1st Week of January 2013 – Inspiration

So, on my daily adventure to pay attention to what catches my eye and WHY, I have decided that my favorite every week will end up not just here, but in some project.  It’s a little hard to tell from this week’s pick, but the sweater is NOT orange as it may appear, but rather a really beautiful salmon color.  OK, so some of you are saying that ‘salmon’ is a shade of orange, and I think you are correct, but this did not READ as orange, but a lovely, soft, sherbet kind of color.  I’m sure people thought I was off my rocker, taking pics of store windows at Birch Run, Michigan’s outdoor mall, but I was really struck by the texture of the skirt, the tiny black line belt, and the softness of the salmon sweater.  The skirt is a very nubby tweed with gray, tan, black, brown, and a little bit of cream. 

 What about this made me stop and really look closely?  What grabbed my attention was the way the salmon color glowed, really warm and yummy on a cold, winter’s day and the CONTRAST to a very classic fabric and cut of the skirt.  I’ve never been a fashionista or particularly followed what’s hot and what’s not in fashion, but a couple of things this week in fashion caught my eye, and I think I might have to pay more attention to the DESIGN elements of current fashion.  Give me comfy jeans and a t-shirt to work in and sew in, and I’m a happy camper, especially if there’s a pot of soup on the stove while I’m working, BUT, next time I go to the book store, I might sit down for 20 minutes with a couple of the fashion magazines…just to see what catches my eye.

Now the tougher part of my personal challenge…how did this make me feel?  Was I inspired?  On a cold, windy, winter day, this lovely salmon sweater brought to mind spring tulips.  It was a little seed of hope in a rather gray day, and I like hope.  It made me wonder for a moment, “What would possess a developer to build an OUTDOOR walking mall in MICHIGAN?”  It can be darn cold and snowy here for many months out of the year, but I quickly dismissed this train of thought, since I was there shopping – and focused on ‘hope’ – which this outfit inspired.

Happy Sewing,

Beth

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