A Valentine's Day no-sew

Pardon the interruption from story time, but I wanted to get at least one Valentine's Day outfit posted before the actual holiday.
I actually planned to do several outfits on that theme, specifically for the non-romantics like myself. I also have a hard time wearing red and wanted to show some alternatives to V day outfits without too much of that color.
Guess what else I planned? I had the idea to do a series of "no-sew" refashions for the month. So far, they've mostly been fails. Here's one for both themes that kinda works.

 Eww. It's not even silly ugly. Why do I look even shorter than usual? If you can't tell, it's a plaid print and it features red, but not too much. Red usually doesn't jive with my particular hair color. I'm coloring tomorrow, so it's all toned down for these. Also, it never looks good with my lipstick. Maybe it does, I don't know.
This dress is actually a lightweight material, so it should be easy to work with and might come in handy in the spring. Anyway, how can I make it work without sewing?

That thing. It's an elastic piece with clips on each end. I'm gonna use that thing to gather it in the back.

It might take a little practice getting it straight. I recommend doing what I did and putting the dress on backwards and clipping it in front before turning it around. Let's see:

So, now it fits a little better. Obviously, there are many other ways to make this dress look better, but I was going for fast and simple. Something that says "meh...it's wearable." I figured I could add a sash. Here's the after:

Certain filters make the red tones stand out more. Doesn't my dress look so adequate?

There ya go, it's reddish and it's a no sew. Hopefully, more to come. My god, I'm bad at following through.

More story: It begins

Like we teach in school, all stories have a beginning, middle, and end. During last week's snow days, I started my little narrative, but mostly just set up the story. It's another snow day. Here I go again.

Everything's got to be so damn dramatic...

It was a warm spring evening in 2012. At the time, I actually had a girl friend in fellow WAW Vixen, Chandra. If I correctly recall, we were hanging out in my apartment, probably listening to "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry and staring at our cellular devices looking for something exciting to do. I cruised the Social Network and saw that Falcon (who had been out of WAW while he healed from shoulder surgery) was in town.
We had been working together before his leave, and I hadn't seen him in a while. I texted a friendly greeting, saying "cool, you're in town!" He was partying with some other wrestlers at our favorite spot, The Yee Dynasty and no, I don't remember why Chandra and I didn't just go and get our Yee on with them.
Any damn way, the significance this is: no interaction with Falcon was considered flirtatious. He was a nice, non-threatening guy and he had a girlfriend. Nothing weird about me saying hello.
Nor was it weird when he sent me a friendly chat on FaceBook Messenger several days later.
Now, I should remind anyone reading where I was at this time. I was starting my long adventure with depression; it was so fresh and new that I didn't even recognize the symptoms. I knew that I was often lonely and started to feel adrift from my world, like an island away from everyone around me. Sure I was sad, but probably no big deal...
It was nice chatting with Falcon and getting to know more about him. In fact, I soon found a whole other him: an exciting and alluring side, hidden beneath the all-American, blond, athletic boy.
Over the course of a couple weeks, our conversations turned more flirtatious in nature, and I was getting the hint that I was dealing with a man on a mission. Never one to shy away from an elephant in the room, I told him, "it seems like you're interested in more than just chatting..."
"Maybe with the right woman," he replied with a winking face emoticon. That smooth bastard. Well, consider my curiosity/interest piqued.

 

c-c-c-cold hearted sssnake

If you're wondering about the girlfriend, I'm not gonna lie; there was one. You don't get to where I've been (mentally) by being an angel all the time. Bad choices...I've made them. I'm sure most of you reading are pretty mad at me. Considering what I later (and am currently) went through, don't worry; the bad girl pays. There are justifications to make. This woman was having a real, scary problem with alcohol (she later crashed the comments section of part 4 of my first story. Un-deleted for authenticity). I was depressed and lonely; I wanted to make me feel better and no time to think about the happiness of a stranger. Besides, it was his job to be faithful, not mine. If it wasn't me, it would be someone else. Finally; in her drunken rages, she was becoming violent towards him.
Once his motives were revealed, I agreed to hang out with him soon after. Now, I've repeated this general rule to many MA and/or NH residents: "people do not cross state lines to 'hang out' with people who aren't close friends or family." Surely, he wasn't stopping by just for tea and crumpets.

