops and seven thing you didn't know about me, part 1

I have been given an award! Bea who gave it to me also challenged me to tell you readers seven things about myself that you might not know about me from before...This was really hard, so I decided to focus a bit on my personal beliefs and opinions this time, as these are things I myself find interesting to find out about and discuss with others. However, these texts turned out pretty long so in order not to bore you all with too much text I'm gonna post one or two things at a time. First thing you didn't know about me comes here;

1. My jaw is too small. Most of my life I have unknowingly been pushing my jaw forward in order to bite, close my lips, speak etc resulting in worn out joints in the jaw and muscle tension, which later in life are likely to cause headaches all sorts of trouble. So my dentist has recommended that I get it fixed as best, and soon, as possible. This means that I have been wearing braces since the week before christmas, and that after our trip to Grand Canaria, I will get braces for my lower teeth as well (I only have "train tracks" on my upper teeth at the moment). Once all teeth are nice and straight, I will have an operation to lengthen my jaw by a few millimeters. This is not the end of it though. Nope, I'll be wearing braces for the rest of my life, but thankfully at some point (1-3 years) they won't be glued to my teeth, but removable and only required for a few hours a day/night too keep the teeth from moving again.

So I wear braces, but you will never see any proof of it unless you meet me in real life. Thus, you won't be seeing any images of my teeth for the next year or two...because my intention with this blog is to get you inspired, and I personally think the braces kinda ruin the vintage look, as do my modern glasses, so I take them off for photos when I remember. Now you know why my mouth is always closed in my photos.

To spice this post up a little, here's a series of photos I took to show you my latest flea market finds;

Notice the closed mouth and lack of glasses? Anyways, all the tops are second hand and the skirt is self made.

The story goes on

I'm feeling a bit like someone who does not practice what they preach. A few days after writing about limiting my shopping I have gone and placed two(!) orders for new clothes...But then again, I am trying to get some stuff that I ehem, think, I need for our upcoming trip to Grand Canaria. Like a new bikini!

This on is from Halens and I ordered it in navy blue with white dots (click on the image to see the whole bikini). I also ordered the top in black, in case it might match some bottoms I already own. I would have liked the bottoms to bee a bit more retro with a higher waist but I haven't been able to find any in this country...

At Haléns I also spotted a coat that I could not pass by, come on, it's fake leopard! And on sale...(click for source)

I also realized that my beloved white (well, used to be white) ballerinas are falling apart and that I desperately need some white shoes for warmer days. So I sent for some to try on from Ellos;

Hopefully they are comfortable even with the heel, and small enough for my tiny feet! I also completely fell in love with these;

And because I have started to like my converse style winter shoes so much, I wanted something similar for summer;

Okay, so I might not keep all this stuff that I just ordered, being a size tiny I kinda need to send for a few alternatives and hope that at least one might fit me. Besides a girl can never have enough shoes, right? Eh...

Controlled shopping spree...or?

This winter I have been trying to control my shopping a bit. Reasons;

- I'm sick of the consumer society where consuming=happiness and people buy things for the sake of buying. I don't want to become someone who does that.

- I have too much stuff already, do I really, really need more...? 

- I have a huge pile of to-alter items that have been waiting for action, maybe I should focus on making what I already have wearable instead of adding to the pile? What is ultimately more satisfying, buying new/second hand or making/altering something myself? Personally, being the creative person that I am, I think the second option...

- I'm trying to change my way of thinking in the direction of "being happy with what you've got" in order to make myself, well, happier! 

All this has made me a lot picker on the few occasions that I actually have gone shopping, as I am really trying to think about whether I really need  something or just want it. Will it fit with other items in my wardrobe/home? Is it practical etc. And yes, I have also considerably limited myself when it comes to actually going somewhere to shop. Why did I feel like going shopping? Because I need something or just for the sake of shopping? Could I make something instead of going out? I have also struggled a bit with accepting that coming home empty handed is not a failure, but a success. This one is still hard... 

Anybody else recognize these kinds of thoughts? 

So basically I was doing pretty well. Until we went to the big city of Vaasa and all of it's shops last weekend...

On the other hand, I really, really liked this jacket/jumper (from H&M) and I have been looking for some high-waisted jeans (second hand but look brand new) for a long time already. The stripy socks are also H&M.

The stripey top is an item that I have tried on a few times before in the H&M shops, and now I finally came to the conclusion that I must want it, as it keeps catching my eye time and time again...The shoes are mail-order H&M, with blue and white stripes which means that they are likely to match about 50% of my wardrobe and thus, totally acceptable, even thought they are one size too big and will probably hurt my feet if I wear them for very long...Everything else is old stuff from my closet.

This is no so bad you may think, but wait for it, apart from the items I'm showing here I also bought some other stuff,  such as a basic white tank top and a black and white dotted umbrella from H&M. And from a flea-market recommended by Tiina I ended up buying things such as a couple of stripey jumpers, a basic black short sleeved shirt, a black skirt (modern) and two modern summer dresses and a book on basic pattern making. Get why I'm now wondering about the success of this trip?

I blame our upcoming trip to Grand Canaria. You can never have too many of those summer dresses, right?