The Second-Skirt-Story

I like clothes just how I like people - with stories. However, I am not particularly fond of the story about the way of a skirt from a high-performing Asian factory to my wardrobe, or the (horror-)story about the percentage of its price the girl who had sewn it actually gets and how many bowls of rice she can afford from her income. Not even the story about me falling in love with a particular piece of clothing and week-long window-shopping until I finally save enough money to buy it is my favorite one. (Not that this has ever happened.)

I like the stories of things made by me.
The fabrics for the second skirt I have made so far were bought quite a long time before the first cut into them was made. It was a warm sunny day at the beginning of summer 2014 and me and the lovely Zuzka, who is my teacher in everything related to sewing, designing and putting into form what is only in my mind, went not only to buy some fabrics, but also to have a lesson about fabrics and how to pick the size, the material and how not to get screwed by the shopkeepers who usually think they know what you want better than you do.

What was supposed to be my first sewing project ended up hidden among other unused fabrics. Other things unexpectedly got high priority and I slowly forgot about the complete set once prepared to become a skirt.

Two years later, I stumbled across the purple plastic bag and opened both my eyes and mouth in big surprise. "THIS is the fabric I chose? No way!"

But what was I supposed to do? Coping with the decision Past Me has made was the only reasonable thing to do.

The fabric has shown me another level of slipperiness. It was like a soap-covered eel, it was as if its surface was made of mirror-smooth ice. It was like that one chance you let slip through your fingers and let vanish within moments. It was my fight for zen and reaching the mode of inner balance while sewing from a material laughing at my face and not co-operating with my sewing machine.

The right season has come and it`s time for the skirt to wave through the autumn air. I hope its story won`t end with an unhappy end and an encounter with the old nemesis of many beloved pieces of clothing - a nail casually waiting for its attack in the most unexpected places.

Yet I wish for many changes to nail it anyway with this skirt in the sunny autumn weather.

I hope at least that won't slip away so easily.