Polka Dots and Matchy-Matchy

There's this term I've picked up from Project Runway. It's called matchy-matchy and it refers to when your garment, or your accessories, are excessively color-coordinated to the point of--

Well, that's the problem. I've never really comprehended the perils of matchy-matchy. (That period in middle school when I refused to coordinate my knee-length shorts and baggy T-shirts, doesn't count.)

Why does perfect coordination appeal to me so much? A few reasons.

1) I've been brainwashed by my mother. Haven't you ever been told that you are not allowed to walk out of the house until you rectify the color discrepancies in your outfit?

2) To me there's something glamorous about having a perfectly coordinated outfit. It's much easier to find accessories that clash than accessories that match. It takes consideration to pull together an ensemble with perfectly aligning elements.

3) The surest way to produce a flawlessly coordinated outfit--styles, fabrics, even the smallest details like beading and thread color--is to make it yourself!

I did not originally design these pieces as an ensemble. I made this blouse last summer not because I fell in love with the design, not because I was launching a crusade to redefine the polo shirt for uniform purposes, but for the boring and indefensible reason that I needed a new shirt. :/

I found this fabric at <3 you guessed it Mood! My camera really has not done justice to its color.

It's bright turquoise cotton; the polka dots have texture, as if they are sewn into the fabric or ironed on, not printed. I like that it's playful and yet ordered at the same time--it's got a lively color and quirky polka-dots, and yet the pattern is made up of uniform shapes in a linear arrangement. I wanted to mirror that dichotomy in the pattern I chose.