Me Made May Wrap Up

 Well, after a rocky start, my Me Made May for 2022 finishes with these two items. 

Both skirts that I made last year. The purple one was on it's maiden voyage, since it's a little short to wear without stockings. The green has been out for a spin or two. Looking at these two photos, and previous Me Made May photos (which were so hard to remember to take), I think I've also learned that I love this jacket to bits. 

It was a hand me down from my sister initially. I didn't wear it for years because the sleeves were a bit baggy and I never really like long sleeves anyway. Then I rolled up the sleeves and found I loved it so much more. The pockets are fabulous and even though it's lost a button, I'm still rocking it. Maybe this is the jacket to replicate for next year, so I've got more than one. I've had this one for at least 12 years now. 

Anyway, I came to the conclusion at the end of Me Made May that I do love wearing clothes that I've made and that next year, I need a very specific goal, rather than fumble around at the start and not know what I'm doing. 

I also listened to a podcast from the creator of Me Made May, Zoe, who blogs at So-Zo, What do You Know?. Maybe this was something I should have done at the start of Me Made May, but it really helped clarify something about the challenge. 

It's a wardrobe challenge. 

In it's essence it's about improving your relationship with your wardrobe. Specifically the self-made section of your wardrobe, but in general, the clothes you wear. I've never been one to really care about what I'm wearing; my sisters will be the first to attest to how blasé I am about fashion and shopping. But recently, I've really started enjoying my own style and what I'm wearing. And I'm loving making my own things. 

I think part of what makes me not care about clothes is the years of trying things on in shops to find they don't actually fit properly, but being totally unable to find something that does fit perfectly leads to having to buy the sub-par outfit anyway. It's exhausting and depressing for someone with no shopping stamina or drive to continue looking so they come out of the fashion battle with a win. 

Something I came across as I stumbled around in the sewing corner of the internet, was the idea that size is just a number, and that our bodies are all different and weird. It is actually ludicrous to think that I could pull something off the rack at a store and think it will fit me perfectly. That item has been made for a particular set of measurements, which may or may not match any one or all of mine. So empowering is sewing your own clothes, because it is no longer your body that needs to change to fit the clothes, but rather, the clothes need to change to fit your body. 

I don't think I've ever had a wardrobe that I have put so much choice into than I do at the present time. I don't like shopping, so I never go looking for new clothes, and I am pretty frugal, so I don't like spending money either. I've been (very thankfully!) outfitted by hand me downs from both of my sisters for a large portion of my life, and also from my mum, supplementing my wardrobe when she found something for a bargain that she thought I'd wear. 

Now, my wardrobe (as demonstrated by this latest round of Me Made May), actually consists of items of clothes that I've chosen. Clothes that I've made, or adjusted to fit. That I'm comfortable in and excited to wear. It is amazing to me that I realise this, and I have Me Made May to thank for it. 2022 really did improve my relationship with my wardrobe, even if I did stumble and fall at the start there. 

I don't know if I want to achieve a completely self made wardrobe. Sewing jeans is not high on my list by any means, but having clothes that I have made, that fit and that make me happy to wear, that is something I do want to continue with. I also kind of wonder if Me Made March might be better for me, because it's not as cold, so it would be way easier to wear my self-made clothes. But then again, maybe it's time to make a jacket or two?