The paradox of a garment design based off limited-availability umbrellas was a troubling challenge. The umbrellas were somewhat difficult to come by; I pursued asking friends, co-workers and newsgroups for peoples' unloved, unwanted, possibly broken umbrellas. I even went so far as to look into trash cans as I passed them by (although these were desperate moments). My pursuits found only one purchase (which was mailed to me) and the remainder had to be purchased. I sought out the local thrift store by bicycle and found three more to supplement the project. I had a whole range of drawings for ideas I wanted to try and ultimately nearly all of them were pitched because the "materials" to build the designs weren't readily available. I found that this project made the design a slave to the available materials and their fabric patterns. Short of purchasing new umbrellas, I would have to re-design based on the sustain-ably procured umbrella.

This particular design was made because of the soft-flowing artsy patterns on the umbrellas. I didn't feel that with these two patterns and the size of the fabric swatches that I could really do an edgy design that would do the pattern justice. I sought to make a skirt that didn't really betray its origins, but was feminine and flowed. The umbrellas were separated into two halves of fabric and then arranged in opposing patterns to create the fronts and backs of the skirts. I also wanted this to be a simple skirt, yet somewhat adjustable to the size of the wearer. The solution turned out to be using the two umbrella ties (used to hold the umbrella closed when it isn't in use) to make ties at the front and back of the skirt. The result is a "natural" closure that completely blends with the patterns of the skirt sections. This skirt can be worn two ways, one with the billowing portions to the side and one with the billowing portions to the front/back – both create a different, yet interesting dynamic. The sideways formation allows people with a little less hip to have a flowing and flattering look, while the front/back orientation was meant for people with a little more hip to have something that creeped up their hips and somewhat downplayed the difference between their hip and torso. The sewing was minimal and the hardest part to the project was finding the right settings on the sewing machine to where the fabric was not "eaten" by the machine while it created the seamed edges. I like this design because it is forgiving to a wide range of bodies and seems to flatter nearly everyone who tries it on, it retains it femininity while absolutely reflecting that it once could have been an umbrella.

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