BEST OF 2021

[oulipien]

Most of my 2021 was spent ploughing the same few furrows as before, with the high points being finally getting some things I'd lusted after in the general "dark artisanal" area for a while: a pair of m_moria shoes (gorgeous) and some CCP and Deepti pieces, which I've been really into (albeit without a great many opportunities to wear them yet). At the same time, and in pretty stark contrast to the tight fit, "the clothes wear you" vibe of a lot of the "artisanal" stuff I'd been accumulating and especially of CCP, I got a loose, drapey hakama from Rosen and really dug it:

to the point of getting two more (from Yamamoto and Bishool, which seems to have a lot of loose flowy unisex stuff) and of overcoming the bifurcation hurdle and getting one skirt from My Beautiful Landlet and sewing another myself (a process that involved my having to really psych myself up to make the initial cuts in the fabric, since I … have basically no experience sewing clothes, and for that matter did make several admittedly venial mistakes):

In a way this is actually kind of annoying, because I'd managed to convince myself that I pretty much knew what I wanted and could really focus on just completing a wardrobe and sort of calling it a day, and now I'm beset by new interests.

 

[vespertiliovir]

I had a few highlights in 2021.

One was a Naissance Grizzly that I preordered from NMWA and received near the end of 2020. It’s by far the most expensive piece of clothing I own. While that initially gave me anxiety, I really feel — for lack of a better word — cool in it. I wear it nearly every day that temps are 30-60 F, which around here is basically November to March. I’ve gotten rid of a lot of other outwear as a result.

Another highlight was my first pair of black jeans, from COF via Standard and Strange. I had never thought of myself as a black jeans person, as lame as that sounds, but had wanted to see if I could venture beyond my comfort zone. I had seen several positive reviews of COF and was able to snag this pair on sale. I’ve reached for them more frequently than I ever anticipated, far more than my blue jeans.

The final highlight was the most significant: I became a father in November. It’s been an incredible if exhausting experience so far and makes clothes and everything else pale in comparison.

Happy New Year to all!

 

[zissou]

In terms of what I wore, I'm not sure I had a best of anything. Between working from home and in a backpack factory, I feel like I spent the entire year wearing old jeans and Buzz Rickson's sweatshirts.

With respect to my new career in apparel design, it was a stellar year, however. I was officially admitted to my program, took my first studio course, and saw my skills increase considerably. I've completed 85% of my new bachelors degree at this point. My studio instructor, who worked in the industry for 12 years, just mentioned that my tech pack (i.e., blueprints for making a garment) were the best she'd ever seen from a student. I spent much of my Christmas break redoing my online portfolio just as I've applied for apparel design summer internships with four major apparel companies. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I've set myself up well for beginning my new career with one of them.

Here are a few shots of the Harris Tweed and Ventile anorak that I patterned from my measurements and constructed for my studio class last semester. This was definitely my best of 2021.