Summer Palette, Anyone?

Despite spring just now arriving in most areas of the U.S., the Colette Spring Palette Challenge has come to an end. By the end of this weekend, I should be finished with my planned garments, as well. My Chantilly dress is waiting to be hemmed and photographed, while my final piece - a white Swiss dot blouse - is all cut out and ready to be sewn up. After that? Well, I live in Texas. It's time for summer.

Okay. That's perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. April and May are still rather mild in Austin, but when mild means mid-80's, the sun dresses come out pretty early. I tend to cut off my seasons around Mother's Day. Before, I can still revel in flowery pastels and coordinating cardigans, but after we eat our traditional fluffy white cake, I start wondering if my arms are too pale for sleeveless styles. (To which the answer is normally a resounding yes, as I'm a sunscreen zealot. Despite having inherited easily tanned skin from my Swedish grandfather, I live in fear of sun damage and remain a nice deathly pale most of the year.) My current sewing plan takes this into account. I have fabulous springy florals that didn't fit into my palette, some of which will turn into dresses over the next few weeks. But once May 9th hits? It's game on, summertime.

As for spring, the Colette challenge was a godsend. My fabric tastes tend to be all over the map, so my normal sewing reflects that. There are a ton of prints happening in the stash, but not many basics. Coming up with a cohesive theme for this season was great in that respect. It made me examine what I really wanted to add to my wardrobe, rather than my usual "Oh, I love this fabric! Let me make a random dress out of it!" modus operandi. To that end, I've decided to carry it over another season.

Like my last palette, I'm drawing inspiration from the screen. During my first year of graduate school, my roommate and I were completely addicted to the adventures of a certain mystery-solving, dead-reviving pie-maker. The show, of course, was Pushing Daisies. Beyond the whimsical storyline and the omniscient narration (one of my great loves), the show was just plan gorgeous. The colorful, imaginative sets and amazing costumes were total eye-candy, most especially, the vintage-inspired wardrobe of Charlotte "Chuck" Charles. In 2007, Chuck's clothes made me wish I knew how to sew. Now that I do? They're inspiring my summer palette!

Thanks to the magic of Netflix, I've been streaming the two seasons of Pushing Daisies. Beyond the wonderful vintage silhouettes of Chuck's wardrobe, I'm increasingly drawn to her palette of bold primary colors. These colors scream summertime to me: sun-drenched picnics in Zilker Park, beach ball volleyball in neighborhood pools, and 4th of July fireworks with my family in Santa Barbara. Summer in the South is an insistent, relentless sort of season, just made for red sundresses and yellow skirts. So, that's what I'll be making! It will be a wardrobe of primary colors, with some green, white, and black thrown in for accents.

(click the palette to enlarge)

If you participated in Colette's challenge, how did you fare? Do you plan to try it out for another season? If so, I would love to see your own summer (or winter, for those in the Southern Hemisphere) palette!