Dear Readers,
If this was a competition about boring sewing, I believe I would win "Haut la main" (I had to google this. Apparently, the appropriate English translation is "hands down," it's funny, the French means "hand high"). Not only I'm showing you basic t-shirts from a pattern I used before, but I used only black and white knit. I did not even buy the fabric. I used t-shirts from The Old Man. That's not true, I had one cut out for months in the corner of my sewing room, but my serger was threaded in white, and the knit was black...
So there you have it: 2 white t-shirts, 3 black ones. 4 made from existing T-shirts. I did not even remove the labels at the center back, because I got sluggish! Because it's not that interesting, I will spare you and show you only two of them. I used the SBCC free tonic tee pattern. On some, I save the neck ribbing, which makes it very close to the neck, and on other, I used the original hem and formed a band out of the excess I cut off the sides. I also used size XXS or XS to have a more relaxed fit for 2 of them. It was all done in a few hours. What took the longest was probably switching the serger from white to black.
This is obviously a weekend outfit for me, and they already got tons of wear, as expected. Since there is not much more that can be said about super basic tees, I figured we could talk a little about the idea of a uniform. These days, it feels like one cannot open its reader or Facebook without stumbling on an article about a woman who decided to wear "a uniform." Some take it very seriously, like wearing the same clothes every day, some a little less. The rational is more or less always the same: "I have super important things to do in my life, so I decided to figure out what to wear once and for all, like men do, (really ? do they?) and now I can focus on the rest (usually career)".
I have to admit, it is seductive. In general, radical approaches tend to do very well on the Internet. Whether it's sewing all the dresses in a vintage book (but then you don't finish ;-)) or cooking all the recipes, it "sells." I love reading about those big projects, but I'm incapable of making such decisive commitments. Or maybe I just don't have time. Actually, perhaps this is why they are so seductive, because we know we would do it. Personally, I'm the right audience for them. After all, I did quit smoking with Allen Carr and cleaned my house with Marie Kondo.
Going back to the uniform, it looks like the latest wardrobe craze. Remember when we were looking for our "signature style," our "10 essential" or creating "capsules"? Well, now, we need a uniform. It doesn't matter if you actually lead 1 or 3 lives (work, evening out and weekends) or leave in an environment with 4 seasons. You just need to say that you have a uniform. Because it shows how much more focused on critical things, you are than the rest of us.
In Haiti, we have about 2 seasons, one when it rains and one when it does not. And you actually don't need to dress any differently. Because it's hot. All the time. You just add a raincoat. I have to admit, I started wearing a variation of pretty much the same thing everyday: skinny jeans/pencil skirt, button-up/t-shirt, and the occasional dress. You can combine it, and you will know how I'm dressed, whether in the office, at the supermarket, or dining out. So I guess, yes, I have a uniform.
If I were to participate in Me-Made-May (I'm not), I would bore the hell out of all of you! But here is the problem, I don't want to call it like that because it already became a cliché. Trends go so fast online that you can get tired of them before even adopting them! Just like when everyone started "curating" inspiration on Pinterest and their blog. Maybe I can skip to the next wardrobe trend?
Please jump in, do you have a uniform or a minimalist wardrobe? What do you think will be the next wardrobe trend? Lastly, I am about to board the plane to New York for a week, in case you are there and want to shop at Mood or just gossip, email me!