An Inexpensive Jacket, Then I Went at It

The GCS Gala had a Western-inspired theme, which gave me exactly the kind of excuse I need to decide that buying something to wear would be far too easy.

I wanted a jacket that had that over-the-top rodeo look, a little Western, a little sparkly, and definitely more fun than something I was likely to find hanging on a rack. I also did not want to spend a fortune on a jacket I was buying specifically for one event, so I ordered an inexpensive one from Amazon with the intention of leaving it alone.

That lasted approximately five minutes.

Once it arrived, I started looking at it and thinking about all the things I could add. This is generally how projects happen around here. I buy something perfectly acceptable, stare at it for a while, and then decide it needs trim, embellishments, and several additional hours of my life.

The goal was less Yellowstone and more vintage rodeo queen. I wanted it to feel playful and glamorous without turning into an actual costume. So I started adding decorative trim and embellishments, building everything up a little at a time until the very ordinary Amazon jacket had a lot more personality.

Of course, I was doing all of this under my usual ideal crafting conditions: a deadline, children being children, and what felt like a permanent population of contractors working somewhere in my house. Nothing makes detailed handwork more relaxing than knowing you also have approximately seventeen other things that need your attention.

There was definitely a point where the sensible thing would have been to stop.

I did not stop.

That is also generally how projects happen around here.

I kept adding details until the jacket had the exaggerated Western feel I had pictured in my head. By the time I finished, it looked considerably less like something that had arrived in an Amazon package and much more like something I would actually be excited to wear.

And that is probably one of my favorite kinds of projects. I love making something entirely from scratch, but I also love taking an inexpensive, completely ordinary item and seeing how far I can push it. You do not always need the expensive version of something. Sometimes you just need a decent base, a pile of trim, and the inability to leave well enough alone.

The actual gala was wonderful. My husband and I were invited by our old neighbor, and somewhere between everything else happening in our lives, we managed to dress up, leave the house together, and attend an event where neither one of us was carrying a child, supervising homework, or discussing something with a contractor.

I even got a picture with Aaron.

This was important documentation because based on my photos over the years, you could reasonably conclude that I invented a husband for narrative purposes.

He does exist.

And for one evening, I got to wear my completely unnecessary, slightly ridiculous, rodeo-inspired jacket with him.

Worth it.