So, obviously I decided to try to catch up. The perfectionist in me won out in the mental battle. I got two posts up yesterday, and I’m hoping to get two up today as well. That won’t make me completely caught up, but I’ll be very close.

Today is Purple. I’ll be honest, purple is not my favorite. I like it – and many shades of purple are “my colors” – but I think currently only have this one item in my closet that’s purple. And it’s a shame, since Radiant Orchid is the Pantone color of the year.

Years ago, I taught kindergarten with Kate. Kate ADORED purple (still does, I’m sure). I was amazed at all the things she had in purple – several pairs of purple shoes, purple purses, purple eyeshadow, you name it. It came out when we were talking one day about how much I like orange (you know all about that) – and she said, good-naturedly, “Aaauuggghhh! I hate orange! Orange is purple’s nemesis.” This only spurred on my profession of all the wonders of orange. It was a running joke throughout the year we taught together, and the kids enjoyed playing along, too. (Kate, if you’re reading, I’d love to know how many pairs of purple shoes you currently own.)

Now, BG loves purple. Pink (pronounced “peent”) is her most favorite, with purple a close second and “lellow” rounding out third. Now, I was determined when she was born to not buy into the “pink is for girls” thing. Her bedding was neutral (or a hand-me-down from BB), her room was green, and when I bought her clothes, I opted for blues and reds instead of pink. I wasn’t a stickler about it, but I was absolutely NOT forcing it. Fast forward two years, and she is the girliest of the girlies with an affinity for jewelry, purses, and all things sparkly and shiny and, of course, pink. And, when pink is not an option, purple it is.

So when I found this dress at the thrift store a couple of months ago, I knew BG would approve, and I knew it would add a punch of color to my closet. (Yes, I’m taking some liberties with “purple” and will include shades of violet and magenta and fuchsia.)

It started out as this ’80s dress. I loved the pleating in the pockets and across the bodice. I didn’t like the length and the arm shape, but I knew I could change them.

I used my two stand-by sewing tricks – the quick hem and the skinny hem, for the bottom hem and sleeves, respectively.

It was a fast alteration that ended up in a simple dress to wear now (while it’s still 95 degrees).

So, quick story: I saw a friend Monday at MOPS (the day I posted this), and she asked me where my yellow skirt was. I laughed and said I felt a little bit too much like a dork to wear the project I posted on the same day. I didn’t tell her, though, that since I started this little color project, I have been trying to wear the color I post about that day, just to try injecting a little more color into my life. It’s been an interesting experiment, especially today because I only have one purple shirt, and I’m planning to post on red today, too. I put them together for these photos, and I really like how they work together. Then I thought, why does purple and red look so familiar? Oh right, this:

My mama was (is?) a Red Hat Lady with a bunch of other women from her church. These two colors do look really great together, but I’m not sure I’m quite ready to embrace it the combination fully.

But I do think I might try wearing this dress with orange – nemeses are probably underrated, anyway.

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This post is part of a 31 day series. Find all the posts in this series here.

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