Art Nouveau

I had high (Ok, moderate) expectations for the "Le Chat Noir" swimsuit, but, as is common when I order something too cheap to be true from a Chinese seller on eBay, it failed to live up to them. I never expected I'd actually be able to swim in it, since it didn't appear to have any lining, but I was sure I'd be able to wear it with some undergarments and at least show it off while sunbathing. True, sunbathing is something I never do, but when confronted with a thrilling piece of wearable art for only $4.25, an Unfashionista tends to trade in logic for enthusiasm.

Alas, alas, the swimsuit that I got was not up to par. It was a crappy imitation of the original illustration, lacking all the lines that defined the cat's features, and the letters were all partially cut off. Feeling disappointed, I contacted the seller and got a refund.

Well, a refund sure changes everything! Even though it still wasn't as cool as I had been expecting, now that I had gotten the swimsuit for free, I felt a lot better about taking the risk of cutting it up and making something new out of it. In this case, a shirt!

Here's what I did.

I laid the offending swimsuit on the ground and took a picture of it, so you could see how inferior it looked.

I then marked a line, as low as I could make it without reaching the leg holes.

I cut off the bottom of the suit and then pinned the raw edge under, finally sewing it into a new hem. I then did the same on the back of the suit (you can see the black dashes where I was planning to cut).

What? No more?

Nope. That was all I had to do to turn the swimsuit into a top.

I wore it for the first time with a pair of 3-D printed sandals that I just bought from Continuum Fashion. They were a huge splurge, but, being something of a shoe nut, I was sucked in by the opportunity to be "one of the first to own an authentic pair of 3D printed shoes." Also, I owed myself a birthday present.

They have a lovely, sinuous tree-like shape that is quite reminiscent of the same Art Nouveau period that also birthed the design on my shirt, so I thought they made a fitting combination.