New Dress

I had a busy and productive week, and so far, it has been a blissful weekend. Back to work on Monday with some great projects. I just wanted to give a sneak preview of a new dress I have been working on. It is one of my re-fashioned bustier/vintage nightgown dresses. I am loving the look so far, and  hope to get it "off the pins" on Monday. It is a good thing this dress will be too big for me. The temptation to keep it is kind of overwhelming!

 

                                                      

work, work, work

  I had a wonderful and productive weekend. I finished another one of my Heirloom Dresses. These dresses are made of vintage doilies. I pin them onto my dress form and then tediously hand sew them together. I have to confess, I'm kind of obsessed. I wholeheartedly enjoy making them and love the end result. I do think you need to see them in person to really appreciate their beauty (o.k., I'm done patting myself on the back now).
  Now the time comes to list a few in my etsy store and put a few in the 360 Ecotique. I just wanted to share them before I distribute them. It is also the first time using "my new friend" as a model. I think it turned out nice, but these dresses in particular, truly shine when they are on a person.  A photoshoot soon!

                                                                 

my new friend

  I was thrifting the other day with my daughter, looking for some new materials. I found myself low on doilies and have a couple custom orders pending, so I told myself, "only look for doilies!"  This is nearly an impossible task for me,  since I love to sift through every rack  for hidden treasures. None the less, it was a successful trip, and with my arm loaded  with way more than I came for, I spotted this dress form in the front of the store. I was shocked that I missed it walking in, and when I came closer to it, I was almost in a state of panic. Canvas body, metal cage hem, and rod iron base with wheels. I have a fully functioning dress form that has been so good to me for years, but it is ugly. Just a work-horse. I have always dreamed of having a cool canvas one for pictures and aesthetics. And here she was, in all her rustic beauty. I was in love! The trouble started when I saw her price tag $45. I am frugal, but more than anything, I am broke. So I called my husband, hoping he'd approve of this "big" purchase, but couldn't reach him. I put back half the stuff in my arms and decided that I would regret it if I didn't buy her. You should have seen me stuffing her into the back of my car.
  Later that night i looked up the maker and model and to my amazement, these retail for $775. It was a good buy. I have to laugh that I was deliberating for so long about buying her. My husband completely approves and to top it off, I immediately started working on a new dress which I finished 10 hours later. Not only is this dress form beautiful, it is fully functional and inspiring. I can now work on two dresses at the same time! I am in LOVE!