Since it’s nearly July, I figured it might be a good time to post about my Me Made May reflections for this year. When May ended I was both a little sad, and also relieved. Daily outfit photos got a little tiring there toward the end.
This was my second year participating in Me Made May. (You can read more about the challenge and the fabulous founder, Zoe, here). My first year participating was mostly filled with excitement about sewing things and then actually WEARING them. I felt a little bit like a puppy; indiscriminately excited about everything and easily distracted by any pretty/shiny thing. This year was really different and more of an exploration of my wardrobe and tastes. Whereas last year was all about what everyone else was making, this year was very introspective.
The Pledge
My goal this year was to wear at least one piece of handmade clothing per day and, at least once a week, a whole me-made outfit. Since I’d gotten about 20 days in without repeating a single piece of clothing, I decided to see if I could go the whole month. Turns out, totally achievable.
By the numbers
Most worn patterns:
– Agnes Tee (Tilly and the Buttons) – 5
– Hollyburn Skirt (Sewaholic) – 4
– Granville Shirt (Sewaholic) – 3.5 (hacked mash up)
– Blackwood Cardigan (Helen’s Closet) -3
Item breakdown:
Dresses – 8
Skirts – 5
Tops – 14
Outerwear – 5
Pants – 2
Total – 34 items worn in May
Takeaways
– Damn do I have a lot of clothes. Being able to go an entire month without repeating a single outfit is banana pants crazy. I didn’t even wear some of my favorites. This is both exciting, and also a bit concerning. I’m not sure what this will mean for my making in the future but certainly something to consider.
– I’m never overdressed, despite always worrying that I am. I love wearing skirts and dresses, and generally getting a little bit more dressed up for the day. But I’m always concerned that anything more than jeans and a t-shirt will be “overdressed.” This is, apparently, a silly fear, as I wore a bunch of skirts and dresses all month and never once felt overdressed. I’m excited to start grabbing for my summer dresses more now, confident that I’ll actually feel comfortable wearing them. I think this is my biggest take away from the challenge.
– I pretty much only wear outfits with a defined waist. I just don’t feel great in the loose and flowy stuff. I’d actually made a few loose and flowy things and every time I put them on and looked in the mirror, I changed immediately. So those items got sent to my lovely cousin, who is exactly my size, similar sense of style, and currently 5 months pregnant. Win.
– I have a couple things I never reach for because I thought the pattern/fabric pairing didn’t quite work or because I thought there were some fitting issues. But when I actually wore them for a whole day, I LOVED them. Two garments stand out in particular: my Seamwork Mesa dress in rayon french terry and my Seamwork Erica wrap dress. Both of these felt effortlessly chic and really comfortable. I actually really wanted to wear them again the next week. My varsity inspired Blackwood cardigan gets an honorable mention for this category too. I thought it would feel too kitsch, but I actually felt incredibly cool wearing it.
– I don’t have a ton of coordinating solid clothes to tie things together. While I don’t tend to go for crazy prints, I am often wearing some kind of textured neutral or geometric print of some kind. I usually pair these pieces with a black or white t-shirt or jeans/chambray, but would love some solid color shirts and button downs to tie things together. I’ll probably always love the contrast of a pop of color against a white or black completer piece, but it would be nice to have options.
– When asking someone to take a photo of your outfit, wear sunglasses. It’s so much faster to get a good looking picture when you don’t have to retake things because you were either blinking or opening your eyes too wide like a feral animal (just me?). Every time someone (usually the boyfriend) snapped a photo for me, it took literally 2 minutes or less with sunglasses on. This trick made the daily photos SO much easier.
– I don’t think I’ll ever be interested in sewing all of my own clothing. RTW pants usually fit me just fine (though I’m excited to sew my own, just to know I can). And I’ll probably never make my own underwear or basic tank tops. A 100% handmade wardrobe isn’t really my goal. But I love having interesting, well-made key pieces that make me feel like me.
Did you participate in Me Made May? What did you learn? I think I’ll have to up my challenge for next year!
I joined MMM for the first time this year and I can really relate to a number of your conclusions. I also wore a few things I almost never reach for and fell in love with them again! And I worry about being overdressed too but when I look at the pics I took I realize it’s fine.
I really love your style by the way, and it’s so much fun to see all these outfits!
Thank you! I love MMMay because you get to see everyone’s wardrobes and how they wear all the pieces you’ve seen in posts! And yeah, the latitude for “appropriately dressed” is a hell of a lot wider than I naturally think. It’s been fun to push myself to lean a little more toward the overdressed side. And literally no one else ever notices or cares, haha