Whitney à la mode: Blogging Besties

Blogging Besties is a weekly series featuring Whitney of Whitney à la mode, Alex of Undergraduate Style, Maricel of ::My Closet Catalogue:: and Selah of A Bibliophile’s Style. Each week, one of the bloggers will choose one component from the previous week’s outfit to pass on in a brand new look. This “take one, pass it on” challenge is an inspiration to stretch your closet and your imagination!

Oh, Alex! You are a goddess! Last week, she looked particularly season-appropriate with her fall color palette and snuggly pieces.

But what makes her deity-like in my eyes is the prompt she left for me. This week is brought to you by: “polka dots, a vest, yellow, or something she made herself". And for your viewing pleasure, I give you: something I made myself.

You all should be aware by now that one of the reasons I've taken a hiatus from regularly blogging is because I wanted to pursue other interests. And one of the major "other interests" I've been indulging in is learning how to sew. Specifically, learning how to make my own clothes. Now, I could get on my high horse, preach ethical fashion practices, and get all holier-than-thou on you, but that's not my style. Plus, all that is explained articulately and non-preachily here. Instead, how about I show off my latest hand-crafted item, which makes me not only totally prompt-compliant (thank you again, Alex, for making this week super easy for me!) but also helps me celebrate the beginning of the fall TV season and the return of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (my one, consistent, network TV guilty pleasure).

Yep, you're seeing correctly: those are chibi Marvel superheroes on my dress. Aren't they a hoot? I knew I had to buy the fabric as soon as I saw it on eBay. I'd already made a TARDIS skirt (blog feature to come some day) and I had a hankering to create clothing that represented all my fandoms. Now that I have the rudimentary skill set to do just that and not have to resort to paying exorbitant amounts on Etsy, there's just no stopping me. The only problem I have now is running out of fandoms!

I did choose to tone down the potential twee-ness of the print by pairing the dress with a sedate pussy bow blouse and sensible shoes. This way, I can convince myself that I'm being age and work appropriate while still retaining that bit o' whimsy that seems to be invading my fashion sensibilities the older I get. But, let's be honest: even if I was teetering on the edge of "questionable", I'd still proudly sport this outfit because a. I made it myself without b. following the pattern directly (had to make alterations based on my own body shape, which isn't as easy as it sounds) and c. POCKETS!