Insomnia Freakout Art Project of the Week

fabrics by pat speth, anna maria horner at purlsoho.com

OK, first of all, I just checked my blog stats, and I'm getting huge visibility here today on my otherwise sleepy blog. And the referring addresses field isn't telling me much. So tell me in the comments, where are you coming from? And furthermore, W e l c o m e ! You've made it to my blog just in time for an entirely new rant about something I haven't blogged about before.

I was up all night spazzing out about the reawakening of a decade-long fantasy I've had to replace all the clothing in my wardrobe with a series of hand made garments based on 5 simple patterns that I have drawn in my sketchbooks 1,000 times. The idea is to solve my long and agonizing relationship with shopping, the clothing industry, sweatshops, sexism in the fashion industry, consumerism and crappy fabrics all in one fell swoop, and become a person who loves to get dressed in the morning, and looks and feels creative and cozy and happy. Ambitious, you say? Indeed! Which is the reason it's been like #58 on my to-do list for any given week. But at 2am this morning (of course) it was crystal clear to me that this idea isn't going away, and just might have more of a profound impact on how I walk in the world than I usually imagine. SO I better do it already. You live once, etc.

So these 5 patterns. They are easily adjusted for winter and summer concerns (long and short sleeved versions, for example). They can be created in a variety of fabrics and textures, all interchangeable and fun. They can be fancy or chill. Once I have the hang of making them and actually learn to sew (slightly important factor) they may be pretty quick to make and I can perfect them as I go. I can get gocco fabric ink and print designs on my own fabric (or I can buy beautiful fabrics like those in the image above). I can embroider on things while watching Jon Stewart at night. Perhaps I will have a little help from Burdastyle patterns (Open Source patterns!) while perfecting my own.

My inspirations and godmothers in this effort:

Andrea Zittel. A genius sculptor and designer who managed to get famous in the NY art world making clothes. Her clothes become uniforms that are meant to be beautiful, functional, easily customizable and modular, and free the wearer from the shifting tides of the fashion world so that s/he may focus on getting on with life. Its anti-capitalist fashion basically, a phrase which makes me giggle. 'Cuz its still fashion. She made one uniform that she wore every day for a year. She makes garments that are crocheted from a single strand of yarn. Her felted garments are the most amazing and I want one so so so bad. Some examples:



She started a business recently called the Smock Shop, where she employs other artists in customizing and selling her basic smock designs. The "How to wear" section sums up her philosophy in a lovely way:

"when to wear: Wear your smock whenever, wherever, and however – every day, and for every function. This will save you time, money and energy. Rather than agonizing about what to put on each morning you can move on to larger things like experiencing the world in it's fullest and learning about new things. We promise that your full life will be far more exciting then your full closet ever was."

Clothing is just one aspect of Zittel's work which involves questioning and redesigning every aspect of living. Gotta check her out. Here's an interview with her.

And my other big inspiration right now:

Alix McCauley of treehouse28.etsy.com

OK, I love this woman. I found her when she was an Etsy featured seller long ago. She nailed it with a limited range of fabrics and a simple sewing style using a serger (I suppose) to make curvy, wavy seams. She mixes and matches simple shapes and forms to make a huge line of totally comfortable, beautiful, simple, practical garments that could easily become a whole wardrobe of no-nonsense, no-worry, hot, funky, all purpose outfits. It also seems like her clothes could really adapt to the style of the wearer - they could take on different looks depending on how you wear them together and what kind of accessorizing you do (or don't) - what kind of boots and coats you wear, etc. This woman should have a web site where people can post pics of themselves wearing her clothes in a variety of ways. I am the happy owner of a sleeveless hoody dress (in black) and it's a STAPLE of my wardrobe. Thanks Alix.

So how am I going to actually go through with this long-stifled dream? Company. Enter my beautiful and talented crafty friend Waliyyah: who wants do do a similar thing! Once per week, we are going to get together and work on our sewing. Same time, same place each week. Progress will probably be slow at first and get faster as time goes on. It's a great start. Yay!!!

 

Comments

[sara girlscantell]

amy. i love this. and you should come with me to philly sewing collective events.
also, i mentioned the other day to some friends that i would love to just pick an outfit, and wear it every single day, much like a cartoon. i'll probably blog more about that idea, because i'm really keen on it.
stay fabulous, amy, seriously. i love it.

[lauren e.]

Amy! This is genius! And now, I want to do the same.

::glances at my dusty sewing machine and already-miles-long to-do list::

Eh.. maybe some day. It only took you a decade to get started right? ;)

[Emily]

I'm on the same kind of mission....but haven't made myself anything in so long! I really need to give myself a kick and get going!! Good luck with it
(oh and I'm sure I found you through etsy - but I now have you linked on my blog)

[aimee/jewelstreet]

I adore Treehouse28. I'm trying to save my pennies so I can get a whole new wardrobe from her.

[Janice]

What a great fantasy! Really interesting post. I came here from the Etsy blog thread.

[melinda]

Hello Amy, I've found your work via the Small Magazine and have fallen in love with it. What a beautiful blog too. Thank you!

[Design for Mankind]

Love this post!!! :)

[emily]

amy - i found your blog through etsy (i'm completely in love with the hybrid animal illustrations). i recently dove into the world of blogging and i have to say that i was really excited to find yours. i love the images and ideas you have to share. thanks!