Friday 21 May 2010

Me-Made-May: Days 20 & 21

Are there any me-made garments left that I haven't worn yet during May? Umm, yes! Here's two! Day 20:


Me-made JJ blouse, bubbles skirt, pants and Saint cardi when I got cold in the evening. How had I managed to over look TWO me-made garments crying out to be included? Probably because neither are very comfortable to wear. The blouse is pretty but the sleeves are a little constrictive, as is the collar. The skirt sits very loosely on the hips so has a tendancy to 'wander' about when I'm walking. It's actually pretty funny, one minute you look down and it's like you're wearing a plain black skirt with the (side) zip facing to the front with the spots (presumably) somewhere round the back. A minute or so later after a readjustment, you look down and it's all spotty craziness at the front and the zip is nowhere to be seen!

Another thing about this skirt, now that I have your attention, is that a couple of months after I posted it on Burdastyle someone else posted an almost exact (but to be honest, more shoddy) copy of it. They'd even given their creation almost the same title. WITH NO CREDITS. Now, I'm happy to inspire creativity, and obviously if you put something out into a public forum you have no real ability to gripe if your design gets ripped, but it irks me when people don't credit the source of that inspiration. This might sound incredibly two-faced considering that just this very morning I announced in a discussion over at the Flickr Group that I intended to have a go at recreating a couple of commercially produced garments, but in my defense I wouldn't attempt to pass off the design as my own or display my garment on the web without citing the initial source. Plus, now I don't know how y'all feel about this, but for some reason I make a distinction between commercial and handmade clothing. Maybe it's because commercial garments seem more impersonal and distanced than the results of a home-seamstress's efforts, but recreating and not crediting the latter feels more wrong than doing so to the former. Any thoughts?

In the meantime, another previously unworn me-made shows it's pretty face, the nautical blouse! Day 21:


Me-made nautical blouse, sailor trousers, nautical vest and pants (also nautical, FYI!). I almost wore this blouse earlier in the month. I put it on and then realised that the gap between the buttons shows a bit of inappropriate bra action. At that time I forgot about my nautical vest and changed into something else instead. I think I have finally created the last word in nautical with this outfit, for me at least! This is the culmination of my style obsession, and only by actually getting on a frikkin' boat could I get more nautical!

There's going to be a bit of radio silence for a few days, as I'm off on a little holiday. To steal Clare's concept for a second, a Handmade-Holiday in fact, as I take my me-mades on the road! Over and out.

14 comments:

slmpetersen said...

Love that bubble skirt! Cute!

Uta said...

Love your nautical stuff, as always! Re the no credits question: I'd make a difference depending on how it's presented. If she says, self-drafted, or blogs about how-to at length, I'd expect recognition. If she just posts a pic, as in "I made this" (which she did) I wouldn't mind. Of course, this also depends on how much thought and work went into the design, and whether you might want to use it commercially yourself.

Uta said...

Oh, and happy, sunny holidays!

Anonymous said...

I'd mind A LOT if someone made a version of my original design and didn't credit. We're told that imitation is the best form of flattery, but really - a bit of thanks wouldn't go amiss. I love your comment about getting on board a ship - ahoy there. You do make me laugh. Have a lovely holiday.

Unknown said...

I do think your annoyance at this copy is valid, but it would perhaps be a bit more valid if your skirt weren't so like the Boden bubble skirt that has been produced for several years. So, perhaps this other person has simply ripped off the boden design.

I really don't think there's anything truely original out there any more.

Tasia said...

I agree, I'm not a fan of copycats! Especially when it's your own handmade work, that would irk me too.
Great nautical outfit! and the bubble skirt is so cute. Enjoy your holiday :)

Jana said...

I LOVE the nautical blouse. Supercute!
You should send a little message to the person who sewed a similar skirt, maybe she just forgot where she saw it?

Carolyn said...

Oh, I wish I'd come across your blog before! I would have joined in the Me Made May too... I wear my handmade clothes everyday (although I confess I mix them up with the storebought clothes I have!)
Your clothes are lovely!

Jess said...

I totally sympathise with that feeling of annoyance when people don't give credit for inspiration. It's rude to not give credit where credit is due. But I don't think there really can be a distinction between handmade items and store bought ones though. In both cases someone out there designed the garment, made decisions about material, colour, pattern, fitting, details ect. The only difference for stopre bought clothes is that they are probably a paid designer.

emily said...

Completely agree with your annoyance too! I'd also agree (at the risk of being a sycophant!)that copying commercial clothes sits much more comfortably that something made by an independent designer. Maybe it's the difference between supporting an individual artist and putting money into Mr Primark's pocket... x

Fawn and Flower said...

You and your fancy ruffles. You're so good at them!

Fourth Daughter said...

I know what you mean re ripping stuff off... if someone rips off Gucci then (depending on how they do it) it can be amusing, probably because everyone would know it's Gucci (have I mentioned this on your site before http://www.counterfeitcrochet.org/about.html ?). But when they rip off us little people it's not so good. Although having blog-cruised so much in the past few months I'd have to agree with Jana - maybe your imitator just forgot where she saw your stuff?

naughty little pony said...

Hey, congrats on the etsy shop awsome! All your me-made-may garments look amazing by the way! I can't beleive how much catching up there is to do when I don't turn on my laptop for a couple of weeks!
xx big kiss
Michelle

djc said...

A good way of preventing waistband creep is to use a length of non roll elastic as the waistband interfacing and just gather it up an inch or two. This is an idea from Sandra Betzina I've used before. In wearing, it doesn't look like an elasticated waist, but it just gives it a little grip and snugs up the waistband a bit.
Dorothy

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