“MeMadeMay (2019) day 10. I missed posting this on the actual day because yesterday can eat a dick, honestly. I had an art modeling gig in the morning, taught burlesque in the evening, and had a show last night. In between those, I was either driving or desperately trying to finish costumes for my students, and the universe kept going “I don’t think you need food today.” Fortunately, I squeezed in dinner, etc. and survived to see another day.”

Lol. I have no idea what exactly I was referring to here. I mean, I definitely have some memories of being absolutely trapped in my car during this time (when Vaudezilla was moving from their old studio space into their new studio space, for example, there was one time that I had to pick up the studio feather fans from one space, where they had been used for a class, so we could rehearse with them for the show, and Belmont was all construction, all the time [AND THEY WERE REBUILDING THE ENTIRE BELMONT BLUE LINE STATION], so I was stuck on Kimball between Belmont and Irving Park for over an hour).

Also, holy Instagram Filters, Batman. But, you do actually get a pretty ok view of the dog-ear collar that this dress has. I definitely went out of my way to cut it so that there was a flower centered in each collar point. The pattern is, once again Simplicity 9800, from 1971. I remember really liking making this dress. If I wasn’t so horrifically behind in other things I want to make, I’d probably just make another one of these. It’s super easy to wear and very comfortable.

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“MeMadeMay (2019) day 9. Considering how much I love prints, I did NOT make this top. Nope, I made the completely boring black skirt. It’s part of that ostentatious 1940’s skirt suit with the seafoam brocade color block top, but I need serious foundation garments for the top to fit me, so I’ve been outsourcing the skirt to other outfits until all the heavy things I’ve been picking up lately take effect. (Read: I finally joined a gym) Skirt is beautiful rayon crepe lined in cupro, both from Mood fabrics.”

Pattern is Anne Adams 4526, from some time in the 40’s. The rest of this one can be seen in the photos that I (still) use for my avatar in most places:

This is one of those posts that sort of encapsulates the essence of what MeMadeMay is supposed to be, or at least supposed to establish for most people. What you wear, and how you wear it. The top for this ensemble is beautiful, but it has never once actually fit me, which is a real shame. The skirt, while boring and utilitarian, does get out from time to time. The thing I appreciate about this particular day, though, is that I was still trying to stay true to the overall aesthetic of the whole outfit when I chose another blouse to pair it with.

Apropos of nothing, I loved picking up heavy things at the gym. Everything about the way my body functions changed very abruptly after we got COVID, and I haven’t been back since then (it’s been… 2 and a half years now?) and I’m really not sure I’d even be able to handle it anymore. But it was fun while it lasted.

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“MeMadeMay (2019) day 8. Took a ‘lil excursion to Logan Square to sub for Red Hot Annie at a Women Belong meeting. Dressed extra cute for the occasion. These are the first full-length, adequately fit photos of my Very Hamilton Christmas Dress. Fabric is Mood Fabrics exclusive cotton sateen and feels so lovely.”

Hoo boy is this an unintentionally loaded post.

To serve as an extreme summary, Annie was my burlesque boss. For a while, she was part of the Logan Square circle of Women Belong, a women-focused small business networking group. On the occasions when she wasn’t available to make their monthly meetings, I was her designated stand-in.

On one hand, I appreciate what she was trying to do by including me, because I was also (sort of) a small-business at the time. I had been an on-and-off photographer for awhile at that point (I still take photos! Just not of people. They’re on my other website, Singing Raven Photography)

On the other hand, I was majorly a fish out of water, especially in a networking group populated mostly by real estate agents, other marketing professionals, and a not-small number of health and wellness-focused businesses. None of these are bad things! It’s just an odd group to be in as someone who mostly makes hard-sell esoteric art. (I told Kenneth not long ago that my elevator pitch only makes sense if you understand that the elevator is in freefall, crashing.)

Also, my entire experience and association with burlesque ended… in the most comedically traumatic way one could possibly imagine. Like, it’s been 5 years and for the first three I literally could not talk about it at all.

ANYWAY. The dress is Simplicity 4673, from 1954. I refer to it usually by its government name, A Very Hamilton Christmas Dress, because at the time I made it (for the holidays, of course), the initial fit was A MESS. The waist was too long and the darts were in a strange place and the skirt gathered sort of funny and it looked like an escapee from the costume shop of the Ottumwa, Iowa High School production of Hamilton Jr.

So I took it back apart, cut (I think) a quarter inch off the bodice waist and a quarter inch off the top of the skirt, moved the darts to where they were supposed to be in the first place, and put the whole thing back together. And it’s fantastic now. No complaints. It’s two different colorways of Mood’s print ‘The Passing of Adonis’ in stretch cotton sateen, which has held up quite nicely over the years.

My only issue with it nowadays is that I turned the neckline points a little funky, so they have a tendency to sort of warp if I don’t press it before every wear.

And in the last photo, we can see that I finally graduated to a smaller piece of spike tape holding my stupid fingers together. I definitely should have gotten stitches on that one, but you live and learn.

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“MeMadeMay (2019) day 3. Already running out of clothes, lol. This is the first set of photos I have of this dress that shows the whole thing! The fabric is a gorgeous Anna Sui (headstock) rayon crepe from Mood Fabrics and the pattern is a late 60’s/early 70’s Simplicity. This might be the nicest thing I’ve ever finished, technique-wise.”

The dress is, in fact, Simplicity 9800, from 1971. And it was really beautiful and is finished very nicely. And it does still exist! But I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to put rayon in the dryer. So it is a pilling nightmare. I still own it and wear it though. Also, this particular May was super cold, and so I’m wearing my coat in a ton of the photos, and it’s just reminding me how absolutely much I *loved* that coat. I wore it until the whole back was threadbare.

And! Photos are once again in the middle of the sidewalk on Rockwell.

As always, if you’re new to the blog, or to MeMadeMay, you can read my overview here!

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