Tangerine Tango - Clothing I Have Made

So many people seem surprised that Tangerine Tango was picked at the top of the Color Forecast for 2012.

As I look back I realize I also have been making clothing with it for many years and also buying clothing in the exact color.


I made this pleated wool skirt and vest in the late 50's. It would be right in style for 2012 - both colorwise and style wise.


OHHHHHHH, pretty polyester double knits - I would guess I made it over 35 years ago. I felt so great when I wore this halter dress. I can hand this down to my great great great grandchildren as the fabric will never wear out!


I would guess I made this body suit about 25-30 years ago as that is when they came into style to prevent blouses pulling out and looking messy. The hat was made to match a raincoat that has long since disappeared. I felt I needed something BRIGHT on those rainy cloudy Wisconsin days.



A friend of mine called this "The Safety Patrol Dress". This was made about 30 or more years ago when color blocking was big.

Yes, what comes around goes around. Some say fashion repeats itself in 20-25 year cycles and these fashions would certainly go along with that statement.

Polly, Esther And The Men Demand Equal Time

Proper attire for men has changed a lot in the last few decades.


I think the men's polyester double knit leisure suit had a big influence on the changes in what was acceptable.


All of a sudden it was acceptable for men to wear pastel suits!


How nice to have a jacket that was comfortable and never showed a wrinkle.


How nice to have a jacket that will never wear out no matter how many times you wear it.


I think there was a conspiracy by ready to wear that made all these wonderful polyester double knit clothing passe and men, like women, went on to new styles and fashions!

These are all jackets I made for my husband and are being modeled by my grandson Nicholas. They all look like they were just made and are in perfect condition, even though they were each worn a lot.

They were one of the surprises I got during the "studio annex" excavation when the box of them made a surprise appearance. I had thought all clothing had been brought out last year. Most of them had matching pants but those seem to have disappeared.

These will never wear out. There is no market for them on eBay, no matter how well made they are. They will not disintegrate if disposed of in a landfill.

I guess they will have to wait until the style comes back. In case it doesn't they could make great Halloween costumes!

I know a few of my former students read this blog. I taught many classes in men's PDK leisure jackets, men's PDK sport coats and men's PDK slacks. Do any of you still have some of them?
Remember how your husbands thought you were the greatest when you made clothes for them? I certainly enjoyed sharing how to make these things and teaching y'all how to make them. I know it created a lot of good memories.

One thing I forgot to mention is there is a LOT of PDK fabric in my donation pile of boxes in the garage! If you want it come and get it before the BIG truck comes and hauls it away!!!!!!!!!!!

Patriotic Patchwork

When I think of the 4th of July I don't usually think of patchwork. Yet, somehow this photo showed up in my picture file on my computer.


Then I remembered these pillows I found in the Studio Annex.
Remember Polly and Esther? I had a lot of polyester double knit fabrics and I made many pillows with them. It was a good way to learn different quilt blocks.
At the time I did this quilting cottons were almost non-existent.
I had been creating knit clothing and also teaching how to do this. I had an endless supply of fabric scraps so what better to experiment with?


The pillow on the left is actually the back of one of the log cabin pillows. The 9 patch on the right was about the simplest design I could make.
Of course being polyester these will last forever!