This being the Year of Dress + Cardigan, I am attempting to
incorporate dresses into my everyday wardrobe.
The company my husband works for, New England Footwear, planned a hike up
Mount Sunapee: This was my opportunity
to sew a “hiking dress”, you know, an athletic dress that looked spot-on with
my Lime Lites. I consulted my style
muse, Cal Patch, because surely she would wear a dress on a hike. We decided loose, cool, and short for good
movement, lots of pockets, and leggings to cover my undercarriage.
These are my Go Lite Lime Lites, great for day hikes and
daily adventures. The soft teeth on the
soles grip the ground and absorb the irregularities in terrain. The hard inner soles keep feet stable and
protected. I think they look hot. And I am determined to make them my go-to
footwear with a dress.
I cut and sewed a darling red smock, with charming half
circle pockets like Cal makes. Just the
right length, buttons down the front, delightful fading and puckering of the
fabric (I love when fabric looks
aged), and my favorite elbow length cuffed sleeves. Sweet.
But then … Wait … Suddenly my darling red smock morphed into
a giant red house coat like the neighbor lady wore over her slip, with her Isotoner
slippers, sucking down a Marlboro before company arrived for the roast beef and
congealed salad. Bummer. I chalked it up as a failure. Sewing failures are fine with me, really, I only wish I had allotted
enough time to start again and get it right.
I wore a pair of running shorts and a tee shirt on the hike,
which turned out to be really challenging.
Five miles through slippery mud, muggy weather and several stream
crossings (and then I was wishing I had not sewn a house coat, but instead exercised). As I was climbing a steep outcropping of
rocks, I told this house coat story to a friend behind me. She paused and said, “I’m so glad you’re not
wearing a dress right now”.
On July 4th we went to the Cate Park Band Concert and fireworks.
I decided I would wear my
house coat with some made-by-me leggings.
Red is a good American color; push through the awkward house coat-y
feeling. And you know what happened? My
house coat morphed back into the darling red smock I had envisioned. I love this little number! I’m going to wear the b’jeebers out of it, pair it with dark blue jeans and a cardigan, and maybe even take it on a stroll …
What is wrong with me?
7 comments:
you are so funny ~ I love your blog :)
Melissa
There is NOTHING wrong with you! You are adorable.
My sewing failures morph into maternity tops.
I could just about bend over laughing (while trying not to wet my pants) at the "I'm so glad you are not wearing a dress right now" comment!
kim
One day some friends and I had an idea for a "Bring Back the House Coat" movement. You could be the poster girl! Really, it is a cute smock. But I'm almost serious about the movement.
absolutely nothing. You are perfect. Love the image of marlboro smoking congealed beef eating chick.
xo
I love smocks (over the head aprons with shoulders and backs). I think they are about the most practical item on the menu.
omg i can't decide WHICH moment in this story i love the most! you are so funny. i'm glad it worked out that you learned that maybe a dress isn't the best for a REAL hike, after the dress didn't pan out (as a hiking dress). i am a firm believer in Things Happening For a Reason ;n)
i love worn + aged fabric better too!
next time i'll tell you my first instinct which, this time, was: "are you sure you want to wear a dress hiking?"
What pattern did you use for your dress. I love it.
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