Trendy

I started this on Sarai's blog, but it just kept growing and growing!  I also felt that it is relevant to the blog!  I would add pictures, but I had/have extremely bad body image and I try to be in as little pictures as possible.  I have been this way since junior high, so there aren't any pictures of "Goth Michelle" :P

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I think that a lot of things effect what is "trendy" at the moment.  I grew up in a small town.  I am not going to say it was a complete "hick" town, but what was in trend was wranglers and button-up (regardless of sex).  So, obviously, I was goth (for lack of a better word).  I don't like people telling me how to dress, or simply dressing to look like everyone else.  Still to this day, I HATE wranglers!!

When I got to college, my environment changed and I dressed in jeans and t-shirts.  Which wasn't really "trendy", but more normal that spikes and dog collars (I think my mom was slightly relieved).  I dressed that way more for comfort and laziness, though.  I worked 30 hours a week and went to school full time.

Then, I became a mommy and a had a complete style crisis.  I never really cared about clothes or fashion.  But, I have a really young face, and I got pregnant when I was 21.  So, I looked like a pregnant teenager.  I worked at Old Navy while I was pregnant, and I had customers telling me that I needed to graduate high school to give my baby a better chance.  They were also really mean and said some horrible things to me, but that's beside the point.  The fact was that I needed to change how I dressed.

I found out that after having a baby, my "pooch" had grown and it is now uncomfortable to wear jeans.  I *could* make my own....but no thanks!  So, I had a choice, I could live my life in sweats and yoga pants, or I could start wearing skirts and dresses.

Soon, I (finally) moved out of the area and I moved to Alameda, a little town made famous on the blogosphere thanks to the Alameda Antiques by the Bay.  After moving here, I started wearing jersey dresses all the time and full skirts.  I started sewing when I moved here, not because that is what's popular here, but because it was something I always wanted to do.  I also want my daughter to be creative and enjoy making things and I wanted her to see me do that.

Fashion was never a big concern of mine and to be 100% honest, it still isn't.  <<GASP!!>>  It's just clothes!  I think that people take clothes way too seriously.  I say this, but I am a sewing fanatic.  I used to see clothes as just pieces of cloth to drape yourself in.  When I was in high school, I saw clothes as the chains society puts on you-a way for everyone to look the same.  However, now I have more fun with my clothes.  I make my own clothes and it's just another outlet for me to express my creativity.  I like to pick the fabric and patterns and I like to make any creative decisions about my clothes.

Now, the late 50's/early 60's is becoming trendy, but I really think that it's because of Mad Men.  Which, I think is great, honestly.  I like to see people getting ideas of how to dress from other forces than just the runway.  I think it's awesome that the runway was getting ideas from a t.v. show too.  Now that I sew, I can see past what is "trendy" and now when I see something interesting on the runway, I don't just shrug my shoulders and think "Yeah, but I could never afford that".  Now, I usually rewind (hooray DVRs and the inter webs) and think "Wow, that's really creative!"