Make It Last

I originally made these tops in 2015. I’d gone to Mango in Chestnut Hill and fell in love with a gray top there, and after purchasing it, I went home and traced it. I made so many of them over the years, but this is the actual first one I made from that tracing. (They call that type of pattern making ‘rubbing off’ of something you already own and I think that’s hilariously dirty.) 

I never got any real good pictures of it. During my last few years in Philly, the neighbor man who drank with my boyfriend in the evenings had taken to being outside at all hours of the day so if you followed my blog you’ll know I stopped taking outside pictures and started taking them in my kitchen. The week I made it was a tumultuous week in my relationship (it was very close to our break-up) and I might have even been crying in the original shot? I posted it, but I deleted the post recently. 

I’m so glad I’ve been able to retake the pictures because I really do love this fabric. It’s a little faded than it was originally, but it’s a well-loved piece.

I am, of course, as I ever am, perpetually broke. My living situation is in the process of changing and I’m in the interesting place of having car payments and student debts to pay off, but recently I’ve felt this… change taking place. Maybe it’s a way of distracting myself from the current political and health climate in the world, but I’m so tired of having broken things. I just want solid things, things that I wear a lot, and that last me a long time. It’s expensive to be constantly replacing pleather boots or polyester tops that last one wash. 

I’m taking my time and trying to make things I genuinely love out of soft, sturdy fabrics. I’m saving for a pair of Fluevogs. I’m hoping that I can slowly, very slowly, upgrade my wardrobe into the aesthetic I’ve always wanted instead of just whatever the appalling world of fashion dictates. 

It is hard, however. I feel that the atmosphere in Philly was more embracing of alternative personalities, where there’s been a lot of pressure in the DMV for me to fit into a ‘professional young woman’ mold. But banker-chic-a-la-What-Not-To-Wear has never been my goal. I want things that are unique and last and I abhor looking like everyone else. 

It brings me back to why I shut down Mad Rabbit Couture. I was tired of having to constantly whip out refashions and store them while they waited for their new homes. I was tired of “Well that’s too expensive” after I put hours of work into design and sewing garments. I was tired of the pressure to constantly be making. I’m going to shout out my friend Megan - a year after closing Mad Rabbit Couture (for the time being, anyway) - she’s still listening to me have panic attacks when every waking hour isn’t spent sewing. Learning to relax is hard. Learning to make things that I want to make, just for me, with no pressure to make them for other people, is hard. But I feel better about not consistently contributing to the clothing crisis we face- we have enough clothing already made to clothe the next six generations. It feels really nice to know that I’m making do and mending things that mean the world to me versus just randomly buying things to fill a psychological hole I’m not dealing with, if that makes sense. 

Sorry it got a little heavy there. I’m signing off before I ramble on. Until next time, xoxo - Meghan

OOTD: All You Sinners, Stand Up

Okay so again with the whole "I'm broke and can't afford crap" approach to blogging- but it's so honestly true. I'm working on making it better, but it's going to be a long and bumpy road which means I've decided to make this current financial situation work in my favor.

The holidays were a little awesome and a little depressing at the same time. On one hand, it's the first time in ten years I've celebrated Christmas with my family and it was awesome. On the other hand, I'm broke and I'm in a new place, missing my old traditions and people. In an effort to cheer myself up, I did do a tiny bit of Black Friday splurging and got myself two 10$ tees from hottopic.com. One thing you've got to know by now is that I'm addicted to band merch. I love it. The problem is most band merchandise doesn't come in plus size unless you count men's shirts, and actually a lot of those are 'slim' cut for the skinny emo boys. So when I ordered my shirts, I knew that I was going to use one of my tutorials to refashion them.

This is the first one.

Cardi/Thrifted, Dress/Handmade, Leggings/Target, Shoes/Frye-Ebay

I was going through my breakup just a few months after discovering my love of Panic at the Disco. It was actually kind of appropriate timing since they'd just released Hallelujah and it kind of became my anthem to keep carrying on through the hard times. I tend to cling to music during any kind of difficulty. I remember when I first moved to Philadelphia, MCR's Famous Last Words was on repeat all the time (that's a different blog post altogether).

Anyway, when I saw this super pink shirt on sale at hottopic, I knew it'd be the perfect pick me up. It's rare with projects for me to immediately know what I'm going to do with something. I usually just mash things together and hope they work, but I had a bubble gum pink tee in my stash and a yard of thrifted pink striped knit and I just saw this in my head. I even knew which tutorial I wanted- the Calliope tunic since I seem to be living in that style right now.

I love how this project 1. Looks amazing on me but 2. Took a shirt which I knew even the biggest size would be too small and made it into a comfy garment I'll definitely wear all the time. I love it with my sparkly $5 necklace from Wal Mart (birthday present, thanks Mom!) and my tough-as-nails Frye boots.

There's a sneaky peak of an upcoming OOTD - This is from one of my favorite shops, Rainbow Alternative. She's a great Philly artist and I miss seeing her booth at the Punk Rock Flea (she's still there, but I'm obvs. in Maryland). Told you, I'm all about the Calliope this Winter/Spring.

So, as delicious as Hallelujah is, a few months after I was so into that song, my ex admitted that he had started listening to P!ATD on my recommendation and really clicked with that song. Which made me want to throw up a little because that was 'my' break-up song! But that's fine, because they also released Emporer's New Clothes, which might just be my favorite music video ever made.



I'm takin' back the Cirque, baby, one little blog post at a time. ;-)

PS: Guys, I can't even tell you how much I'm loving my new hair.

PPS: Special shout out to Sheila, Shawna, Megan and Trees. Without your encouragement, I don't know if I could even write these posts anymore. < 3 you guys give me life.