One of the things I noticed right away when I picked it up was that it was handmade and it made me love the dress even more. I thought about someone sewing a special pink dress for a special little girl…and thought what fabulous luck that my little girl gets to wear such a special pink handmade dress too all these years later.
(Does anyone else think about the people that made stuff at the thrift store, or is it just me?)
But I am learning a lesson from that dress. A silly one that most people wouldn’t even consider.
You see I am a bit of a perfectionist. I wish I weren’t, I am trying to change it.
And when it comes to sewing dresses, skirts, shorts, ect– while everyone else sees a cute outfit, I tend to stare at the mistakes. An ever-so-slightly crooked hemline, plaids that may be a bit off or stitching that goes a bit on the slant at times.
Yes, I try to unpick and redo things that are way wonky….I really do want things to look professional.
But, it was those things that I truly love about that dress. For heaven sakes, the safety pins are still in the elastic in the armholes. The hem is a bit crooked, the lace is a bit uneven in the back, the elastic isn’t sewn perfectly, and the lining is a bit off in spots….but the dress is still gorgeous. And all those handmade things are just part of the vintage charm of handmade for me.
So, my lesson. I too make handmade clothes. And that is exactly what I want them to be. Handmade. I tend to want my clothes to look like a computer sewed them, because then they would be perfect. But, according to this pink dress, I am not a computer. I will NEVER sew like a computer. And it’s ok.
Thanks pink dress. I needed that.
(But you may have to remind me again and again. It’s just the way I am.)
What a gorgeous pink dress! I love the picture you paint of wanting to sew everything as though a computer made it..’cos I realise that is exactly how I have felt. I often don’t feel as if I do a professional job ‘cos I know every little seam where the allowance isn’t perfect or there is some other imperfection. My sister said to me that others are only professional in my eyes because they get paid to go to work and sew and often they can’t afford to take the time that I take on one project or be as picky!
Oh how true! When I am making something I want it perfect as can be but I do forget I am making something from the heart for my little ones and it only adds to the charm. You are very right, if I wanted it to look like a computer to sew it I would have bought it. Thanks I needed this!!
Sharon
OOOhh! That dress is so sweet!
Miranda
http://www.justdrinkacoke.com
this dress is simply lovely. It breaks my heart when something handmade ends up in a thrift store.
That dress is beautiful–I always feel so sad, too, when I see something homemade in a thrift store . . . crochet baby blankets get me the most. It just tears me up to think of some sweet mom or grandma sewing it for a new baby . . . who then sends it to the thrift store when he grows up. So sad!
That dress is awesome…I never worry about my stuff looking like a computer, I’m cool with my lack of mad sewing skills.
liZ
I get a little sad when I find handmade clothes at Goodwill. I think about the time spent making it and hope it was the maker who donated it, not the recipient.
My mother-in-law once made an outfit for my husband when he was a baby. He outgrew it, and she passed it on to her sister-in-law for her son. Eventually the SIL sold it in a garage sale. Fast forward 20 years or so, and I was pregnant with the first grandchild for my husband’s side of the family. My MIL was having a friend sew up a teddy bear for the baby. She went into a thrift shop in town one day and found the very shirt she had sewn for my husband. She bought it of course, and the teddy bear was given to my daughter… wearing a shirt that her daddy had worn as an infant.
Indy writer….that is an amazing story! And I agree, hopefully it is the maker (I have donated some things) and not the recipient.
Absolutely beautiful find. I think dresses are the best deal at the thrift store, they are generally in perfect or near perfect condition and far different than what you find off the mall rack. My girls like prairie revival fashions right now so I keep my eye for little Gunne Sax numbers.
Exactly! Our homemades don’t have to look like they came from a computer… or a sweatshop… They’re made with love which is much better! The dress is too cute.