My motivation to blog and sewcialise about MMM is nowhere to be found this year! I’ve been dutifully taking pictures every day, because I love having them to refer back to year after year. But for the first time, I’m not participating on Flickr or IG. I’m hoping the mojo will come back once we move this Friday!
Nonetheless, I have been thinking about my Me-Made wardrobe, and learned a few new things about myself in the process!
- When the weather is bad or I’m feeling low, I put on dark, uninspiring outfits. Why do I do this? Wouldn’t something bright perk me up for the day? I’m experimenting to see if I can change my mood with brighter clothes.
- My colour palette is spot on – partly. Turns out my spring wardrobe contains very little red or grey, which are in my palette… but I think those colours get worn more in fall and winter. Black really should be in my palette because it turns out I wear it often… but only as a part of a print. I don’t find black and inspiring colour, so I think I’ll leave it off!
Now on to the clothes! I’ve organised outfits by theme, not chronologically…
Kirsten Kimono Tee dress and Espresso leggings // Comino Cap Dress
Turquoise is my favourite colour to wear. I ALWAYS feel pretty in a bright turquoise! Also, turns out I wear a lot of blue.
Pink coatigan, Jalie Dolman, Ginger jeans, infinity scarf // Cashmerette Washington dress, espresso leggings // Comino tee, Ginger Jeans
Pink is my other favourite colour to wear. I always feel sassy in pink! It is definitely a neutral in my wardrobe. (By the way, my Cone Mills Gingers jeans have been worth every penny of the $70 the fabric cost. Amazing recovery, and stay looking good day after day, unlike the other Gingers I’m wearing in the centre photo…)
Mission Maxi tank, altered RTW pants // Jalie raglan tee, Ginger Jeans // Hemlock tee, Ginger Jeans
These are my “I feel crappy so I’m going to dress boringly” outfits. May 1st was cold and rainy, and I put on the black tank, forgetting all about MMM… and then almost went and changed but decided to keep it real. Almost no me-mades, not one of my colour palette colours! Lame. I do sometimes enjoy dressing in costume as someone else, and this outfit feels like a different version of Gillian. The two tops on the left and middle are just fine, but a bit too monochromatic to make my heart sing. They do get worn regularly though…
Mission Maxi // Maria Denmark Olivia tee // Cashmerette Concord, Style Arc Elle pants
These outfits are also not faourites, but for different reasons. I usually love wearing this maxi, but it was cold and rainy and I put on first one, then another green sweater that I never wear. If I’d worn this with coral and turquoise like I usually do, I think I’d like the outfit more. In the middle is today’s outfit – I almost really like it, but the top is a bit pastel, and the light turquoise RTW capris I was wearing kept falling down. Finally, the stripe-and-floral outfit was almost much more boring – I first put on the top with blue Gingers, but then I decided to spice it up to see if my day improved. I felt good in the outfit, except the pants are a smidge small and awkwardly cropped, so my hairy winter ankles were on display!
Sew Over It shift dress, Espresso leggins // Maria Denmark ruched Olivia tee, Ginger jeans, infinity scarf // Cashemerette Concord shift dress, infinity scarf
My favourite outfits! Proof that wearing a rainbow makes me happiest. My blog name is no joke!
Shout outs to a few wardrobe staples:
- Ginger jeans. True love forever!
- Scarves. For when you aren’t wearing enough colours already.
- Espresso leggings. In every shade possible.
- Me-made bras and underwear under every outfit.
- My favourite three-strand beaded necklace, which I own in pink, blue, and turquoise! Can you spot all three in my outfits?
I think my take-away is that I have plenty of clothes that I love, and some that I just like. I’m motivated to level-up my wardrobe by really focusing on multi-coloured prints that I will feel happy to wear! I’ll have a couple days of grotty moving clothes coming up (aka. older me-mades), but I hope the last week of May I can really focus on wearing all my favourite clothes every day!
How’s your MMM going? Enjoying it? Bored of watching those of us participating? Or somewhere in the middle, like me?
Crafting A Rainbow 
Your three-strand beaded necklaces look like giant smiles! What a colourful me-made-may! Love it.
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What a nice way to think of those necklaces! I actually had a student notice this week (for the first time in the years I’ve owned those necklaces) that “Your necklace is a different colour than yesterday!”He seemed pretty sure it had magically changed colour…
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I miss seeing your lovely colorful outfits on Flickr, but it is good that you are looking after yourself – moving as well as working and life is stressful! I am enjoying MMM – I am learning Instagram, and loving all the inspiration, as well as looking at what I wear daily, in a realistic, documented way.
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I’m glad to hear MMM is going well for you! Have you been inspired to sew any new pieces/patterns that your wardrobe is missing?
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Absolutely! I just got the Fen dress pattern, and I want to sew some culottes (have had the pattern for ages) so that I will see them documented, and if the different silhouette will work for my body type and way of life. Like you, I wear mostly me made all the time anyway, so now it is about refining my wardrobe.
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Good luck with the move. This MMM feels different for me this year. I haven’t quite figured out why. However I do love seeing everyone’s creativity. I so do love your color palettes. Your take on MMM was what really got me thinking about intentional wardrobe planning.
