Teenage Dreams

While randomly cleaning up one of my super-organised piles on the floor, I stumbled on some gems from the Benjamin of the past that I had to share with you.

First, a set of old fashion magazines,

including a French Kiss gifted to me by a friend on an exchange program at Wits (I actually get teary thinking about how awesome that semester of IHRE was!!)

I want this dress SO badly!!

Second, yet ANOTHER sewing manual. You can never have too many, and if you ever see ANY edition of the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing BUY IT IMMEDIATELY!! It’s out of print, and is probably the best introductory to intermediate level sewing manual ever produced. I can’t tell you how much of my skills originated from this book, and how often I refer to it when in doubt over just how exactly to perfect that difficult seam

Last, and of most entertainment, I found my old look book. All of the images have been removed (why, or to where I’m afraid I can’t say) except the two below. From my best estimates I made these at about 16, and got a good looking friend of mine to pose at another (photographer) friend’s house.

I giggle a bit to see my early fascination with asymmetry, and my first attempts at playing with dye (the black fabric was scrunched, then bleached), and also remember with fondness the fact that a lot of detail here I did by hand simply because I didn’t know how it would be achieved by machine. It obviously marked the beginning of my love of hand stitching!

In an uncharacteristic moment of Oprah emotions: be patient readers, what you dream as a teenager can sometimes come to fruition randomly as an adult after loosing your job with 12 day’s notice 😉