I knew what I was getting into and I broke through the caution tape, and kicked over the red flags. So, he started making more frequent visits to my neighborhood which was where his long time best friend Chad was living. We went to a few of Chad's comedy shows, we ate Chinese food, and we did it all in secret, even once the girlfriend was safely out of the picture.
I've been trying to think of a song that describes this union, because I feel like I had one at the time. Somewhere there has to be a rock song with lyrics about knowing that something is dangerous, but doing it anyway because you can't resist the temptation. If I were performing it, I'd be singin' about the lure of playing with fire. How my sad and lonely soul craved the adrenaline rush of seeing him. I would use words like "addiction," "illicit," "danger," uh... "forbidden?'
Throughout the bizarre ups and downs of the Summer of 2012, we had the occasional good time. When he finally made his return to WAW at a special "away" show in MA, Falcon the performer was in top form. He fought his former tag team partner whom my character Moody Starr had just guided to become the champion. As the champ's manager, I tried to remain neutral to both men--the match was solid. A local promoter from a reputable wrestling promotion invited the three of us to do a show.
Summer turned to fall and in September, four of us WAWers traveled to Rhode Island to perform at a wrestling show. We all stayed at Falcon's small apartment and it was here that we went "public," so to speak. The guys shared the living room, while the host and I shared a bed. We outed ourselves as "more than friends." Not really a couple, but a thing. In November, he asked me to be his date to a family member's wedding in his hometown. It would mean getting home very late on a school night (gasp).

That's a terribly taken phone pic from that night. What it doesn't show is how we coordinated our colors in dark red. We danced and enjoyed free food and drinks. I met his mama. It was an awesome time.
Still, we weren't an official couple. I didn't know what we were and didn't much care. I was having fun and that's all I wanted. Falcon was great, but I knew; behind those eyes was a ladies' man, a "player." Why don't we have better words to describe men who are like this? He had been untruthful in his past relationships, but as long as I wasn't committed to him; I didn't have to care, as far as I was concerned. I remember telling him, "a tiger doesn't change his stripes."
For whatever reason, he sure did a good job of expressing his affections for me and the things I did. He loved my apartment full of old-timey knick knacks. He loved children and thought it was great that I did too. He thought I was beautiful and smart (duh). And he loved my creative side. In fact, he was absolutely enthralled when I presented him with a Christmas gift:

Once again, I must apologize for picture quality. I just snapped a quick shot with my phone because I didn't have a blog at the time. I made a few of those. I called them "minimalist collages." This represents both Mike and Falcon (no actual falcons included). Full tutorial of the thought process behind it will probably be my next post, but here's a hint. They're the colors of his wrestling gear, a big cat stalking his prey (a representation of how he picks up women, perhaps), and an adjective used to describe him. He fucking loved it. It's paint, paper, and Mod Podge and he treated it like a dang masterpiece. Sooo flattered.

Here's where I leave off. My storytelling isn't always planned ahead and I just write when I have time and motivation. Also, my storytelling is long and wordy. My bad. It might not be separated into equal parts because this isn't classic literature, it's a rambling blog post.
Next up: rising action; a literary comparison, and a striking similarity between the two sides of me.

Once upon a time

I decided to tell my stories of anger, sadness, and poor choices. The Following is a tale of woe from the past--and the pain that resurfaced as the winter storm rages on...

Although clearly "Frozen" inspired, this story will take you back to a time when the sun was shining so damn hard that we were all covered in sweat. The summer of 2013, when I went back and forth between feelings of raged sadness to joy and happiness. Regular readers will recall the traumatic experiences I had around then, but what I haven't talked much about was the time I spent with Mike. Now, the time has come.

