Americrab: the dress of former battles won and lost

I'm a little bit obsessed with the way crabs, crayfish and lobsters can grow back appendages they have lost in battle. And then, especially, in that awkward stage when they have one full-grown claw that has seen it all, offset by the other small, new, tender one on the other side. I guess it's because I feel that awkward and vulnerable in real life, but also proud and feisty at the same time.

I wanted to name this dress "You Win Some, You Lose Some" because it has mismatched sleeves in different stages of growth and regrowth. But then I thought - maybe it would sound fancier in French or Spanish. So I asked my resident multilingual friend. She furrowed her brow and said: "That  -- that is a peculiarly American phrase."

Of course it is! The whole "pick yourself up, dust yourself off" thingie. Rebirth, re-invention, the eternal frontier, the great rebuilding. Oh silly us. So here it is, the Americrab.

lentil

up my sleeve: black

 

up my sleeve: black. i'm soaking in it. black linen. black jersey. vintage black buttons. sheer black netting. black threads. raw seams. folds upon folds upon folds of undulating black, tamped down with top-stitching, chopped, cropped, rough. gaping holes that beg for a back story ... a hint of hidden agendas, trap doors that go nowhere, secret pockets, handwritten notes in unknown handwriting, questions that are never answered ... coming soon.