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I agree that MMM is feeling different… I think for me, it’s that most of the sewists who started at the same time as me are now wearing me-mades everyday anyway, and have chosen not to participate as a result. We’re also so used to seeing outfit selfies constantly on IG that the idea of peeking into what my fellow sewists wear day to day seem moot! I’m happy to see that newer sewists are still as inspired as we ever were, so MMM is definitely still fulfilling it’s purpose. I wonder what the “next-generation” MMM would be for people who wear me-mades all the time?
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I feel the same way! MMM used to feel like running a marathon with a group of people – fun and very challenging, and I got a lot out of it. I suppose you could call me an MMM success story because most of my outfits are comprised of clothing I’ve made myself, but at the same time, I don’t feel like putting in the same investment of time to document daily.
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I am glad that MMM continues to inspire and bring more sewists (and knitters) into the fold. Morgan, your MMM documentation was one of the things that really increased my interest in sewing clothes. And Gillian’s color palettes directly influenced how I analyzed my first two MMM challenges. So, what do we do next? What is the next challenge that pushes us to level up our sewing? Maybe “Sewing Happiness” is part of the answer. 🙂
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I love love love that shift dress in your favourite outfits!! I’m not doing mmm this Year as I already wear me made basically 95% of the time (making pj pants has really upped this percentage 😀 ) and couldn’t think of a challenge, but I do recognise dressing ‘darker’ when feeling low. Maybe it has something to do with not wanting to stand out as much or drawing attention? Good luck with moving!!
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That’s in interesting thought! I can certainly see that camouflage is tempting when you don’t want to talk to anyone or get asked about clothes!
It’s interesting to me that 5 years ago when i started sewing, I didn’t know many people online at all who wore almost completely me-made clothing… but it’s definitely the new normal! To the extent that me-made bras and underwear become normal, and you have to be making shoes if you want to be “hard core”! It’s great, but it does make MMM a little redundant for us.
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I think it makes sense, I mean after x dresses and x shirts and skirts you might want to learn a new trick, and at a fertain point all the things you made have replaced the old store-bought ones. At least that’s how it workshop for me, but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this. Sewing and blogging is now a lot more popular than 5 years ago and in 5 years you can definately sew an entire wardrobe 😃
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I agree with wearing more boring clothes when I feel down. I can even hear my inner monologue saying ‘no, don’t waste that gorgeous top on a day like today, you don’t deserve it. Put on this ancient t shirt with all the stitching coming out on the hem. That’s what you’re worth today. ‘ I’m not sure I would have realised this quite so clearly workout your post. Time to stand up to my inner voice!
In terms of favourite clothes, these change all the time. I won’t wear something for ages cause I decide it’s awful then I come across it, put it on and think ‘ah, that’s why you’re still in my wardrobe’. Marie Kondo I am not 😊
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Oh no! Tell your brain that you are ALWAYS worth a nice top! I don’t think my brain is quite so harsh, but the effect is the same. I end up wearing things that I don’t love the fit or colours of, and then it annoys me all day… we’ve got to take control and wear the nice things all the time! 😉
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Your photos all look so cheerful and fun! Your cute backdrop makes them extra nice, too. I’m not doing MMM this year. After losing my grandpa I just didn’t feel like smiling at a camera. And it’s been a dark, rainy May (dark, windy, and wet right now… eww!). I find the weather totally uninspiring, plus now my jobs mean that I look like a total slob on most days- it feels pointless to wear a cute me-made just to get covered in feathers or dust!
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Moving house is exhausting. I was wiped out by helping Mom move, and I didn’t even do any of the packing! And boring is very relative: your boring outfits would count as rather exciting in my wardrobe. 🙂
When you feel like wearing something that’s less “you” just paraphrase Stewart Smiley: I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and goshdarnit I deserve to wear bright colours today.
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I’m with you! I just can’t get into MMM this year, I have been taking some photos but life is just super crazy for me right now and if I find the time to sew and blog then I’m doing ok. You are right about the weather affecting our wardrobes…I try to fight the urge to through on dark colors on rainy days! I really need some bright rain boots..mine are navy blue. Boring. Your wardrobe looks so bright and cheerful and comfy…I may need more of that in my life. 🙂
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Your photos are lovely but I am so inspired that you even have the time to do “life” , pack and take part in MMM. No wonder they say that moving house is one of the most stressful things that you can do. I can really empathise. You truly are a wonder, and your outfits are fabulous. Xx
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Your favorites really make you shine! You would not want to wear my 80% grey clothes at all – haha! I’ve MMM’d a couple of times before, but I’m really enjoying the daily documenting. I think it’s basically confirming what I already know, but it’s nice to have visual proof. And I’m enjoying finding new makers via the helpful hashtags, which is great. Best of luck with your move!
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I love your pics with the swatches! Color swatches are about the happiest thing pertaining to color. I’m with you. Wearing what I make pretty much all the time except when I don’t feel like it/the weather is nasty etc, it’s a little hard to come up with a new challenge. I’ve been just casually popping in on IG when I’ve felt like it…I’m not going to lie, I think I’m phoning it all in, but with the baby, it always takes me a good long bit to get reoriented to life and goals and the whole nine yards.
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I love this, and I totally get how mood affects dressing, and vice versa. I think putting on a pretty bright print, usually helps me feel better and happier, but when you are feeling kind of down, it’s hard to pick out that bright outfit. I hope your move has gone well!
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Oh I love all the colours in your palette and you’re always so good at accessorizing!
My go-to colour for feeling meh is navy. Not too loud, so I don’t stand out but I do think it flatters me. 😉 Dressing extra nice to feel better could be an interesting experiment though.
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