Do you want to do some cosplay? My plan for the snow day was to come up with a DIY Frozen inspired outfit: an evil Elsa...but I didn't have anything that looked the part. (You can barely see my little side braid.)  So, I'm a winter-themed, super villain.

Mike was more commonly known to myself and others as "Falcon", his wrestling moniker. Up until very recently, I counted him as a friend. We rarely saw each other. He lives with another woman and has little reason to be in my neighborhood. We didn't chat often, as it wouldn't be appropriate. But, every now and then we would keep in touch via text message and it was always pleasant. Since our split in '13, he has actually stopped by to visit a few times. The last time we chatted was after New Years. As he bid me goodnight, the last message he sent was, "keep in touch." I planned to.

He is an ex. He is the man who dumped me on my ass before my father got sick, which happened to be the week before school started. That break up took a lot out of me, practically everything. However, Falcon always had my back; even as he was ripping my heart out. 

Readers: I know what you're thinking, and I hear ya. "You were friends with your ex? Again? You learned nothing from the previous experience, and now you're basically going through the same thing again?!"

To respond; yeah, pretty much...but I accept kindness from whomever offers it and it felt better to forgive than to hate. I mean technically speaking, he broke up with me--he is allowed to do that, there are no rules against that (it's just strongly frowned upon.) Everyone wants to have people in their lives that care about them, that they can feel safe with. I don't know why I had that bond with him, but I did. 

Spring, 2013. Not the most flattering pic, but whatevs.

So, when I hit him up some time last week, I wasn't surprised that I didn't immediately hear back. He works long overnight hours and I'm not his girlfriend. A few days later, my curiosity got the best of me and I texted again. I had heard rumors of his possible involvement in a scandal, but for once, I didn't know anything about it. I just wanted to check in. When this reaching out when unanswered, I was concerned. About what, I'm not sure, but I figured, "hey, maybe I can find some clues on his rarely used Facebook!"

And then I saw it. Near his default photo (one I had actually taken myself!) was the message "Add Michael as a Friend." So, if Facebook is suggesting I add him as a friend, that can only mean that we are not friends. I had been unfriended. The realization stunned me and I stared at the screen in horror. Why? What have I done to deserve this?!

Now let's be real and stop pretending that being unfriended is not something that adults are allowed to care about. I'm not talking about an old coworker with whom you rarely spoke; I'm talking about an actual IRL friend that you liked. That person I cared about went to a list of "friends," found my name and picture, and then removed me from that list. Casual acquaintances can be Facebook friends; being purposely excluded from someone's online world sends a clear message. Friendship=over. 

"You're as cold as ice..."

 Falcon joined WAW around the 2008-09 years, but it took me a while before getting to know him. He was serious about wrestling and very good at it. His home was in the Massachusetts North Shore area, a bit if a distance from the WAW headquarters in Manchester, NH. He didn't make a habit of hanging out with the regular crew and at shows, he was all business. 

Around 2011, (and my timeline might not be perfect) our wrestling paths crossed when my character Moody Starr began managing his tag team, The Firebirds. At some point, Falcon took an extended leave after undergoing surgery on an injured shoulder. Interestingly, it was during that time when we got to know each other. 

We never should have happened. It was doomed from the start and I knew it. But from that first time he contacted me; my fate was sealed. 

To be continued.

The Button Print Shirt-Dress!

