embellishment

After writing a previous post, I started pondering the concept of embellishments on garments. Personally, I have always loved looking at the embellishinment that other sewists use on their garments. Since I started blogging, and started reading many other sewist's blogs, I have found a new appreciation for embellishing garments. I feel that the right type of embellishment gives a garment a special presence and a definite individuality that the fabric alone may not provide. However, I have always been reluctant to embellish my own garments. Why, you may ask? The answer is simple: my beloved grandmother. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my grandmother to pieces. The problem is that she is one of those who OVER-embellishes. And when I say she over-does it, I mean she REALLY over-does it!! She lives by the philosophy that more is better, while I have always lived by the philosophy that less is more (thanks to my mother, who feels the same way I do about her mother's taste in embellishment). I think the better philosophy is probably somewhere in between because my wardrobe screams for "a little something extra", although dear granny's screams for a little breathing room.

I am making a conscious effort to slowly start incorporating embellishments, when appropriate, into the planning stages of future garments. It's not my personality to embellish everything, as many sewists out there can do with such class and beauty, but I definitely see a need for a little "something extra" in my wardrobe. With a baby on the way, I'll have "something extra" in my life - so why not my clothes? Close one chapter and open a new one...I can always reinvent myself as the glamorous diva I've always wanted to be :)