DorEm Answers

Dear Dorigen,

After learning that I’m a Soft Autumn, none of my clothing is safe from a Rit autumnal dye job; results vary.

I own two tops in the same formerly-white Fila print. The T-shirt was dyed a dark green and the sweatshirt was dyed a dark brown, twice.

The first time I dyed the sweatshirt, I didn’t know what I was doing. I reused a dye mix from a batch earlier that day, just let it soak for half the time, only added half the bottle, and didn’t use a dye fixative. You must use a dye fixative unless you want the color (and your hard work) to ooze out. For a short while, I tried to convince myself that the dyed sweatshirt looked like an artisanal tea neutral, but soon realized that it too closely resembled my pale skin tone; I felt like I was in a Cronenberg body horror where I finally became one with Fila. It’ll happen someday. After the second, more deliberate, attempt, the sweatshirt is now a true dark brown.

Using dark brown again, I changed this beloved THE KIT top from “smokey lilac” to a brownish, smokier lilac. The Potato Professor background is also still beloved and continues to make an appearance.

As a reminder, this once blue and white top was dyed. I used good ‘ol dark green and it came out teal. It is also Fila. And yes, I do own the Grant Hills in “Green Moss”.

As another win (and maybe the favorite), I dyed my Thakoon for Target dress a Sage green. The original print thankfully still comes through.

My foray into non-brown or green colors has proven less successful in my attempts to autumn-up my wardrobe. The swatches below show a dress’s fabric turned from a black/white/brown print to an intended deep eggplant (but now fuchsia).

Do you know any Clear Winters who need a flowy summer dress? Fuchsia / haute pink is all the rage.

Love,

Em

P.S. A lot of my Fila love comes from my switch to ostentatious flats after my first MS attack and the need for the comfiest fashion shoes ever. Disease Is a Mirror, my lyric memoir about diagnosis, publishes as an eBook on October 3, 2023 and includes excerpts from our DorEm Answers shenanigans. Save the date.