Little Cats On The Prairie (Skirt)

Since I’m all about volume and skirts and dresses and ruffles now, I guess going full petticoat was only a matter of time:

I completely impulse bought this fabric after a trip to the dentist, which is right next to the new and fabulous JoAnn store in town. I mean, resistance was futile, right?

Then I got it in my head that the little cats needed to be a button-front skirt with a ruffle and lots of volume. None of the modern patterns I looked at had enough fullness so I found something vintage on Etsy (I’m guessing mid-80s, about the time Out of Africa hit theaters?).

The pattern delivered on the volume–to the point where I wondered if I’d gone past “stylish retro Madewell” and right into “Laura Ingalls Wilder.” But I wore it yesterday and all the younger women at work loved it, as did the Whole Foods cashier, so I think it falls into the “stylish” camp.

I’m pretty sure I had a kid-sized version of this pattern circa 1986, made by my mom in a pink and blue plaid. I know some people hate it when the fashions they remember come back in style, but I, for one, love it.