Humble Beginnings

Whenever I have a lackluster day of sewing I remind myself of this little affirmation:

No matter what our craft, we all started somewhere.

I've always been fascinated by corsetry. Long before I could conceptualize corsets as sexy, my naive brain simply accepted them as beautiful. Every antique store, costume shop and rummage sale had me searching for my first lace-up specimen. It wasn't until college that I finally broke down and learned how to sew, just so I could own one myself. Forget that my first corset fit terribly and that I sewed the lining inside out so that the seam allowances showed. Frankly, I had no idea what I was doing, but who cares? Again, we all started somewhere.

While I was really self-deprecating about my first project's glaring flaws, my friends were much more supportive of my efforts. One of my closest pals at the time even asked me to make her a costume for the Miss Petite America Pageant. She was representing Pennsylvania, and we had decided to give her an amped up Betsy Ross outfit. And let's be honest here. It was college, where every female costume was sexified: from the daringly short toga party sheet dress to the slutty ladybug or the Playboy bunny at Halloween (and yes, I did rock both of those costumes while in college). Given our attitudes toward dressing up, why not a sexy Betsy Ross costume?

My pal rocked this itsy-bitsy ensemble for the pageant and even told me years later that she broke it out ever July 4th after. Very cool!

Fast forward to now. I've made a bajillion corsets, each better than the last. Now with Honey Cooler Handmade, I channel my love for corsetry and my penchant for wearability into making ribbon corsets, and it just so happens that my newest piece brings back a bit of the sexified Betsy Ross sensibility I first encountered in 2004. She's immaculately sewn, if I do say so myself, and is fittingly named Betsy.

So, here's (new) Betsy, just in time for Independence Day! A little more pragmatic than the previous version, perfect for cinching a starched white summer dress. Check out more photos here!