My Favorite Dress

Hello, this is Momomi.

My favorite dress made my heart flutter when I put it on.
It is a dress made from fabric I chose because I thought it was cute, tailored to my favorite design, and finished with matching cute buttons, so of course it would.
One of my hobbies isdressmaking.
Wearing a dress I made myself for the first time in a while, I was remembering various things today.

My first attempt at making clothes... a skirt that's hard to call that

I remember making clothes for the first time when I was in vocational school, so I was around 20 years old.
By the way, it was a beauty school, not a fashion school.
The item I made back then is not something I could wear now, and I don't even have it anymore because I got rid of it.
I believe it was just askirt made by sewing a rectangular piece of fabric into a tube and putting elastic in the waist.
I didn't even own a sewing machine back then, so it was all hand-sewn.
I suspect it took quite a long time.
I don't remember at all why I decided to make it, but I wasn't interested in sewing at the time, and I didn't have any money, so I probably just made it on a whim.
So, I didn't really make anything after that.

Making clothes again.

Time passed, and the next time I made clothes was about 15 years ago.
Aloha shirtI wanted to make an, so I bought a toy-like sewing machine, bought a pattern and fabric at a shop, and made the mistake of asking my sewing-loving mother how to make it when I returned to my parents' home.
When I woke up the next morning, the Aloha shirt was almost finished.
I didn't want an Aloha shirt; I wanted to make one.

I gave up on making it while visiting home, bought more fabric, and succeeded in completing a crumpled Aloha shirt while struggling on my own.
However, I was a complete beginner at everything.
Because I chose the fabric based only on its appearance, it was too thick and stiff for an Aloha shirt, and it wasn't something I could wear.
I hadn't even considered that there was fabric suitable for what you were making.
I have failed many times since then regarding fabric selection.

After that, I have sewn over 10 Aloha shirts (Kariyushi shirts) in total, so I am good at it now.

Learning from failure and the dressmaking swamp.

As a self-taught beginner, I learned so much from my failures and wasted a lot of fabric.
Before I knew it, I was sinking deeper into the dressmaking swamp, going to fabric stores whenever I had time, buying fabric, and watching it pile up in my small room.
By that time, my sewing machine had leveled up a little, and I bought a regular home sewing machine and started making clothes steadily.

At first, it was fun to buy books with simple, mostly straight-stitch patterns, buy cheap fabric, and just sew while looking at the books, and I sewed and wore many things I liked.
I gradually leveled up and became able to make simple things likeblouses, tunics, skirts, and dresses, so my wardrobe is now almost entirely clothes I made myself.
I also sewed curtains and made many clothes for stuffed animals.
Since I read a lot of books, I also sewedbook covers, and since I was collecting goshuin (temple stamps), I also sewedgoshuin book covers, and I enjoy sewing so much that I even sell them on flea market sites.
(I'm still selling them now, please check them out!!)

Days of drifting away from dressmaking.

The fun dressmaking swamp also became harder to manage as work got busier, and I gradually could only make simple things.

The busy days continued endlessly, and I finally burned out, couldn't go to work, and after taking a leave of absence, I started staying in my room more often and spent most of my time in loungewear.
Even when I went out, I wore nondescript, casual clothes and barely wore any makeup.
When that happens, your mood starts to drop as well.

From the past me to the current me.

At that time, a dress I had made myself caught my eye.
A dress that made my heart flutter just by looking at it.
After all,it is a dress made from fabric I chose because I thought it was cute, tailored to my favorite design, and finished with matching cute buttons, so of course it would.
Just spending the day wearing such a dress made me feel positive.

A cute brick-colored dress with an owl pattern.
However, the fabric of this dress shows sweat stains a bit, so I couldn't wear it out.
But it was perfect for wearing in my room during this season.
When I was sewing this dress, I must have been sewing with excitement, and the me back then must have been disappointed that I couldn't wear it.
But you know,I feel happy receiving a wonderful gift from my past self.

Besides this dress, I have many other favorite clothes.
I feel like if I wear my favorites every day, I can spend my time happily and positively.

Now I want to tailor one super cute outfit for my future self.

Thank you for reading until the end.