Mini Muff's Memorabilia - Before The Big Bake

The first items of clothing I can remember making were dresses for my Barbie dolls. I must have been around 4 and I would sit on the floor under my mother's sewing machine, both hands on the pedal and wait for her to tell me I could push down. I had a whole box filled of scrap fabric, some sewn, some just tied in knots but all one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

Flash forward to high school where I would once again find my need to tear into fabric and reconstruct it. I cut open jeans along the side seams and added bright coloured fabrics. I even made my very first pair or jeans.....that somehow had extra pieces left over at the end and fell apart during the first wash. But I made them! They were horrible and didn't fit anyone, especially after washing, but they were mine. I also made a leopard print skirt, I remember it vividly. I had run out of fabric so it ended up being just a smidge too short but I didn't let that stop me. I thought if I matched it up with some fishnets and 32 hole Dr Martens no one would notice. I wore it an entire day and tried to look confident as I tugged on the hem every five seconds. I was so proud.....I'm sure my father would have made me change if he caught me (and rightfully so). I must have snuck past him. Sadly I have no pictures of this item but I'm sure you can imagine it in all its glory.

Final year, grade 12, I got to take my very first home ec class. We made the standard pillow case, pajama pants and then we got to decide what to make for our end-of-year project. I wanted a challenge and I needed a prom dress, so it was decided. Ms Sanford (our ever so patient teacher) would unlock the class for me and let me come in on my own time to work as my project would take more than the average amount of class time to complete. I selected my pattern, a boned corset with a tie up back and a long A-line skirt. I always saw myself as a tomboy and wanted so hard to be a rebel that I thought black and purple would be the perfect colours to make sure the outfit wasn't "too girly". I paired it off with my favorite Dr. Martens (It was the early 2000s after all) and some sparkly devil horns...just to prove I wasn't really dressing up and I was still a bad ass punk (which I never was).

This was my final outfit before heading off to college. Even at that time I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to be a fashion designer. I had applied at 5 different colleges for 5 different subjects. All in the arts one way or another. All I knew was that I wanted work to feel like play and I wanted to love it so much that if it didn't work out as a career I could still enjoy it as a hobby. Fashion seemed like the best bet and I'm so happy I made this choice.