Show & Tell – A White Maxi Wrap Dress

In the Flow

This is proving to be a very creative period for me. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but all I can say is that the current ‘flow state’ I continue to find myself in at the moment, is a much welcomed distraction from the harsh realities of our world at present.

Whilst I’m not completely numb to whats going on (I think that would be near impossible), I have found great solace in the hours I find myself immersed in my creative processes. And I’m enjoying the ability to create, simply because.

Whilst I feel very fortune to have some ongoing work projects which I still need to focus on, (and feel glad to be in a creative headspace to work on those too), I also for the first time in a while, am spending ample amounts of time on non work related creative projects.

Usually it’s the never ending story of ‘I don’t have the time’, or it’s the case of not quite being in the mood. But right now, I find myself in this strange position where I both do and am; A rare occurrence of happenstances, aligning together in unity. It’s almost like the complete opposite of a creative block (of which I’ve had more than my fair share of course), the solar eclipse of creative happening shall we say. No excuse shall suffice for me in this instance, and nor am I coming with any either.

An Old Hobby

I used to sew, and craft and make ‘things’. In fact, if you’ve been around these parts long enough, you may even remember that I used to make bags for a time; A hobby which I tried to develop into a job and if I’m quite honest, soon after lost interest in (a reminder that not all hobbies should be monetized).

I’ve had a sewing machine for as long as I can remember, and with no official training or actual knowledge of how things should be done, I taught myself as I went and started to make things…and found I rather enjoyed it.

There’s a unique satisfaction in the process of having an idea in your mind come to life. I find I often think of things but don’t always put in the time to make them come to fruition. And quite possibly not every idea in my mind is worth pursuing, nor would I have the time to fully conceptualise and create every single thing. But I’m sure more than a few good ideas or creative projects have fallen to the way-side just because I didn’t take the time to develop them. And I’m not just talking about work related things here, but also just because things, things purely for the beauty and things purely for the joy.

I’d said to myself for a while I’d wanted to make a long floaty wrap dress. I just wanted something elegant and ethereal that I could swan around the house in (as you do) and maybe wear down the street somewhere hot, like on holiday.

Making clothes doesn’t necessarily come easy to me (like I said, no training) and it is time consuming – oh so veeerry time consuming – but there’s nothing quite as rewarding than putting something on that you can say you made yourself.

Yesterday afternoon I couldn’t focus for the idea of getting this wrap dress out of my head and into the world as a fully formed creation. Of course I don’t claim to have invented this style of dress and it’s a pretty standard and overall straightforward design as far as dresses go, but still, for me it felt great to see something I’d worked in come to fruition.

A just for fun project, purely for the joy of it, just for me. It took quite a while longer than I’d expected. I started it yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning, working out the design as I went. Working on the finishes and then hemming the edges by hand was the longest part. But I will say it really made me re-appreciate the time it takes to make a garment and all the work that goes into even the most ‘simple’ looking piece. Anyway, I don’t want to waffle on too much longer, as I fear this quick post to say ‘here I made a dress’ is turning into another one of my contemplative monologues…

So look, I made a dress! And it took flippin’ ages, and yes, I am going to wear it all the time now!

Samio x

Images shot by me. See more here – #SamiosSelfPortraits