Are we too hard on ourselves?

I remember Mama Gypsy telling me that your handmade clothing was a success not when people asked if you made the garment, but where you bought it. Funnily enough, given that all my friends and family know I make my own clothes, I never get asked if I bought what I am wearing, so I guess they defeat the purpose.

Source

But what really got me thinking about this was my silk sundress. I vented about my facings being awful, and your responses were wonderful - suggestions and tips offered, as well as confirming my sneaky suspicion that maybe the awful was all in my head. Admittedly, the day I took those photos, the sun was BRIGHT and the purple dress came out in photos looking very dark, so I will let you be the judge here:

Front

Yeah, the front straps are a bit bubbly, especially on my right side. There's a few wrinkles on the right at the neckline too. And when I look down, this is what I see:

Admittedly, when I look down I don't see my shoulder. But I do see the curl

And this bugs me. It bugs me because I want to be good. I want to lecture people that making your own clothes is better - more satisfying, better quality - than buying cheap nasties. And then I end up with a dress that I really want to love and a facing ruins it for me.

And yet I MADE this dress. And I should be so proud of that, but - and this is where it gets weird - I want it to look like i didn't. I want it to look as though it's been picked up in a store, preferably somewhere exotic and even expensive.

From my reading around the interwebs, I am not alone - we all end up with little gripes about something we made and we can't see as perfect, despite what reassurance we get from one another. I'm not looking for sympathy/ denials here, please don't think of this as an adult version of a teenager posting a photo on facebook and proclaiming how ugly they are, baiting reassurance. Because I want to acknowledge my imperfection.

I don't sew for a living. I organise parties, write facebook updates, and proof read for a living. I sew as a hobby. I am getting better. I get frustrated when I fail, as I think any normal person does. I have many garments that have not graced my blog. I don't have specialist equipment to sew my clothes, and therefore my clothes will not ever look like the bought ones on my friends. And through all of this I want my clothes to look like theirs. How conflicted am I??

I am not quite sure how to fix the fugly facing, and am thinking of unpicking the whole front and re-trying... and if that doesn't work, then I haven't a clue what else to try. Blame the fabric, it's a tricksy silken pain anyway.

What about you? Do you take your whoopsies with a pinch of salt? Do you embrace them, as a symbol of originality? Do they drive you up the wall to the point of distraction? I'd love to hear!