New, New, New! Mine, Jeans, and Doubts.

After a week, more than a week(?) of interruptions, chores, distractions, and other obsessions, I finally returned to Mine yesterday.  

In the end, sewing on the beads was the least of it.  I spent far more time coming to terms with the actual sweater and my own feelings about it.  

It is not that I don't love the sweater, I do, in some abstract sense.  I love the sweater when it is lying flat on the table (shown here immediately after sewing and unblocked).  I love the drape and the texture and the pretty beads.  It was only when I started to try to wear the sweater that my dreams ran smack dab into a wall of reality and the results were not exactly pretty.  

First of all, I realize now that some of my dreams of Mine were purely in my imagination.  I envisioned something, but I was ignoring certain clues.  I wanted to wear the sweater in a certain way.  I pictured it with a certain type of top, over a certain pair of pants I own,  I probably also imagined said sweater being worn by a certain idealized version of myself which is not particularly compatible with the person who looks back from my mirror.  

I  wanted to wear this top layered with a longer tee underneath.  When I tried it on, before sewing on the beads, this was possible, and not at all surprising as I had read the schematics in the pattern book and had a good idea where the sweater length would hit on me.  But I was not thinking about the visual evidence from the pattern photo. 

Notice how long the openings are at the neckline and the arm.  Notice the length of the sweater on the model.  There is a good bit of length and drape on that sweater.  And the weight of the beads definitely  add to this length.  The body of the sweater itself is unchanged, but the beads do cause the neckline and armholes to hang down from the weight.

I am not really complaining about that, I like the look.  But the added length changes the entire length of the sweater, and I did not fully take that into consideration.  At first I considered shortening it, but as I tried on outfit after outfit yesterday afternoon I realized, slowly, that the problem was more with my "idea" of the sweater than with the sweater itself.  The solution is obviously to find a way to wear the actual sweater, not the virtual sweater that lived in my head.

My original plans for Mine were a dismal failure.  Then began the long process of finding something that did work.  Many outfits, and hundreds of photos later, this is what I came up with.

I'll just start out by saying that the intended pants-to-wear-with-Mine, were a failure, so then my next project was to see what might work.  I was still running the idea of a tee as an under-layer through my brain.   That proved problematic as well.

First of all, most of my knit tops have the wrong neckline to wear with this sweater, as you can see in the photos on the lower left and upper right.  I need a deeper scoop on the neckline, and a longer tee.  To be long enough to peek below Mine, a tee would have to be 30 inches (long torso) which means I would have to make it, not in and of itself a problem, but I am still cautious about whether I would actually like the finished result.  Of course I could make a long tee, and if I didn't like it just cut it shorter.

Of the tee-based looks.  I think the black outfit is best.  Although you can't see it well here, I still think a little touch of the under-layer peeking beneath the sweater would be better.  The jeans look is questionable, and I doubt even a long tee would help, although it might if it were a loose, soft tee with drape. 

The jeans are also new, you can see the label peeking out in the bottom photo, and I was trying to figure out if this is a look that works for me, or if they are getting shipped back to the store on Monday.  The fit is good, which surprised me, and G loves them.  I am inclined to think that my rear-end is still a bit too ample for these jeans, although the top look, with the crisp shirt is much better.

I think the two looks with the shirt look much better with Mine.  I took my inspiration from the pattern photo, which is shown with a cotton blouse or shirt.  I didn't have anything appropriate in my closet so I borrowed one of G's shirts for this shoot.  It is a bit big through the shoulders and long in the sleeves,  but I think it worked well here.

I like the picture with the shirt and the flare leg jeans best.  The wider pants and heels make my legs look longer, and I am perhaps more comfortable with the more covered, less fitted look.  But I wonder if perhaps it is just a bit too baggy and my preference for this look speaks more to my own body-image issues than to how it actually looks.  The look with the jeans definitely gives more of a sense that there is a person under all that fabric. Of course the rolled up jeans and the long shirt do nothing to lengthen my legs, but I do like the jeans better with the longer top, and I like the spirit of this look even if I am undecided as to whether I can pull it off.  I am wondering if showing some shape is better than shapeless with long legs.  I need to think about this a little more.

In the end it is too hot to wear Mine now that summer has finally arrived.  I think the best solution is to let it sit in my closet until fall comes around and then decide what works best.  Maybe by then my efforts at exercise will have gotten beyond just trying to build up stamina and have yielded some body-image enhancing results.

Comments

[materfamilias]

I love the vest itself -- the beading is fabulous!
I like the spirit, at the very least, of the top left photo, down to the jean cuffs. What is distracting me is the extra horizontal lines of the barring on the shoes -- I wonder about a nude shoe and a bare leg. . .
I'm impressed at how methodical, analytical, thoughtful you are about the whole process.

[Gina]

Hmm...don't I know this all too well? The Maarit Shrug is my most recent example. I think trying on (and photographing) all of your clothing options with Mine was a stroke of genius. I will have to do that more in the future as well.

The new jeans (lower left) are super flattering.

[Barbara at Cat Fur]

Mardel, "Mine" is a beautiful piece, and I think to showcase it best, you would want to show it over a noncontrasting color. A grey camisole underlayer (yes, just an underlayer) would provide modesty coverage. With bare arms, over grey straight leg pants and grey or black heels it would be gorgeous. Alternatively, for colder weather, layer it over a grey low-necked t-shirt and tight fitting pants and flats or heels. Beautiful work!

[Susan]

What a great post. Vision vs. reality is a problem for me, too. I love those photos--it's like getting to peek in on a dressing room. They provoke fun memories of shopping trips with my girlfriends. As to shopping--where are you shopping? I can usually find long t-shirts that are scoop-neck or v-neck. Granted, they are not long enough for you, but I wear a smaller size. I'm sure the larger sizes are even longer. Take Mine shopping and you might find the perfect t-shirt or shirt, maybe a long one with wide sleeves. It's a pretty sweater and deserves to be shown off. As to those jeans--I assume if you keep them, you plan to cut off that cuff and hem them? I think it's the cuff that makes your legs look shorter.

[K-Line]

I really like it in the bottom right photo - the line of the blouse with the vest are good. And the jeans look terrific. (Don't forget to go to the Gap and try on others!) I do think the cut of the vest (in the waist area) is challenging but you're working it well. Maybe a belt of some sort would highlight your waist while you get to show off that lovely beading.

[karent]

I like the bottom right, don't know why, but it appeals to me more. Sometimes these things do need to cook, or age, or mature in the mind. I think you have the bones of getting it right, though! K