Handmade for Summer

A hint of what's to come: clutch by DrikaB, skirt by oliviabolivia. Ignore the pale as death legs, please.

Buying clothes is frustrating, y'all.

I have several problems with most of the clothing available today, but the biggest one is that so much of it just flat-out doesn't fit. I'm short, but I have hips and a butt, so finding clothing that fits my curves without being too long feels nearly impossible. The other issue I have with most clothes in stores these days is that I just can't seem to find the kinds of things I want to wear. Lately I've been gravitating towards unique pieces with a vintage, boho, or shabby chic kind of feel and frankly the local Old Navy just isn't stocking that sort of thing these days.

Don't get me wrong, stores like Old Navy and Target are great for basics and the occasional cute or comfy piece. I wear Old Navy jeans and tanks almost exclusively, and I can still find decent pieces for work at Target if I scour the racks. Even when I find something, though, there's still the fit issue.

I'm honestly not sure what the breaking point was for me, but I remember heading over to Etsy one evening a few months back and thinking, "I'm going to buy a handmade skirt." So I did. I contacted a great seller and asked her about making one of her existing skirts in a different size. She was fantastic and the skirt is amazing. So began my journey into buying (almost exclusively) handmade this summer.

Throughout the next week or so I'll be posting pictures (gulp) of all the wonderful things I've gotten so far, and also a selection of things that I'm still dreaming about. (It's mighty convenient that I'm doing this just in time for my birthday in early July, no?) Stay tuned!