Who Needs Anthropologie?

When Loralee told me she needed a skirt (or two) because of a dare from some of her friends at  Blogher , I was on a mission.
First, she has some issues with her legs (seriously, I am not being mean, she really does) and it makes her pretty self-conscious showing them.
Second, she needed something comfortable and easy to move in.  She is a busy Mom and can't be slowed down by a pencil skirt or something that needs a lot of care in the washing.
Third, I needed to come up with a pattern that will not take too terribly long and will work with a good cotton fabric.

The first skirt is a basic gathered skirt pattern that I have come up with myself.  It is super comfortable and fun.  I added a thick ribbon at the bottom and it is perfect.

Loralee wore this the first day of the Casual Blogger Conference and it was a HIT!  Seriously, so many compliments and I loved listening to each and every one of them!

The second skirt took a little lot more time but was SO worth it.

If you are going to Blogher this year, you will see this skirt (and the other one too).  We are (and when I say we, I mean me) adding some fabric flowers to the ribbon.

This skirt has pleats and gathers, two kind of fabric, ribbon, a zipper and is SO cute!!!  Many people asked me how much this skirt would cost.  Let's break it down shall we?  I will only make it out of good fabric.  If it is going to be worn a lot, it needs to be durable.  So for fabric, zipper, ribbon and thread $40.  When I sew, I charge $10/hour, sounds reasonable right?  Well, this skirt takes 8 hours to make.  So, this skirt will sell for a grand total of $120.

So, while you could go to Anthropologie and get a skirt for about the same price or go to Kohls, JC Penney, Old Navy or The Gap and get one for half that price, you will not get something custom made for you that no one else owns.  I like that.  I love having something that no one else does and is specifically made for me.

These will be in my Etsy shop soon.  You like??