Mostly just the "after" pics because zzz... I had this lovely Liz Claiborne dress:

I loved this dress from the moment I laid eyes on it. I knew it was worth the 5 bucks. It looked easy to work with and it had a button print.! I blogged about it last June, so I'll save myself the trouble of writing about it again.
In fact, I'll spare you my process as well. Here's pretty much what I did:

In that post I linked up there, I mentioned how fitting this dress seemed to be despite its larger size. It didn't have the long bodice like all my other 70s/80s dresses. I think I know why:

HA! That's a close up of the picture I took while working on it at night time. See anything? Of course not. What this picture meant to say is; the seam does not look uniform. It's as if it's been cut and re-sewn. Somebody got to this before me and did me a solid by fixing some length! Of course the shoulder area was big, so I folded it over like so:

I did cinch the waist by using the technique of wrapping those straps (seen in the before picture) around my back and then tying in front. But, I couldn't waste the opportunity to use my new belt, one of the cutest ever made. Behold:

 

Button belt! It's one of those waist cinching elastic belts I'm into and the clasp is a giant button! Let's see this shirt dress! And if the hem looks odd, that's because this slippery fabric was hard to fold.

Even with the picture size blown up, it's hard to appreciate the print. Here:

Look at the little white and red buttons! That's what they look like!
Once again:

I actually wore this once and realized it was still too big and had to take in the sides some more. As always, it's not a revolutionary refash. I love it, though.

Easy purple dress refashion

As a resident of New Hampshire who was also born here, there's one thing about this time of year that really grinds my gears. People that get all self righteous and complain about those who complain about the weather. Like, you come indoors shivering out a phrase like, "Oh my god, it's so cold that my nipples could cut glass!" only to get a lecture from Hard-ass McHardcore New Englander about how the first rule of living in climates with cold weather is to never talk abut the cold weather.
No, I'm not surprised that it's cold, but I reserve the right to say that it kinda sucks when the temps drop so damn low. I need a turtleneck.

I don't know what appealed to me first, but I was super excited to find this dress. It was a nice thick cotton, all comfy and cozy...but I just couldn't do the turtleneck. It was double layered. To quote the late comedian Mitch Hedberg, it's like being strangled by a very weak person.

It was a size medium, and I bought it at Outfitters for $2.00, still with its original tags. I thought it would fit somewhat loosely, but it fit it didn't and I was concerned it wouldn't do my wide hips any favors.

Look at the cute tag that was attached to it!

So, let's cut to the cutting. I carefully tried making the turtleneck less stifling, but it wasn't doing it for me. I seam ripper-ed the whole thing off, and then finally said, "Eff this, I'm making a v neck."
The sleeves bothered me too for some reason. I don't what I have against long sleeves and I had no business hemming them because the purpose of this garment was warmth. I gave each a quick trim and rolled them a bit.
I don't remember why I didn't keep the length, but I took off a few inches. I had more than enough to make this perfect, matching sash:

The end result:

I'm trying my best to look natural with my eyes open and not looking down.

I took these pictures on the day that I actually wore this dress because I was on school vacation and not running out the door in hopes of being on time for work. Yesterday, I set up my camera to capture two other dresses and forgetting that I already had this purple number done, I took a few more shots of it.

Does that picture look weird to you? Most of yesterday's session looks bizarre. I'm short as shit, but I feel like I kinda resemble a little person in this one. I'm going to blame the angle of my tripod. It was different.
Thanks for looking and thank you for ignoring the stupid looking hemline! Because knits are hard!

Love it or List it: continued!

I don't know how I spaced on that last post (well, besides being flakier than Toaster Strudels), but I neglected two of the dresses I meant to include.

That one! Isn't it a lovely Summer dress? It's only a little big, just a few darts and it would be a good fit. It was $2.

It's got an awesome aqua color and...what do you call that around the edges? Piping! I don't why they call it that. I love it and can see myself badass-ing it up a bit with some jewelry and a different belt. However, (this picture taken at night) doesn't do it justice. It's so lovely that someone might possibly buy it. I'm thinking that maybe I should list it and if it hasn't sold by April/May, I keep. That's a thought.
This next dress is probably an easier choice:

That one isn't so great. I should probably just hem it up keep it for myself, because I don't see it being a hot item.

It's a polyester piece that fits pretty well. I just have to take up the length and belt the waist, maybe figure out some alternative for that neck bow.
I promise to post one of my completed refashions by tomorrow, as I have several lined up.

