I needed a self-care project, so I sewed myself a witchy 18th Century riding habit

Remember that brief, shining moment of time around June of 2021 when the vaccines had opened up to everyone over the age of 18, COVID cases were on the decline, and suddenly it felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel? Right before Delta was isolated and the CDC recommended masks, even for vaccinated people, in areas experiencing a “high” level of community transmission of COVID. I’d been plugging along okay, making franken blouses and poking at random small individual pieces and slowly making a dress for a ball that was supposed to take place in October 2021 when the high of that June all kind of came crashing down. Somewhere around Labor Day I realized I was floundering a bit (the cancellation of the October ball did not help) and that I needed something, desperately, to keep myself busy and to have something to look forward to.

I’d also been silently lamenting the fact that it was nearly Halloween season and I did not have a black, witchy gown to wear around Halloween time. So the day after Labor Day, despite the fact that Halloween was only about 7 weeks away and I work full time, I decided I needed to make a dress AND schedule a photoshoot with a photographer in order to have some witchy-vibe photos in time for Halloween.