Me-Made May 2019: Intro
This is my first year participating in Me-made May and I’m so excited! I’m actually surprised I never did it in the past — but this is the first year that I really have a substantial handmade wardrobe so it feels like a good time to start. I love a good short-term commitment or thing to celebrate. Handmade garments are something that I like to celebrate and think deeply about all year long, but that sort of energy isn’t quite sustainable 24/7. It’s nice to have these community touchstones as a chance to re-group and celebrate communally. I love #slowfashionoctober for that reason too — though Me Made May is even more focused.
If you aren’t familiar with it, Me Made May was begun ten years ago now by Zoe of “So Zo, what do you know?.” She’s on instagram at @sozoblog. Me Made May isn’t a photo challenge like so many Instagram based challenges end up being, but rather a chance to make a commitment to yourself that you define about how you’ll wear clothes for the month of may. Obviously the emphasis is on handmade clothing, but the way you go about it is totally up to you. You write a “pledge” to yourself (and post it in the comments on her blog so as to make a public declaration) and then you go forth!
I really like this approach. Rather than a challenge, it feels more like an invitation. The pledge can be anything. It’s self-defined. How do you want to spend this month? How would this opportunity be beneficial for you? No more, no less than what you want it to be, with the added joy of having other people around you talking and thinking about the same things. All wonderful!
I’ve been thinking about my pledge. I hadn’t settled on one before I sat down to write this. I just released the All Well Bucket Bag TODAY which is a huge project wrapped up for the time being. I’m really exhausted and really excited about making things, an interesting combination to be beginning the month with. I want to make myself some new pairs of pants because those are a noted hole in my handmade wardrobe — but what else? I think also I just want to keep clarifying my personal style. Which outfits feel amazing, which ones feel meh. For every day I dress intentionally (which honestly isn’t everyday, most days I stay in my housecoat longer than I would like to admit!) I will document what I wear. I’m planning to do weekly recaps on the blog and also post outfits on Instagram (in the stories at least!). But this isn’t a pledge, it’s just some loosely formed thoughts. I need to solidify it into a statement. Here goes.
My pledge: I, Amy, sign up as a participant of Me-Made May 2019. I endeavor to pay attention to how and when I wear handmade clothes, to update my Handmade Wardrobe Index with recent additions, to pull out some of my lesser-worn handmades and give them another go, to publicly document when it feels fun to, to make some more pants (a known wardrobe hole!), and to CELEBRATE!
You can see my Handmade Wardrobe Index here in this post below, and you can see the full page with more information here. This needs updating, but its amazing to see all the garments I’ve made all lined up together. It’s a lot of things! I definitely need more pants, and I need to weed out the things that don’t work well and make more of the things that I really love wearing. That’s what this month is all about! I’m really looking forward to it!
