Pilot Post: Clueless Cowgirl

Let me guess your first impression of this outfit.“Major Clueless vibes!” Yeah, I know. Except I don’t really know because I’ve never seen Clueless. My actual inspiration for this outfit as cited in my final project summary for ADHM 155 - Apparel and Construction actually came from Blair Waldorf’s school uniforms and Ralph Lauren’s western style clothing collections. Looking back, I can’t quite recall why I expected my final result to be anything other than “Clueless Cowgirl” because honestly, what else could you possibly get from the combination of BW school uniform + RL western style?

Clueless Cowgirl was my final project for ADHM 155 and submission for the annual NDSU FABO Fashion Show. During the first half of the semester of ADHM 155, we created a garment that hung from the waist (still debating if I’m going to post that one because I’m still not sure how I feel about it). During the second half we had to create a garment that hung from the shoulders. It had to contain eight out of a long list of criteria (buttons, cuffs, collar, etc) but as long as it had eight of those features we could create whatever we wanted.

What I designed in my head was actually a dress—as you can see in my sketch to the left. But I usually like to put unnecessary restrictions on myself and add unnecessary difficulties to my processes, which is exactly why the end result turned out not to be a dress. I wanted to use some of the leftover fabric that my mom had from the little canopies she had gotten made for the displays for her greeting card business. And since I do what I want...I went to work with this fabric without measuring how much there was of it and mid-project - I’m sure you can assume - I realized I wouldn’t have enough to create the dress I was planning (really big, thick pleats use up a lot of fabric). So I improvised and went with a two piece that used less fabric in the skirt.

Overall, in my personal opinion, I still think my outfit turned out pretty cute and I’m glad I got to put my mom’s nostalgic leftover yellow checkered fabric to good use. Also, most of the Clueless cowgirl vibes were entirely self-inflicted due to my choice to accessorize with bedazzled western booties and a fedora… but that’s what happens when you work on your college project until 4 am and allocate no time to proper accessorizing. :) Yeeeeeeee-haw!