Love it or list it: obsession with dresses

You ever watch that home improvement channel, HGTV? I'd rather not, but it's sometimes on in the background at my parents' house while my sister and I are looking at our electronic devices. This is why I'm vaguely aware that there is a show called "Love It or List It," about deciding to keep or sell a house. Being a person of the "poor" income bracket, I don't particularly care for these HGTV shows where jerks think they need damn granite counters and stainless steel appliances. (every. single. show.)
 Anyway...When I buy a new article of clothing, I'm sometimes faced with a challenge of deciding on keeping it (which usually means altering it to fit) or trying to get some money by putting up for sale on Etsy. Do I love it or list it in the shop?

Well obviously this one's a keeper. It fits well and it's retrotastically adorable. (I just threw it on to pose for these blog pictures, btw. I don't fancy up for quick pics). A few close ups:

Well, those pictures are useless. What I'm trying to express is that those cute straps don't fit well and show off my back moles (which I edited out). I'm also trying to show the cute print which is either leaves or acorns.
Pros: comfortable, awesome color and print, fits pretty well!. Cons: I never go backless (due to above mentioned problem), those straps are actually kinda loose, and I feel like I might actually be able to make a buck on that dress.
Details: made by designer Lanz Originals and is in great condition.

Next on the chopping block is this lovely 80s number, fuchsia and fitted.
Pros: nice magenta color, looks sexy. Cons:

...those big shoulders. Even without the padding, like all garments of this era the shoulders are big. Also, the dress might be a little snug in the hips/butt region. I give zero fucks because like that popular song the children sing at recess, I'm all abut that bass, no treble. To my understanding that means I'm appreciative of my large ass. (Eye roll) But, the school school department isn't!
Details: made by 80s designer, Nina something and in good condition, just not worth much in resale value.
Another turquoise-y color? Yes...

I love this dress and it's not like it's way huge. It bears a resemblance to this dress:

That bright pink dress is one that I already decided on and chose to list here in my shop because I really don't do that color. I've had that gorgeous frock on sale since last Spring. That brings me to a point I'd like to make: selling clothing on Etsy has been nearly impossible for me. Seriously, it takes forever for an article of clothing to get purchased. If my clothing was easier to sell, deciding whether to sell it or not would be much easier. It's some economic principle phrase I've heard/misheard: I have to decide whether I would get more value out of selling it or out of using it.
Back to the aqua-ish blue dress. Pros: awesome color, retro-40s look, non pouffy sleeves!
Cons: although I love a good "roomy" top, like so many of the dresses I find, the bodice is too long.

The width is easy enough to fix, but taking out the middle is so haaard! I might ruin it. I'm also having a love/hate relationship with those buttons. Not sure if lame or kitschy...
Details: random, no-name label; fun gold buttons with designs that look like family crests.
I started this post a few days ago, then ran out of time. I was planning on including this:

 It's by Christian Dior, for all you fancy-asses out there. Picture sucks; but it's an interesting, high waist, midi skirt (the kind I love). I chose to list it up because it's kinda long on me.
How about some coming attractions?

The last time I posted about my indecision with my dresses, it was over the summer and I showed you this button print dress. I finally decided to make it small. I finished and then wore it, but never did get around to photographing it.
Hey, anyone check the weather out there? It's so cold that if you go outside and cry about it, your tears will freeze to your cheeks. How about a nice cotton turtleneck?

Nope. Just couldn't do it. I don't want all that on my neck! It was too thick and it was strangling me. It's a v neck, now. Finished and worn, pics mot yet acquired.

I also finished this one! I made the sleeves elbow length with a little flaring and then shortened it a little. So..."after" shots should be up some time in the new year.
Edit: I published this prematurely. So there is a part two: Love It or List It continued.
I've decided to link up this post at Sir Thrift A Lot. Most bloggers don't kink clothing related posts on Thriftasaurus, but I guess I will.