Sew What?! Barkcloth Betty

Even though it looks nothing like the iconic, blue halter dress that she wore every single day of her entire adult life, I was inspired by the essence of Betty Rubble when I found two-and-a-half yards of vintage, So-Fro Originals barkcloth at the thrift store.  So-Fro Originals was a mid-century fabric manufacturer that often employed well-known designers/artists, including Peter Max, to create over-the-top prints. 

My fabric featured a chocolate-brown field with
myriad geometric shapes in brilliant neon colors.

This primitive, So-Fro print had me envisioning something that Betty would have packed when she and Wilma finally ditched the boys for a well-deserved, girls-only, seaside vacation.

(Source)

With Betty in mind, I created a gathered tube top with detached puff sleeves and a matching skirt.  Because yardage was in short supply, I ditched the idea of intricate patterns and made everything out of a series of rectangles - easy!  Mary decided to pack the ensemble for our trip to Japan and busted it out for our exploration of Yoyogi Park and the Harajuku district of Tokyo.

Because these areas of Tokyo are well-known for the extreme fashions displayed by participants in Tokyo's many subcultures, Mary elected to turn things up a notch when styling the outfit.  She teased her hair within an inch of its life, adding an aqua scarf and two armfuls of colorful bangles; more than Betty Rubble, I think she was channeling Jill Scott from The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (definitely recommended if you've never seen it).

Our friend, Kazumi, helped us check off a major item
on our Harajuku to-do list - "Purikura" or Print Club!

Print Club takes old-timey photo booths to a "whole 'nother level!"
A series of digital photos are taken, giving the subjects the
appearance of a flawless complexion and giant, anime eyes.
I'm pretty positive it shaves a couple pounds/kilos off too. 

We were so taken by the fun of Purikura that we went back the next day to take even more photos.  The fun doesn't end with a vaseline lens, magic-mirror airbrushing, and bugged-out eyes; users are offered a stylus and screen to add captions, stamps, make-up/eyelashes, frames, backgrounds, hats, glasses, and any number of things to distract from the hateful realities of one's actual appearance.

I call this one "Angry Angel Babies."

And this one, "Only Mother Could Be Loving" - translated directly from Japanese.

Sadly, neither of our trips to Harajuku resulted in hoards of fabulously-dressed, Japanese-wannabe-Gwen-Stefani-wannabes.  Believe it or not, we were the most oddly-dressed folks swimming decidedly against the current in a sea of modestly-dressed tourists looking for photo-ops of Harajuku Girls, Lolitas, and members of the Japanese Rockabilly Club.  I think all of the cool kids realized what a tourist trap this area was becoming and moved on to pastures greener.  Left stranded wearing neon barkcloth, teased hair, and hand-painted monster sweatshirts, we coined a new term for our wacky tacky Japanese looks - "Hara-cuckoo!!!"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny