Reflecting on Me Made May 2020
I haven’t written for over a month. So much has been happening in the world. Black lives matter; here in Australia as well as in the USA (and elsewhere).
**************
When I signed up to take part in Me Made Made, I hoped that it would get me out of the ‘tracksuit and ugg boots’ routine that I’d quickly fallen into during covid-19 lockdown. I figured that there were other clothing combinations in my wardrobe that would also be warm and comfortable, but might also lift my spirits a little. I gave myself the challenge to choose an outfit each day that required shoes rather than ugg boots, and was based around a scarf/shawl/wrap that was either hand-crocheted (by me) or hand-knitted (by mum).
As you can tell from the photos, Melbourne was pretty cold during May! I needed an additional layer on top of those to do anything outdoors, and there’s generally an additional warm layer of some type underneath each one. Activity wise, during May I worked from home, went for an evening walk a couple of times per week, went to the supermarket once each week, and by the end of May I was able to meet up with friends for coffee in a local park. All these outfits worked well for those activities, and made me feel a little more like ‘me’. Some outfit combinations worked better than others – actually, some are very well tried and true – and I found a few new ones that I’ll repeat in the future.
Do we dress for ourselves, or do we dress for others? So many people have talked about how they have ‘let themselves go’ during covid-19 lockdown, eschewing makeup, fancy hairdos, hair dye, wearing their regular clothes, etc, often because ‘no-one is going to see me’. So why do we normally do and wear these things? Many of us would say ‘I do it for myself’ – but if we’re no longer doing it because no-one is going to see it, were we ever really doing it for ourselves? I felt better psychologically when I was doing Me Made May and making more of an effort with my clothing – but what is the chicken and the egg in that situation? Was I dressing ‘better’ because I was feeling better, or vice versa? I don’t have the answers to any of these questions, but it interests me to ponder.
You may have also spotted a few garments in the above photos that haven’t been blogged yet – I’ll get on to that soon! I have some catching up to do.
I really love your style, especially your use of bright colors. Seeing all those lovely crocheted items makes me wish I could coax my arthritic hands into happily holding a hook again😍
Thank you! I actually have rheumatoid arthritis (mostly in remission) and found that crochet was something that wasn’t as hard on my hands as some other crafts, and kept them mobile. I make sure that I use ergonomic hooks; they help a great deal, and yarn choice also makes a difference to me. It’s so frustrating though when your body won’t let you do your favourite activities!
Hi Lara, your outfits are outstanding. U look fabulous and have a great eye for color combinations. Are u an artist as well? Your many crocheted scarves/shawls are awe inspiring. Your month of outfits were more exciting than the current issue of Vogue magazine.!!! Great work all around
That’s a lovely comment Claire. I am far from an artist (my day job is actually highly administrative and rule-following) but I really do enjoy colour and texture.
I have to agree with the 2 previous comments, the colors, the shapes, the scarves! Please tell us about your scarves/shawls! Thanks for sharing and inspiring me!
Thanks so much Andi! All my crochet is on my Ravelry page https://www.ravelry.com/projects/thornberry Mum’s knitted scarves and shawls are mostly patterns by Truly Myrtle or by Tikkiknits.
All your outfits are wonderful Lara.
My 3 favourites in order are
1) 2nd column, 6th row.
2) 1st column, bottom row.
3) 1st column, 5th row
Thanks Pearl! That’s interesting, you’ve favourited some that I also like a great deal but others that I didn’t feel worked all that well!
I love your style Lara! And its so hard to know who we dress for – I personally believe that ugg boots go with everything!
We possibly all dress for different people/reasons/situations at different times. And I’m wearing ugg boots right now….
Lovely as usual, Lara. The clothing question is certainly a conundrum. I agree with Michelle’s comment that ugg boots go with everything, but I don’t own any. Therefore, I’ve worn a variety of footwear during lockdown, including crocs (hangovers from my days as a rowing parent). The comfort factor is crucial for me, so I would wear to work what I wear at home if I thought other people wouldn’t make adverse comments 😀
I own many pairs of shoes and boots, so needed to make sure that I wore them! I got rid of any that were uncomfortable a year or so ago – I agree, the comfort factor is crucial!
What a beautiful lot of colour in your wardrobe. Also, you have a very impressive scarf / shawl / wrap collection.
One of the great things about scarves and shawls is that they always fit, and that they don’t really go out of style! I often buy them when travelling too; they’re a terrific souvenir.
I love your style! At the age of 65ish, I now dress for myself. I have given up on trying to please others in all aspects. Turns out nobody was dressing for me. Ha! Ha! Ha! I am a lot happier now. I love to crochet so I really appreciate seeing how you pull together crocheted pieces with your outfits. Thank you for the inspiration. You are beautiful!
Crochet really is a terrific craft – especially for accessories! I love your comment about having given up trying to please others. That’s a key thing to do.
Oh wow! Generally I love your clothes, and especially your use of color. But we don’t usually see much of your scarves, because of course one doesn’t like to obscure the clothes one is blogging about. You have such a beautiful collection, and it’s so fascinating to see it in action, it’s a wonderful theme. It’d have been fine to show it all with ugg boots though, just as a concession to comfort 😁, foot happiness is a solid basis for the more general kind of happiness. Now I’m feeling inspired to attack a new pair of crochet slippers to make quarantine more generally satisfying..
I haven’t crocheted slippers; now I am thinking that I should! You’re right about my photos not usually showing scarves – yes, the reason is that I try to make the clothes that I’m blogging about easy to see. But in reality I wear a scarf most days once the weather has cooled down, and in summer I generally have a light weight scarf or a necklace of some sort. And I do love shoes (I have quite a collection).
A great selection of memade, love the colors and the matching scarfs. I am always interested in your makes, because we seem to have similar measurements, although I think I am a bit more busty. Some of your makes went on my sewing lists.
Glad that my memade posts were helpful to you! I find it really useful to see clothes on people who have similar measurements or shape to me too.
Love your style! I always like checking out what you made. Your crochet inspired me to try crochet and I absolutely love it. Your May outfits are making me take a second look at some patterns. However since I live in Canada, our winter/summer seasons are out of sync with yours, I can’t always sew up/wear your inspirations right away. Hope you keep blogging!
So good to hear that you’re enjoying crochet! I find it really meditative. And yes, I’ll keep blogging!
Lovely to see your lovely colourful outfits, I’m so glad you got to celebrate the beautiful scarves.
Thanks Ruthie! I do like colour.
Lara, seeing your love of color in these many outfits is wonderful. I love your scarves and shells and hats. So inspiring!
Thanks Cherie. I reckon that I could wear hats more often – I tend not to unless it’s really cold as I always find that I can’t hear as well with a hat on!
I was absolutely dressing for myself in our lockdown (and I am so jealous of your scarf collection, mine numbers a total 6 and I wear them heaps in the winter months for that extra bit of warmth round the neck that is so easy to layer) Most fridays and weekend evenings I’d shower and change into something fabulous – JUST BECAUSE. and I sewed myself some super stylearc goodies in the process too. I dress less fabulously right now that I can go out – must get back into the awesomeness again.
That extra layer around the neck makes a huge difference to warmth! I am so impressed that you changed into something fabulous just because! Yes, return to the awesomeness!
Wow! You and your mom are so talented, and what a nice way to showcase it. Thanks!
Wow. You are so terrific!!!