My great niece is getting married the end of September. It's in the afternoon and dress is not casual but not dressy either. So Pam, the grandmother, and I went to a mall yesterday to try and find some nice dresses, something above shapeless wear around the house but below cocktail, plus we didn't want to spend a lot of money for dresses that would probably only get worn once. OMG. Needless to say we came away empty handed. The selection was dismal and everything was that stretchy synthetic slinky jersey which does our 70+ year old bodies no favors and the majority of everything was black or navy or orange large print and/or ruffled. If we wanted cocktail or formal, lots to choose from but a nice day dress, not so much. Pam found one dress that she liked enough on the hanger to bother trying on and, um, no.
We passed one shop, several actually, that had some questionable garments. Like this.
I hate to call it a dress, well, actually I called it a 'fuck me' dress. If it was an inch shorter there would be no secrets, baby come on in, the door's open. How do you sit in something like that or bend over or even squat without showing off everything that's not already exposed? Or this one, the front of which had the entire midriff exposed.
Or the one I didn't take a picture of which was a top and long pants both of which were completely sheer. And, you know, I'm not a prude, if you want to go around nearly naked, I'm OK with that and I wore my share of mini-skirts in my youth. It's just that the clothes weren't even all that attractive. And then there were the short short Daisy Dukes with frayed hems and tears for $50. My advice is go to the thrift store, buy a faded pair of too small jeans, cut the legs off at the crotch, take a razor to what's left, throw them in the wash and you'll have the same thing for about $2.
Alrighty then.
Here's the body of the box de-molded.
And after being washed with vinegar. I think it came out a little darker than the sample but that seems to be how it goes these days.
And with the top and corals (nothing is permanently attached) so we can see how it's shaping up.
Tomorrow I'll start grinding the excess off the bottom of the box and the rest of the excess off the inlay. Then it's polishing all the pieces that need it, fitting the inlay, fitting the feet, and glueing it all together. Fortunately starting tomorrow high temps will only be in the low 90s for the next week.
That little bit of rain we got last week caused the yellow rain lilies to pop out yesterday. This is the most I've ever had.
Those clothes are amazingly unwearable! But the box is definitely looking very good.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lot of work is left on the box! I do like it. I'm glad you didn't buy something off the rack and look forward to what you find in the closet.
ReplyDeletedepending on how soon the event is you could order something online from organic cotton wear there are many to choose from. The mall shopping here is equally as dismal as yours, Trash!
ReplyDeleteYour box is so miraculous! Skills- you have got them!! That is a million- five box!!
My gosh, I'm astounded by those yellow rain lilies. They're gorgeous. I'll have to stop by the only place I've ever seen them -- Armand Bayou -- and see if they're made an appearance. We got 2" of rain this evening, so they ought to be feeling pretty good. That box is gorgeous. As soon as I saw it, I thought of Caribbean waters. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteGee, and I thought you were the adventurous type, Ellen. I was sure you'd want to take a picture of yourself in one of those dresses and post it on line! As for your box - it looks AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteWow! I haven't been to a mall in years. I guess that the Kardashians' style sense has permeated the market. Ugh and ugh and ugh. This is why I shop online.
ReplyDeleteEllen, you have made a Cozumel box! It is so beautiful.
Hey, I wore hot pants back in the day but, of course, I can't wear any of those fashions now! We do sound like a bunch of old ladies, Ellen, altho the styles DO get crazier and crazier! I wore some VERY short dresses back in the 60s and 70s cuz I thought I had good legs (with nylon stockings on, of course). I recently threw away a bag of nylons and stockings as I haven't worn them in years.
ReplyDeleteThat box will look fabulous! I love the colors you have chosen and can't wait to see the finished product.
As did I. I was making my own clothes then and I had several little dresses that barely covered my butt. Walking to class one day in college along the street in one of those dresses with my long hair when I heard a car crash into another car behind me. The guy walking toward me said 'that's your fault' as he passed me by. I could show off my legs but I was, still am, very small breasted. I could never wear anything that showed off cleavage because I didn't have any.
DeleteYou made me laugh out loud, thank you for that. I think the same things on the very rare occasion when I go to the Mall to try to find something new to wear. I cannot believe the crazy crap they are selling. If my sister-in-law didn't give me her hand-me-downs, I would have nothing to wear these days. She shops online at Kohls. I don't know how she does it, but she finds some actual wearable stuff.
ReplyDeleteI try to recall when I last went into a shopping mall or similar for clothing? At least a decade ago. Long before covid, I started to do all clothes shopping, from sox to underwear to coats and so on, online, including decent second hand stuff. You get the hang of it regarding size etc, after a while.
ReplyDeleteThe box looks so promising!
Oof - those dresses are ridiculous. My step-mother buys me dresses all the time out of a catalogue - you might have to go that route (or, you know, online like most people would do now). That box is GORGEOUS!!! Yowza!
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comments on the dresses, I'm still laughing. :) The box is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about those dresses. Imagine my reaction when I saw my 15 and 13 year old granddaughters waering ones like the first one. Their mother seemed to think it was okay. They were also sporting false eyelashes and too much make-up for anybody. I told my son I was glad neither of them had hemorrhoids or we would all be looking at them. It was that stretchy fabric that tends to ride up and they were constantly pulling on the hem. This woman who is my EX daughter-in-law and very tiny was dressed like a child. I had not seen the girls in 3 years when she accused me of trying to kill their cat and forbade me to see them, but stalks me incessantly and will not leave me alone. I have issues will her parenting style and have been very vocal (imagine that, me, saying what I think) about it. For whatever reason she is fascinated by our family. We have all blocked her texts and phone calls, as well as Facebook. She is the reason I put comment approval on my other blog. I was astounded that she would show up at my son's house and simply walk in! His fiance and her family was there with us and we all just stared at her like she was an alien. She spoke, but no one responded.
ReplyDeleteI think the box is looking great!
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom lamenting years ago that she couldn't buy clothes in shops -- that nothing was made for her. I think it's true that most retailers shoot for a youthful demographic and young people unfortunately WILL buy skimpy garments of dubious taste, because they don't know any better!
37paddington:
ReplyDeleteWhat to wear to weddings always just about does me in. The box is looking lovely.