Sewing Wants vs. Sewing Needs, or "Talk me out of it!"

Before we get started today, friends, look at this fun 1966 Enid Collins wooden handbag I picked up this morning at the flea market for just $10.  (This one's called "Money Tree" like the song.)

I feel about these Texas-designed bags the way I do about all things Lily Pulitzer: kitsch-for-the-rich, though it reminds me of the type of thing Doris Day would have worn in "Move Over Darling."

Did she?  I can't recall.



I never looked twice at these bags till I read about them on one of my favorite vintage blogs, Betty Crafter,  and then I knew I had to get one for Cathy.  It has a few imperfections but so does my cousin. 

"Mirror, mirror in my bag...?"

In other news, I also picked up this vintage cotton print, enough to make myself a shirt.  Why can I never find new fabric like this anymore?  It's smooth as silk and oh, so fine.





But neither the bag nor the fabric is what I really want to discuss today.  I've been having a bit of a crisis for the last few days related to dress forms.  I know I do not need one, I mean, a better one than the cheapie adjustable model I've had for at least three years which has more than paid for itself.



I've been thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have a Wolf form, or a Wolf form knock-off?  The problem -- if you can call it a problem -- is that I'm not sure how it would really enhance my life, other than making me happy when I looked at it, provided, of course, it didn't make me feel like an idiot for buying one.

I can't even decide whether I want a men's form or a women's.  My current one is a relatively flat-chested women's which I've padded out a bit, both to increase the waist size and to make it more pinnable.  The back is too narrow, it's ugly, and it's supported by a pole I found in the trash after the original stand cracked.  I do think I'd like to start draping patterns but then again, it's hardly a necessity given the number of commercial patterns I already own.  I use mine primarily as a glorified hanger, helping me see in 3-D how my projects are coming along.

Yesterday I nearly shlepped to the Upper East Side to buy this dress form, originally purchased at F.I.T. and selling for $200.  It's an 8.



But I decided that 1) $200 is no bargain plus I would have had to cab it home from East 86th St., easily adding $25 to the cost; 2) I don't need legs on my dress form; and 3) I'm not sure I want to pad out a women's size 8. 

Then on Craigslist I saw this:



It's a Royal for just $80 and a shorter cab ride from home.  But although it's labelled 36, many male body forms with this label (including Royals) have a 38" chest and 32" waist, which is too big, plus the shoulders are too wide for my shirts.  (I've owned two male display torsos both of which I sold because they were too big even to display a shirt on.) Anyway, it was one of those ads where you had to leave your phone number and they call you, which they haven't so who knows what's up.

What I really need (?) is this PGM 36Y from All Brands  (I assume the "Y" stands for Youth; and it's a true 36" chest -- or so they claim).  But with shipping it would come to more than $400, which is more than I want to spend right now.   Plus All Brands has gotten some iffy reviews lately.  Living two blocks from a great flea market, F.I.T., and being a stone's throw from the Garment District, do I really need to have a dress form shipped from hundreds of miles away? 

So I'm kind of putting this on hold for now, or at least until I hear from the Craigslist seller which may or may not happen.   That is, unless you can convince me otherwise.

In closing, a few questions:

1) Do you own a high-end dress form and was it worth the money?

2) Do you ever buy something sewing-related you know you don't need but just because it makes you feel excited about sewing and that's reason enough?

3) Would you ever be caught dead carrying an Enid Collins handbag?  (There are hundreds of them out there.)

Have a great day, everybody!

Sing along!