I've been thinking about clothes, and how frequently, I can't find what I want. Even the local goth shops are phasing our their more interesting men's wear.

Which has got me to thinking about making stuff; I usually end up doing sewing for my Halloween costumes every year anyway. Sadly, though, my sewing skills are still rather primitive for making real, wearable clothes. Which, in turn, got me thinking about taking sewing lessons through Fabricland or something similar. For example; I still have no idea how to make something from a pattern, which is why most of my costumes consist of things that can be made from stitching together rectangular panels. I don't know how to put together linings properly. etc.

After some thought, though, I realised that I probably don't have time to take sewing lessons, on top of everything else I'm up to.

weird clothing ideas I've been thinking about lately; man skirts. I've got two ideas rolling around in my head right now.

The first is similar in cut to the belly dancing skirt lizard made in 2003. Basically, the outer skirt is three rectangular panels that hang straight down. When the wearer is standing straight, the panels meet up and look fairly solid. When moving around, the panels part to show the under skirt - I have a pile of sipderweb lacy stuff for that. The underskirt would be quite broad at the bottom, because it'd be worn by someone who walks "like a man", taking long strides. It'd have to be pleated as well as cut in a kind of A shape. The only part I can't figure out is how to attach the layers at the top in a flexible way; I'd want the waist to be somewhat adjustable, but an elastic waistband wouldn't look right. I could have the panels open at one of the joins, but I wouldn't want a gap in the underskirt there. I've been pondering having the underskirt split in somewhere covered by the panels (say the front) and held together with a drawstring. I could then have a waistband with the panels attached hang over the underskirt so that the gap between the panels could be adjusted depending on waist size. My only problem then is figuring out how to connect the underskirt and the panels in a useful manner.

The second idea is to riff off of a Japanese hakama; basically wide, loose skirt/pants (culottes - a split skirt with a panel connecting the inside) with a few extra hanging bits. I'm not too sure about my ability to manage the pleats properly. I could just buy a real hakama from a martial arts supply store, but that seems kind of... lame, since it would just be wearing a piece of martial arts clothing. I'd rather have something more heavily customised.

I've also been giving some thought to buying a couple wigs, not so much for daily wear, but for incorporating into costumes. And depending on the wig, for days when I want to have long black hair again.