Thursday, March 24, 2011

G Street

During the debate inside my head about whether or not I should buy the top and skirt on Monday, one little thought kept creeping into my mind. It was something my mom has said so many times: "I could make that." Of course, we all know I couldn't make that outfit. But maybe I could make a variation of it. I thought if I just got some good fabric, I could make a cute pencil skirt and a flowy, cropped dolman-sleeved top with elastic around the sleeves. I figured it couldn't be that hard, right? So on my drive home from shopping, I decided to make a little trip to G Street.

G Street is a fabric store in my area tucked away inside a strip mall anchored by a Home Depot and Barnes and Noble. Upon entrance, it looks so tiny that you are tempted to walk back out until you see the escalators in the back of the small room. If you take those escalators down, you enter into an underground world of fabrics. It's always fun to visit G Street, but my kids don't agree with that point so it's usually a very quick visit. So entering G Street sans children was like a whole new experience.

I perused and touched and smelled so many fabrics and then suddenly I saw a small navy striped stretch cotton print. I grabbed it and quickly found this airy, navy floral. Lately I am digging the navy blues and peaches and mint greens of the 80s so this was right up my ally. I figured I would need a couple of yards of each and at about $16 a yard, they would cost me about $64, which is much better than the $250 I was about to spend on the outfit earlier that day... But that outfit was already an outfit- made by someone who knew what they were doing. And it was already fabulous (plus I liked the print on the Anthro top better than this one). I came close, but again, I just couldn't get myself to purchase. I don't really trust my novice sewing skills to turn this into something cool. So I didn't :-(.



I know, lame story about nothing. Sorry. I guess I am just processing my thoughts.

But back to G Street. One of my favorite things about going to G Street is seeing these faux dresses on dress forms all over the store. On first glance, it looks like someone just sewed a dress and put it on the mannequin, but if you take a closer look, you see that someone has carefully draped fabric - still on the bolt - and painstakingly pinned it to create a temporary piece. These were a few of my favorites on this, most recent trip:



I love how everything is left on the bolt and looks like it is still under construction. Oh and that floral cotton...



Look closely to see the pinheads. Cool, huh? See, this post wasn't about nothing after all.

3 comments:

Earl said...

Megan,

Truly stunning. She made it work.

Artsy Aut said...

I love G street! What I wouldnt give for a G street fabrics here. All I have is Walmart and Fabric Mart which is really just a place with every color of Aloha fabric imaginable. So let me know if you need some Aloha fabric :)

Belle said...

For a post about nothing, I loved it. I don't know how many times I have said to myself, "I could make that for half the cost." I used to do it too, but I'm not a great seamstress. I loved some things, threw others out, and it was fun. I no longer sew, but I used to sew clothes for my children until they got married. Prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses; they were a challange but looked beautiful. This post makes me want to sew again!