Manic Monday

Listening: The Ex-Boyfriend-Or-Whatever-He-Was Mix.  You had to be there. "Night Rider's Lament" by Nanci Griffith (not my favorite version; some songs really need to be sung by men, and this is one). 

Not really.  Only in my head.

1) I need to finish judging an online model horse show.  Today at lunch, if it freaking kills me.  I'm already behind because I was out of town.  

2) Must.  Choose.  Sewing.  Project.

 Candidates so far (and there are too many of them because I have never in my life been able to make a decision without a lot of drama, over-thought, and consideration of too many impractical options):

a) Advance 4864 (1948): Very similar lines to the peplum blouse I just wore, although the fabric is completely different.  I need a green bracelet to wear with this, no?

b)  Simplicity 2477 (1948): Totally different all around.  More work, but pretty stunning.

c) 2901 (1950's): I don't even have fabric for this, and that alone puts it way behind.  My thoughts right now are a gray and white print with solid gray yoke, pocket trim, and cape.  The cape makes it kind of perfect for a summer indoor-outdoor wedding, in case of sun and/or air-conditioning.  The closest I've found so far to what I want is the Colorbok mono tiny flowers at Joann's; GRS was closed on Sunday but I'm going on Friday to see if Moda has anything better.  If I stay with the gray color scheme I'm wearing it with red accessories.

d) DuBarry 2652b (1941): To be worn with the appliqued Peruvian skirt, but only if I totally wuss out.

3) The project after that absolutely, unequivocally, must be the Fourth of July version of the Simplicity 4727 (1943).

4) Must order new checks.  Okay, did that.

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I ran a bazillion errands on Saturday.  I had, among others, a significant coupon for DSW (that's Designer Shoe Warehouse, in case you don't have them where you live.  I swear they used to be Discount Shoe Warehouse but maybe I just couldn't picture myself shopping at Designer Anything Anything and thought it was Discount because it seemed so much more accessible).  Now, I love shoes but I don't think I love shoes in the usual sense of women who love shoes.  I have very specific tastes, and I'm not into flashy or prestigious shoes.  Good brands, yes, a quirky design when it fits my other requirements, but they have to be comfortable and they have to be retro above all else.  Also, I have finally wearied of cheap vinyl Target specials, but finding shoes of acceptable quality on my budget is a bit of a challenge.  No, I'm not above buying secondhand.

I really went looking for black Converse high-tops but they didn't have any.  I skimmed the ladies' shoes but nothing jumped out at me, so I headed for the clearance section in the back.  Summer is not a good shoe season for me in general because I like to have my feet safely covered; I'm a klutz, and Houston has fire ants, and things with open toes don't provide enough protection

I haven't owned sandals in years, if not decades, but these were both adorable and comfortable, especially after I added the stick-on arch supports I bought with them to bring the total purchase up to the minimum I needed to use the coupon (I also bought black knee-high socks, but I didn't need those to wear with the sandals).   Easy Spirit "Rishley" in tan.  They have Velcro where I'd rather they had real buckles but whatever.

My feet are not really that pink.

I think I totally need a Louella Ballerino-inspired peasant dress to wear with these.  Dark teal, maybe, with embroidery.

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I was looking for patterns last night and came across a skirt pattern I've had on the to-make list forever.  Then I found another copy.  Blast; I hate it when I waste money on duplicates.  I went back and found the first copy to see what sizes they both were and realized that they had different pattern numbers.  This isn't really that odd; pattern companies often reissue designs under new numbers.

When I looked at them more closely, I realized that the illustrations were slightly different, too.  Simplicity 1418 is from around 1945, just after World War II:

And its twin, Simplicity 2211, is from about two years later, probably around 1947:

Notice the difference in lengths.  1418 is still at the wartime just-under-the-knee length and 2211 is a few inches longer.

Interestingly, the pattern packets give the finished lengths as the same.