Maker Faire 2007, part 5: Swap-o-Rama-Rama, clothing and food

Makers of clothing and food were also present at the Maker Faire 2007.

A beautiful shirt embroidered with flames, or maybe tree roots, in the shape of a mandala at the center, and at the hem and sleeves.

Shirt embroidered with a mandala of flames
CIMG7771 Shirt embroidered with a mandala of flames

A white dress with a hoop at the bottom

A white dress with a hoop at the bottom at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7776 A white dress with a hoop at the bottom

A Maker Faire attendee in an outfit made of wedges of many different fabrics, perhaps several bandanas. I don’t know if she was affiliated with the people who made a dress out of men’s ties — probably not — but the concept seems to be similar.

An outfit made of wedges of many different fabrics, seen at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7786 An outfit made of wedges of many different fabrics

This multitiered dress both resembles a cake stand, and serves as one. There are brownies sitting on the top tier of this dress.

A cake stand dress with a hem that can be used to serve pastries
CIMG7814 A cake stand dress with a hem that can be used to serve pastries

These two women displayed brownies on the edges of their multitiered cake-shaped dresses. They handed out little pieces of biscotti.

Human three-tiered cake stands - in other words, cake stand dresses
CIMG7817 Three-tiered cake stand dresses

Swap-o-Rama-Rama was a two-day event where you were supposed to be able to drop off your used clothing and be taught, or inspired, create new, reconstructed clothes out of stuff people dropped off. I didn’t even go to check it out, because I knew it would ignite in me an ache to start making clothes again. Sewing and knitting were my major hobbies in high school and college. They were prompted by necessity: in the time and place I grew up, stylish or original clothes were not available in stores. So there was a sizeable subculture of people (well, women anyway) who made their own clothes. In college, I spent a class after an endless, boring class surreptitiously knitting under the desk, instead of taking notes. I also sewed a lot of my own clothes. Their aesthetic qualities were rather questionable, but they sure were original, because I got a lot of looks on the street. And not of a good kind. More like “huh?”

(The fact that I could not be bothered to make patterns for my clothes — I “measured” the fabric by eyeballing it — probably speaks volumes about the quality of my handmade clothes. In any case, I stopped making my own clothes about the same time I graduated from college. What looks weird-cute on a teenage chick is merely weird on a woman in her twenties.)

So it was with these nostalgic thoughts that I went to check out the Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show.

Here is an outfit made at Swap-o-Rama-Rama — a patchwork of squares, a mix of stripes and solids.

An outfit made of recycled clothing -- a patchwork of squares, a mix of stripes and solids.
CIMG7820 An outfit made of recycled clothing — a patchwork of squares, a mix of stripes and solids.

Another hard-to-characterize outfit made at Swap-o-Rama-Rama.

An outfit made of recycled clothing at Swap-o-Rama-Rama at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7829 An outfit made of recycled clothing

A grey dress, also made at Swap-o-Rama-Rama

A grey dress, made out of recycled clothing at Swap-o-Rama-Rama at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7831 A grey dress, made out of recycled clothing

A dress, or a top and skirt combination from Swap-o-Rama-Rama. The skirt seems to be made of wedges of fabric, and the top, of patches arranged in a brick pattern.

A dress made of wedges of fabric, with a brick pattern top, all made of recycled clothing at Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7836 A dress made of wedges of fabric, with a brick pattern top

An interesting blue dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama made of tiers, with a loose belt tied with a knot.

A blue dress with tiers and a knotted fabric belt, made of recycled clothing at Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7841 A blue dress with tiers and a knotted fabric belt

A red-and-yellow dress, or perhaps loose overalls

A red dress, or perhaps loose overalls, with yellow trim and yellow sash, made of recycled materials at Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7846 A red dress, or perhaps loose overalls, with yellow trim and yellow sash, made of recycled materials

A madras dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A madras dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show from Maker Faire 2007, made of recycled materials
CIMG7860 A madras dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A black tube dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A black tube dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show from Maker Faire 2007, made of recycled materials
CIMG7860 A black tube dress from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A black dress with a red-and-green floral print top from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A black dress with a red-and-green floral print top from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show from Maker Faire 2007, made of recycled materials
CIMG7864 A black dress with a red-and-green floral print top from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A dress made out of — or with — men’s ties from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

A dress made of ties and other recycled fabrics from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show from Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7867 A dress made of men’s ties and other recycled fabrics from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

The front of the tie dress

A dress made of ties and other recycled fabrics from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show from Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7873 A dress made of men’s ties and other recycled fabrics from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

Men’s ties were incorporated into the ruffle of this dress too, if I recall.

A dress with a ruffle made of ties and other recycled fabrics from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show from Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7875 A dress with a ruffle made of men’s ties and other recycled fabrics from Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show

An outfit consisting of a top and layered shorts made of recycled materials

An outfit consisting of a top and layered shorts made of recycled fabrics, shown at the Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7881 An outfit consisting of a top and layered shorts

An outfit with quasi-military esthetics made of something that vaguely looks like backpack straps, but I know that’s not what they are. I just can’t quite identify what it is. The skirt appears to be made entirely of those straps.

An outfit made of recycled materials that vaguely looks like backpack straps, shown at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7889 An outfit made of recycled materials vaguely resembling backpack straps

Another outfit in the same spirit, with military allusions. But, unlike the previous one, the straps only form an overlay or a fringe over the outfit.

An outfit made of recycled materials, with a fringe made of something resembling backpack straps, shown at the Maker Faire 2007
CIMG7893 An outfit with a fringe made of something resembling vaguely resembling backpack straps

Here are most of the Swap-o-Rama-Rama models on stage.

Outfits made of recycled materials at the Maker Faire 2007 -- most of the Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show participants on the stage
CIMG7894 Swap-o-Rama-Rama models on stage

Another picture of most of the Swap-o-Rama-Rama models and designers on stage.

Outfits made of recycled materials at the Maker Faire 2007 -- most of the Swap-o-Rama-Rama fashion show participants and designers on the stage
CIMG7896 Swap-o-Rama-Rama models and designers on stage