Lola

It's true, you know,... Whatever Lola want, Lola gets.  And Lola got me.  What started out as a simple woman inspired turned into something challenging and utterly wonderful.  Lola showed me how easy it was to fall in love.  She showed me self-doubt would never do; it would only block us from success and destroy us in the process if I let it.  She showed me how to be patient and persistent.  She showed me you can shout at a whisper, laugh out loud when you are alone, confront insecurities, and love with your whole soul.

Meet Lola:

I knew someday Lola would be mine when I saw the cover of The Taken: 

This is the beginning of Vicki Pettersson's Celestial Blues Trilogy.  This is the book where we meet Griffin Shaw, P.I. dead 50 years, and Kit Craig, Rockabilly reporter.  If you haven't already guessed - Yes, I do love the story.  However, this post isn't a review.  This is about The Dress, who finally told me her name was Lola.

The first time I saw her I knew I had to have her.  She radiated a quiet confidence knowing exactly what she was even having been partially hidden by obnoxious patterns, knits, and wovens alike.  I reached for her and she came to me easy.  The others ceased to exist.  Lola had me under her spell from the beginning.

I found her in one of these shops at the fabric district in Downtown LA:

I practiced a few options for what I would create.  The first was from a McCall's pattern #6350.  I sewed it up with an eager pink ombre woven fabric:

But I knew, we knew, Lola had bigger plans.  So I draped her just to see and she showed me possibility after possibility. . . 

We decided I had to use my own pattern and so I started creating something with Selena's help:

As I do with most every garment, I made a mockup to figure out the fit and fix any errors.  We found pockets would be GREAT!  (I love a dress with pockets, don't you?)

 

 

Our relationship was good.  Whenever there was a problem it was always me.  My insecurities would rise up.  I would lash out and threaten to abandon her.  I wasn't good enough.  I wasn't talented enough to pull this off.  I didn't know what the hell I was doing.  On top of that I was too heavy, too curvy, too "Thick" to do this whole idea justice.  Lola would sooth me and remind me it would all work out in the end.  Of course we had our disagreements, our arguments, but with every shout, every seam ripped open again and again Lola would whisper, "Don't worry. It's ok. Iron and press ahead."

 

 

 

She continued to encourage me, "See, you can do this..."

 

 

She bared her deepest innermost self to me. She showed me it was ok to be totally vulnerable, to bare it all - ugly insides included. 

 

The day of the book signing for The Taken came.  Lola and I had so much fun putting on makeup and getting ready, and making Duck lips, of course.  God, I love her.

 

 

She accompanied me to our first book signing ever at Dark Delicacies in Burbank to meet Ms. Pettersson.  One of the best nights ever!  (By the way: You don't ever need a reason to get dressed up.  Just do it.  Stop trying to argue with me.  I win.  Dress up anytime.  I don't care.  I'm not listening to your reasons why you can't or shouldn't... lalalalala.)

 

 

She went with me to a few functions after that and looking back through all those photos Lola told me I must get back into good health.  We had a hard talks about the weight gain, about the "being thick".  She loved me dispite it all, but if I wasn't happy I needed to make changes. 

Lola said, "Don't just get depressed about it, do something!  Do something if you don't like it.  You've done enough of nothing.  Change already.  You know what you need to do.  Do it."

"But--"

"No, buts.  No more excuses.  You don't like it.  Change.  Period."

I didn't listen to her at first, but a few months later we went to see a caburlesque show and I saw the future Lola saw for me.  Someday I was going to join those girls and their skimpy clothes on stage.  That someday came on February 8, 2013 with the Sweethearts LA show.  And that someday will come again on April 26 at the NoHo Music Hall in North Hollywood in Miss Bunny and Lady Di's Spring Fling.

At the end of the day I can thank Lola for seeing me through my creative process, nursing me through my insecurities, and for opening the door for Ava and all future garnments.  For that, I will always love her.