What the Arty Romantic Wears on Black Friday

I sewed these pants
and vest for a Fashion 110
class project

My daughter just took me out for a post-holiday celebration where everybody spends a lot of money, for which we didn't actually budget. I know others do, but I always expect to do a lot of sewing, and other creative goop,  to accomplish  holiday gifts. It doesn't always work out that way.

Didn't buy any gifts today, but I did check out the fashions of the different ladies shopping at Stanford Shopping Center. (There were fellas there too, but I don't do a ton of sewing for my husbands - mostly only nightshirts and boxer shorts.) I decided to analyze what was typical shopping garb.

About 80% of the women, seemingly independent of age, were wearing jeans. Many were very fitted. The majority seemed to be straight leg jeans, though boot cut was definitely well represented. Many of the rest were wearing some form of leggings or heavy tights. More were worn with skirts than I would have expected, though a goodly number were combined with a tunic-length tee, sweater or long jacket (that hid what went under).

I was dressed in the outfit to the left, recently completed as part of my sewing projects for Fashion 110. I like this kind of clothing, because it does make me feel arty and romantic. No other women were wearing any kind of print pants. I didn't even see any print skirts or dresses. Very monotone, few colored pants (except a pair of great yellow one on a handsome young man, who was there with another handsome young man.)

I do have jeans I like, and plan to begin working on learning to sew jeans. But you'll still see me in my pretty new print corduroy pants and vest, from time to time.


It is important to stick with my own sense of style, what I like to sew and wear. Maybe I'm better off not keeping score, though. It might keep me from following my own inner enchantment.

Piece of My Heart: You may also enjoy this posting about the piecing project involved in creating the above vest.