Champagne tastes

Ask my mother, I've always suffered from Champagne tastes without the checking account to go with them. In some ways it's served me well because I'm willing to pay a bit more thing items that are well made and that I know will last the 5-10 years that I'm going to be wearing them. In other ways, it's just a bummer, and I've had to learn to scale back my desires a bit.

And it's not just my own clothes. I have a thing for well-made, classic children's dress-up clothing. I think that what passes for much of today's children's dress clothes is a bunch of tatty schlock that isn't worth the price tag they put on it. (Not that I have an opinion or anything.) It's one of the major reasons I like to sew for my girls. I can make what I want at significantly less than I can find the same styles ready-made.

If you've seen my children in their everyday clothes, you know that I've pretty much given up the well-dressed-all-the-time-dream. But when it comes to dressing them up, I like to take back control a bit. (This is all a prelude for telling you why I didn't buy fabric to make the girls Christmas dresses at the store today, so hang in there.) I would be quite happy if I could spend my time making beautiful children's dresses for the children I love. The trouble is there just aren't a whole of occasions to warrant having huge amounts of dress-up clothes and the fabric to make them doesn't come cheap.

Ever since I saw this pattern (Claire's Vintage Velvet Dress) a couple of years ago (it's from the Sew Beautiful Magazine, issue 133), I have wanted to make it.

(This is the pattern photograph... the little girl is a model.)

It's a beautiful dress, isn't it? It's appropriate for our weather and it look comfortable (though I think the bodice is a little too tight on the model). Cute, cute, cute. For a size 6, though it takes nearly four yards of fabric and then multiply that times 2, well, that's 8 yards. I did find some non-stretch velvet (not an easy feat these days... evidently velvet isn't terribly popular right now) in a deep blue, but the price was $25 a yard. Even if I had that sort of money to throw around it would be a little difficult to justify spending it on dresses that would only be worn a couple of times at most. Little girls who wear a size 6 grow too fast.

So I didn't buy the fabric. In the long run it's probably best that I didn't find fabric to make the dresses because I know it would make me a little crazy to try to finish them before Christmas and do everything else I want to do as well. Plus, it's not like G. and L. don't have scads of dresses in their closet already which were worn by older sisters. 

But someday I'm going to make that dress. 

Oh, and one more thing I wanted to share with you. Here is A.'s cast photo for Romeo and Juliet which Thin Ice Theater will be doing on January 10, 11, and 12th. Isn't it a gorgeous picture of her?




Comments

Csmithfamily09 said…
I love little girls' dresses more than anything. I avoid stores that sell the styles I love because I have no self-control. I recently started buying clothes online from thredup.com. Love it! I bought tons of name brand dresses for $3.49.

Popular posts from this blog

Making bias tape... otherwise known as the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway

Kenzie on the beach

Apple picking in the rain