Bye, Bye, Sleeves

I bought these two beautiful vintage blouses many, many years ago, at a thrift store. Though they seemed like something I would wear regularly, I probably wore each blouse a single time, which is so weird.

A few months ago, the question of why I wasn't wearing them began to keep me up at night. And then a light bulb went off and I realized I had to alter them somehow.

I took out my trusty seam ripper and tore out the sleeves. Though pretty, they were gathered and somewhat puffy, resulting in an overall fit that drowned my body and (because these beauties are 100% polyester) made me feel uncomfortable and overheated. On the blue blouse, I took narrow bias tape and encased the raw sleeve openings and the edge of the front. On the yellow blouse, I folded the raw sleeve openings in and topstitched them. The result: two new short-sleeve tops that I actually enjoy wearing.

The poet Milosz and I compete in the best bow category

See you later, sleeves!