Why I Don’t Often Wear Prints
When I first got back into sewing after college, I made several projects that I was quite frustrated with because of how they looked: homemade. I was still in the process of figuring out my style, tastes, body type, sizing, dressing for my age, etc., and things weren’t looking the way I wanted. I got back into sewing because I was frustrated with buying clothes in stores and having to alter them because they didn’t fit, so making my own seemed like a good alternative since I already had the knowledge (especially after running into my older cousin’s mother-in-law at church wearing the same skirt I was!). After listening to my unhappiness, my mom finally asked me why everything I was picking had flowers on it. A good point I hadn’t noticed. Solid colors or subtle designs in my fabric choices definitely gave my projects a more professional look and were easier to coordinate together.
While I still enjoy floral (and other) prints, I have become choosier about what I do with them. A floral skirt that multiple colors and styles of tops matched will have a lot more use in my wardrobe than a fifth floral dress. But I really slowed down in using prints after I started working at a fabric store. It’s not that fun to have a “unique” top that matches the scarf your twice-your-age coworker is wearing. Or wearing a cute skirt that is the same fabric you just sold to a rude customer. Or having dress from the same fabric someone is buying to make family photo outfits for all the girls in the family. But if you make something from that solid pink linen and run into someone who made something else from it, no one will notice. So I gravitate towards solid colors, but I couldn’t pass up with blue floral cotton knit. It’s so softly pretty, and in colors I love, so I’ll just have to enjoy it and not think too hard about who else has it! (Side note, this is a great pattern [Butterick 6996], but I didn’t think of the fact that I always wear layers at work, and with the shape of these sleeves, I won’t be able to, so I guess I don’t have to worry about that with this one…).
Some of my tricks with recognizable prints if to hang onto them for a couple years before I start wearing them regularly, or to by smaller pieces I know are the extent of what’s available. By that point, other people who have something from them have moved on or worn them out, so my item is unique again, or they can’t buy it because I got the only piece.
