I spend most of my time daydreaming about clothes. How I feel about my own clothes is important to consider, but is easily left unexamined. I felt it might do me some good to sit down and think about my current wardrobe preferences, and while I'm at it why not share? The pandemic has affected all of us in unexpected ways. We at Ureshii have been lucky enough to continue working from home thanks to all of you who purchased from us and helped spread the word!
My sewing uniform. Not my everyday sewing machine.
Rarely leaving my house for the past year has changed how I get dressed. Some of the basic pillars of my wardrobe sensibility have fallen away. 'Flattering' seems to have lost all meaning, comfortable has become a new word, and pockets have multiplied.
It partly comes down to frequency of outfit building. If I am going to leave the house once this week I am going to wear the thing that I am most excited to put on my body, dammit! Are these amazing yellow cords flattering? Definitely not. Do I want to wear them? Yes.
I'm questioning why 'flattering' was important to me in the first place. Did it ever get me anything except sore feet and uncomfortable belly rolls? Was the positive/negative attention I received any more/less rewarding than the attention I will receive for not attempting to dress in a way that is 'flattering' to my figure?
I'm wearing a mask. I cut myself bangs. I have rebelled completely against my "speak up, get your hair out of your face" youth. I have even started unfolding the cuffs on my sweaters to cover my hands. I feel safer like this. I don't have to please anyone and they don't have to see how I feel, or even know who I am. I have retained the ability to speak up, though. That's especially important while wearing the mask!
Summer 2020, with Eldest.
In the past I've attempted to provide garments that fit well to people of all sizes. For me, fit meant referencing some part of the body. It meant choosing something to highlight. Now this feels like a toolkit I am in possession of, a service I'm happy to provide to others, but I'm not sure it is still part of my personal philosophy.
Summer 2010, with TallBoy (at the time, 'SmallBoy').
I still want to dress in colourful clothes, varied textures, and unusual prints. I still want my colours and prints to get along. But I'm no longer trying to make this 5'5" frame look taller or thinner or feminine.
To me, comfortable no longer means "as comfortable as possible while still meeting other requirements." All of the other requirements have drifted off. I have lost interest in any kind of restriction, no more heels or ponytails or bras. I've switched entirely to bralettes, and for me anyways, those are only for leaving the house or wearing in warmer weather when I am not encased in the worlds largest wool sweater. 2020 was the first year that I chose warm over cute winter footwear, and it turns out no one is looking at my feet.
Some of you who have been reading my writing for a few years will be surprised to learn that my pocket sensibilities have swung entirely in the other direction. I have been putting pockets in/on everything, including pyjama shirts. This means that I can spend ten minutes looking for something that I am literally wearing on my body. I have yet to come up with a strategy for pocket management.
I think the interesting part in all of this is that I still want to make clothes. I am still skill building and designing, planning new garments and going back to improve old ones. It is not that I no longer care what I wear or how I look. Quarantine has just relaxed my desire to be perceived a certain way, freed me.
This change in my own preferences has carried through to our Ureshii work. For the last few months we have been going through and filling gaps in our offerings that provide a wider range of fits and less gendered options. We are also experimenting with flat photos of our products to show each garment and separating the garment itself from its relation to my body specifically.
I celebrate all of you and how you choose to dress your body. I promise that I will continue to do my best to help you achieve your wardrobe goals. All of our love and support to all of our people,
xoxo -E