Way back when this blog was a tiny newborn - still a class requirement for posting homework assignments rather than a place for sewing discussions - I wrote a post about how even though I'd really, really like to have a time machine, ultimately that whole 'born in the wrong era' attitude is actually total nonsense and there really is no time like the present.
If you want to get in deep with the psychology of that thing, here's the post. Okay. Got that out of your system? Perhaps I should warn you that what I have for you today is not nearly as deep. It is, however, pretty freakin' awesome, and very much not from The Now.
It's Flares! The eagle-eyed readers among you will recognize this denim - scored at a discount because of a flaw, it ended up turning into not one, but two pairs of Gingers (the first is here). Those were practical: these are the dreamy, retro styled, flower child, high waisted flared jeans of my technicolor dreams.
Although I wasn't around for the 70's, my parents were - and I've seen the pictures. (My mom, for the record, called these 'elephant bells' when she saw them on Skype, and my dad said he hadn't seen a pair like them since the very early 70's.)
Whether you call them flares, bell bottoms, or elephant bells, I was around for the 90's, and those jeans were still magically the height of fashion (at least in my little world - also Wikipedia says they made a resurgence in 1996 which sounds about right)- and I'm here today to tell you that they still are.
Jon says he positively won't be seen with me in public until I "fix them" but I'll just have my own fun - these puppies aren't going anywhere.
I snagged the Ginger flare extension when I originally bought the pattern, because obviously- I just though it was going to take me a little longer to get around to actually making them. Never have I been so happy to be wrong! When the extra denim presented itself, I knew exactly what it was destined to be. As I mentioned in the sister-jeans post, I actually made these at the same time, but I only had enough rivets for one pair, so I had to wait to order more.
Other than the following changes, construction went as well as it always does:
- Used my modified butt yoke piece with reduced height at CB
- Used my curved waistband adjustment to get rid of gaping
- Reduced width from thigh section (by a probably imperceptible amount)
- Added an extra 2" in leg length per my usual inseam requirements (I ended up removing some of it again but it was good to have)
- Added twice as many rivets as the pattern calls for, because I <3 Rivets
That's it! Nothing major or especially invasive, and those first two bullet points were adjustments I'd already saved from my high waisted Ginger muslin.
I used some fabulous flower-power quilting cotton for the pocket stays (forgot to take a picture of that too), reveled in the Grand Zipper Reveal like everyone always does, and just generally enjoyed the process! I did manage to hammer a hole in my denim as I was installing one of the butt-pocket rivets. I've stitched it up and we'll see how it wears, but it might just end up with a peace sign patch...
I'm a 90's child- some would say a millennial, although I mostly feel too old for that term because I have very distinct memories of what life was like Before Internet. Although I listen to a lot of 70's music, I definitely wasn't there to experience it firsthand. I really enjoy social history - learning about how the people before us grew up, the clothes they wore and the way their lives differed from ours. Although I like to surround myself with relics of those decades, I harbor no illusions that I'm more suited to an era other than this one. It's probably one of the greatest perks of the modern age that I can easily access information that allows me to immerse myself in history, and to recreate the bits of it that I adore: Like 70's flares and 50's party dresses, and an almost entirely historically accurate silk flapper costume, just 'cause.
This post seems really short for my usual wordy standard, but I've really got nothing to report aside from my general pleasure at having a pair of flares in my closet again - and a reinforced view of how awesome high-waisted anything is. Hopefully the weather dries up in time for next week's post!
