Prison Matrons and Sister Wives

I have a terrible habit of attaching a little catch phrase to a new outfit when I put it on.  "Sack of potatoes", "Billy Bunter" (that one's via my mother, from a fat fiction character of the 1930s - so probably via her mother too), "mutton dressed as lamb".  It's a dreadful thing to do to yourself, and worse if you've just spent a large chunk of precious free time crafting the item.  Because you will note that rarely is the tone upbeat or self congratulatory.

off with her skirt

The internet doesn't help, either, there's always a catchy new descriptor to add to the mix.  "Prison matron chic" caused me to commit this act, for example, (and if dresses were people I suppose I would be wearing the style for real).

Yes, I do still chop the bottom of dresses if I feel that they are misbehaving.  I really should hem her before she unravels completely (some things don't change).  But at least when I wear her now she feels ok.  As a dress she was a bit wretched.  I would have thought "prison matron chic' at lease once any time I wore her.  As a top I just admire the neckline, which was always my favourite part anyway.

And then there's this reasonably new top.  Made from another deep stash fabric, with origins lost in the mists of time.  But I think a reasonably good quality challis from Lincraft, from way  back in the day, when Lincraft had fabric, as opposed to crappy overpriced rags of tat. After saving this fabric for so long, it came so so close to "sister wife" territory in the making up.  In the wrong company it can still look .. just puffy and wrong.  But here, I think we, the fabric and me, we've just pulled it off, with the assistance of this high waisted skirt from pre blogging days.

The shirt is the second one from a pattern based on burda 2010.10.119.  I was watching the second series of "The Hour" and while I should have been worrying about the plot and the characters, I was obsessing about the blouse that Bel was wearing, in at least 2 colour versions. 

(Naughty migrants! Poor exploited show girls! Oh, no, will Freddy die?  Oooooh blouses)
 

So I adapted a burda to make it and the first one has been a great work top.  I've pondered how it escaped the sister wife curse, and I can only conclude that the slight translucence of the fabric tipped it away from that zone.




Sister wifedom.  prison matron chic.  One poor fabric/pattern matchup choice away.