Marimekko | The Selfish Seamstress

My meetings ended early for me, which meant more time for consumption, which society has trained me to believe makes me happy, and for which I begrudge society NOTHING. After I amassed a small boatload of gifts for Dan (can’t show you because he occasionally stops by here), it was time to hit up Stockmann to check out the Marimekko fabrics (again, pardon crappy camerphone pics):

As is often the case when I ponder Marimekko fabrics, I came away empty-handed. I can just never make it work. Many of the fabrics are better suited for home dec because of their weight and drape, and when they are light enough to be reasonable for clothing, the scale of the print is often too large to work. I’m sure one could make it work, but alas, I haven’t got that kind of design skill. I pondered that gingko print, but it would have been hard to fit a whole gingko leaf onto a garment. I also pondered that blue mini Unikko print on the bottom, but it’s laminated. I thought about a raincoat, but it felt better suited for an outdoor tablecloth. And at Marimekko prices, I decided it wasn’t worth it to buy some if I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to make it work.

Needless to say, I ended up being pretty glad I saved my Euros once I got back to Eurokangas. This store is all about top quality, and you’ll pay for it too:

Ooh, there’s my thumb! Here are some lovely ruby toned fabrics, including the softest silk charmeuse:

As you can see, it’s going for a steep 69 Euros per meter, and there are far more spendy options as well. I spent a long time pondering the many Burberry plaid silk shantungs, thinking that they would be wonderful lining for a classic trench:

Until I realized that I couldn’t really spend $150 to line a coat because I’m not married to a prince or a Trump. But it wasn’t all insane. In addition to reasonably priced knits and cottons, there are also designer remnants to be had by the kilo!

Of course, that prince would come in handy in the event that you actually want to buy a full kilo of designer remnants for 300 Euros.

From the not-designer remnant pile, I snagged about 2.5 meters of very lovely quality spring green seersucker. Perhaps not the most interesting, but I’d been wanting green seersucker anyway. Bad photo of said seersucker:

But my real splurge was this couture houndstooth that had drawn my eye almost immediately, but that I had first dismissed as being rather ridiculously priced for fabric without any cashmere in it:

At some point during my visit though, I picked it up and held it to my face in front of the mirror and I just felt so PRETTY. Not wise, mind you, but pretty. And the selvedge delights me: