Molly Bloom knows style

For the curious, here’s a look at my fashion line. It’s called First Resort. I hope you like it.

Do you like my new tunic? It’s part of my winter wardrobe effort. It’s by T-Bags and it’s drapey and soft and swoopy. The colors are unlike anything else in my closet and the gold touches around the teal add dimension to the superthin jersey fabric.

I like this top but the V-neck is way too low — it dips below the base of my brassiere. Safety pins are an option but they can look suspicious closing two inches of fabric. My solution was to add this giant gold-tone button to the pinning. Now I don’t have to buy gold accessories to match my hot new top. Behold my genius.

OK so maybe the photo needs a re-do. The shirt is way more fantabulous than it looks. I may have to start using an actual camera + tripod instead of my beloved Photobooth.

I have nothing to wear. This is embarrassing. I’m not quite sure how it happened.

Recently I went through my wardrobe to assess my cold-month options. I was looking for pants, heavier skirts and dresses, sweaters and long-sleeved shirts. I’ve gotten rid of some things in the last year because they were ratty or out of style. Or in the case of two identical, unfaded black tops: over-worn and over-photographed.

The results:
I have one two long-sleeve blouses and zero winter skirts. No wonder I can’t find a thing to wear. I have a few cardigans and sweaters that are still in great shape but sometimes pairing those with my multitude of short-sleeved blouses and T-shirts leaves me cold. I’m also down one raincoat from last year and San Franciscans need our raincoats.

I need to find an afternoon to get down on some skirts, stat. Last winter I wore skirts from the early days of my pattern-making program but their time has so passed. They’re very basic skirts, possibly sewn by blind monkeys.

Burning Man runways got a workout this year. This year’s trends included short, flouncy crinolines and wedgie-deep-up-your-bottom pants for women. There was omnipresent fake fur and metallic fabric. Men are still wearing coveralls, too-small dresses and [most unfortunately] fleece vests adorned with glowsticks. For those of you who write to ask when I’m going to feature some of my own creations, look no further: the dusty corset and bustle pictured above were made by me. Note the bowler hat accessorized with a headlamp.

I’m back from Ireland with stories to tell. What a wonderful country! The dress I made for Bloomsday was a hit and wasn’t too mangled in the travels. Stuffing the arms full of paper and the body of the dress with my shawl did the trick.

We started the day at the James Joyce Center, where foreign dignitaries and members of various literary societies read passages from Ulysses. I was interviewed by a reporter for the Irish Times who was doing a story on the festivities.

Next we headed to Davy Byrnes’ Pub, where Leopold has lunch in the book (”Mr Bloom ate his stripes of sandwich, fresh clean bread, with relish of disgust, pungent mustard, the feety savour of green cheese. Sips of his wine soothed his palate.”) The gorgonzola sandwich was actually delightful (hold the mustard, thanks) and went well with the Guinness we drank in place of the storied Burgundy. One of the servers said the pub had sold 500 of the cheese sandwiches that day.

Plenty of people at the pub wore period costume. One group held court in the back room singing old songs. Up front people took turns reading passages over the bar’s intercom system. There were men in waistcoasts (what we call vests) and women in Edwardian day clothes — big hats and blouses belted into layers of skirts. One Dubliner commented on my costume, “Loverly dress — bit posh idn’t it?”

And so went this Molly’s first Bloomsday. The real Molly Bloom wore bed clothes — she stayed in bed all day. But a nightgown wouldn’t have been as fun to make.

Couture school, day four.

This week I’m in couture school. I’ll be making a gown for myself. We’re learning how to work with lace, something I’ve never done. I completed the pattern and sewed it to muslin beforehand. I drafted a flat pattern for the bodice and draped the skirt. The dress will be a one-shoulder (a.k.a. Grecian neckline), floor-length gown with a bias skirt. The bodice will be covered in lace.

You can follow along here.