Avocados and Houses

In 2017, an Australian millionaire remarked that many millennials couldn't afford a house because they were spending all their money on avocado toast and expensive lattes. "Shouldn’t they be economizing by eating at home? How often are they eating out? Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house," he opined. These remarks spawned a million memes and, rightfully, some harsh criticism for his words. 

In the United States at least, my generation (currently those between 25 and 40 years old) has faced a stagnating minimum wage, the deterioration of workers' rights through a gig economy, the Great Recession, the rising cost of college (and corresponding rising debt), and continued racial and gender barriers in a system that is decimating the middle class. The idea that small-scale, individual decisions could fix these problems, or that a great many millenials could even buy these small luxuries to begin with, was laughable. While I'm all for smart money decisions and saving, if you're scraping by on a minimum wage job (or jobs), hoarding your pennies will not buy you a house where I live. 

So of course when I saw this avocado toast fabric at Stonemountain I knew what I had to do. A quick search revealed that they sold a houses print from the same company, and my 'avocados and houses' shirt was born. I'm not sure everyone will get it, but it's funny and just a little bit snide. 

Pattern: McCalls Misses' Dresses #7920 as a top with ties

Fabric:1 yd each of Dear Stella in Avocado Toast and Holiday Village
Cost: $30

It took me a while to decide the best way to combine these two fabrics into one shirt, but I eventually settled on a simple button-up shirt. The pattern is McCall's #7920 (originally a dress pattern) that I've made before and like the fit of. I added the ties from McCall's #7976, which on its surface appears to be a very similar top but is much more over-sized. 

The darts give it a nice shaping in the back and the front. 

The patch I ordered from Etsy full the full millennial effect. 

Admittedly it's a very bright shirt in a novelty print. But I finally wore it out today and got compliments at both the yarn shop and fabric store, so I think it will be a fun one to wear. Maybe I'll find a good outdoor brunch spot and can get some avocado toast. ;)