Southern Magnolia

This week was so much fun! I enjoyed thinking outside of the box for a food-themed design, and how to interpret it through fashion. I actually found my inspiration from my oldest son and a homework assignment that we did together. Because he and I love watching The Great British Baking Show, he decided that he wanted his report on French culture to center around their cuisine. And for extra credit, we made French macarons for his teacher and class. I fell in love with the small round pastries, their beautiful pastel colors, and sweet, sugary cream center. Despite the known difficulty of the recipe, I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to make them correctly on our first attempt thanks to this foolproof tutorial I found on Pinterest. I would have loved to make some more for this photoshoot, but since I ran out of time after all the sewing I’d done this week, we had to resort to store-bought.

I started thinking about how those rounded shapes and light colors could translate into clothing and was struck by how perfect the French fashion matched the style and feel of the macaron. Simple colors and shapes with natural textures and classic lines make up both the food and the fashion of France.

I used light-colored linens to create this wardrobe for my daughter and my youngest son. While she is wearing the pastel colors that symbolize the outer cookie, I chose to use neutral colors for my son, for the vanilla cream center. Although my youngest son is the loudest and craziest of all my children, he definitely loves to look his best (he’s the kind that likes to wear vests, ties, and fedoras when we go somewhere special). So I knew that he wouldn’t mind volunteering to model for me if it meant that he got to add some nice clothing to his wardrobe. His shirt was made from Little Lizard King’s Bayfield shirt, though I modified it to have a mandarin collar in order to add a bit more Parisian charm. The shorts are the Mendoza pattern, also from Little Lizard King, and paired perfectly for this classic look on my handsome little man.

My daughter absolutely loves the color pink. For the dress, I used a beautiful blush pink linen from Topknot Doll and the Dahlia pattern from Wild Seeds Patterns. I heavily modified the top for a ruched lace bodice and shortened the skirt so that a tulle underskirt would peek out from underneath; mimicking the “feet” of the macaron cookie. I also made a beret to match, tying together both the French culture and the rounded top of the macaron. But of course, I still felt that my daughter needed one more accessory. So I made her a small round handbag to match her outfit. And because it looked so much like an oversized macaron cookie itself, my daughter and son felt it would be funny to pretend to eat it.

Both of my kids loved getting new outfits to fit their style, and I hope that you also love the results! You can check out all the other entries this week on the Project Run & Play blog post at https://www.projectrunplay.com/2022/04/season-26-week-3-turnip-beet.html.