The Sewthern Belle's Guide to Style

The Sweet Satisfaction of DIY Style Success (Try sayin' that three times fast!)

Yesterday was Sunday. It was also Mother's Day. Yesterday was also the day I wore something DIY to church. I've worn stuff I've made before to church, but this garment was the first item of clothing that I made using recycled materials. It was a circle skirt made from navy blue t-shirts. I had hoped someone would compliment me on my skirt. I was around people all day. First my friends in Sunday School, then my family on my mother's side as we all visited with my 89 year old grandmother. But no one said anything about my skirt. My parents were the only ones who knew I had made the skirt. Instead most people complimented me on wearing the store bought t-shirt my mother got me for Easter two years ago.

At first, I was a little put off. Here I had gone to all the trouble of sewing it, and no one noticed the darn thing! Then I thought for a little bit. Maybe it was a good thing. No one may have noticed my skirt, but no one noticed it was handmade either. To them, it was just an article of clothing. And I think what every DIY Designer hopes for is to make one of a kind, fabulous clothing that people think were manufactured overseas in a factory or at some high end boutique in New York. The ultimate goal is not to look 'crafty' but stylish and fashionable.

And yesterday was quite an appropriate day to come to this realization. My grandmother once told me how when she was a girl growing up a sharecropper's daughter, she would sew dresses using the printed cloth flour sacks they would get from the local store. Watching my mother sew as I grew up certainly influenced me. It would seem DIY is in my blood. And lately, more people are seeing my skills as 'fashion' rather than crafty.