Unusual Bird

A little sparkle

2011-02-08T01:45:00.000-08:00

I love crystal decanters. I love all their different shapes, their heaviness and the way they sparkle in the light. It's a fairly new love and so far we have only one in our (soon to be) collection, which I bought for Tim. Seeing as I'm breast feeding, I'm yet to even sample pouring a glass of whisky from it, but I admire it every evening and it makes me feel kind of flash and glamourous as I sit there, night after night, babe on breast.

I do wish I'd thought to make these decanter lights, but seeing as I didn't I'll admit to not being above nicking the idea and trying it out myself sometime or other. Put it on the list of things to make.

This one looks like a lady and thus kicked off some reference inspiration for a wedding dress for a client. The brief was "princess, cocktail, feminine and a little glamourous"

The dress was silk satin underneath many layers of nylon and silk tulle. The French lace on the bodice and waist area was embellished with crystal beads and dipped in tea to give it a soft vintage feel. The front as you can see was shorter than the back, sitting where the ankle is thinnest. The back sat a little like a peacock! A white peacock!

Pics: Decanter Lights by Lee Broom; Christian Dior 50's Cinderella Fantasy; Christian Dior; Sylvie Guillam; 'Lucky Spot' by Stella McCartney. Photo by Idene; Chandelier by Moonlight_Sunlight_Light; Vintage jewels by Karla's Cottage

Real Bride Celine

2010-07-12T03:44:00.000-07:00

Firstly I have to say that the previous post is not meant to be on this blog. It relates to my search for a country house and it's presence on this blog is testament to my uselessness as a blogger and reader of fine print!!

Oh well!

This post relates to one of my lovely brides Celine, who got married recently. She was a tall, gorgeous and slender woman with a very cute smile. One of the rare girls who can wear a slinky dress well. You have to be tall and have no thighs! Not to mention confident!

She got married at Wylie's Baths which is a great place. I must remember to go there, I haven't been for years.

See, a cute smile. Dad looks proud.

I like veils like this: simple and waspy

The breezy fishtail. Her dress was in heavy silk satin

The front and back necklines were trimmed in a double layer of fine French lace.

The husband looks happy

Looks a bit like a fashion shoot.

Cool pics I think

The Windy Wedding

2010-06-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

These are my friends Justin and Juliette who were married earlier this year at Tamarama. Actually the weather that day was bizarre, it was suffocatingly hot all day until about half an hour before the wedding and then the most aggressive southerlies blew in. Plan A to get married on the headland was aborted and Plan B took place, which was getting married in the marquee in the garden, overlooking the bay, so still nice. The rain kicked in though and everything got a little wet, but not everyone's spirits so that was important!

I read a passage from Captain Corelli's Mandalin which I think no one could hear (which was actually a relief for me!!) and someone sang a traditional Vietnamese song, a nod to Juliette's heritage.

Her dress was designed to be a modern take on the Cheongsam. The groom gave me instructions for what he thought the dress should be (ie: sexy and tight fitting!) which is not usual of course, but I have known him since I was 15 so that allows him special rights! Although not so special that actually paid any attention to what he said! Juliette is very feminine and quite elegant so even though the dress is still sexy it's soft and has my usual movement thing going on. I think it looked perfect on her and of course he and everyone else loved it.

Which was another relief as Justin is my harshest critic and most of my friends are designers of some kind or another so that's always scary!

The cheongsam part of the bodice is silk tulle and hand dyed French lace in a murderous red

A vintage 1920's parasol

The back was low and you can see how the lace goes

The marquee was really pretty, especially at night

Here comes the windy part!

The dress does look rather fun though

I love all that swirling around

The dress was in gold and latte silk chiffon

Really when it's all said and done, who cares what the weather was like?

You can still be fabulous

Raquel by the water

2010-05-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

One of my oldest and closest friends is moving to France tomorrow. For two years or thereabouts. Somewhere near Bergerac in the Dordogne region, a little hamlet called Lolme. There are only three houses there. They are going to do up an old house and see what happens. I wish I was going too. Well, I am going in September to visit but it would be nice to have an adventure like that. I think France is my spiritual home but Tim doesn't think it is his...... oh well

Anyway, below is my lovely bride Raquel. She got married earlier this year in Manly but it looks a little like St Tropez or somewhere! A bit of Euro up the road, or across the water as it may be.

Her dress is in latte coloured sand washed silk with a fine beaded tulle skirt over the top. Raquel is an artist I think, or maybe she's at art school. She had very specific ideas about her dress and the feeling she wanted. Well, they all do really! She found her own lace and the tulle for the skirt which was actually taken off an existing dress.

She then beaded extra beads and crystals on the bodice once she had taken the dress. Normally we do all that, a bride generally doesn't buy their own lace etc, although from time to time someone does. But Raquel really wanted to do as much as she could herself. So we gave in.

Anyway, she looks lovely and very womanly, volupturous. Which she was!

See? That's a bit Euorpean isn't it?

These types of beaches are not European though

The dress looks lovely here, nice colours

Matching colours

They look glamorous and very relaxed. She's quite beautiful really. Great hair. I always like to imagine some people as being from some other time and she has a 60's beach glamour thing going on. A little bohemian

A few more Real Brides

2010-05-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to make a comment about the time it has taken me to write another blog. Some blogs that I read, the people writing them update them everyday, which is what makes us read them all the time. That and the content I suppose. I'm not that organised.... or intimately involved with my computer. Or whatever.

Anyway, below are some variations on a theme. One of our best selling dresses is called 'Madeleine' and we can easily modify it with colour or lace to make it quite different for each bride. The skirt under layer is silk satin. On top there is a layer of silk chiffon which has godet panels cut into the hem to give it a fullness which can depend on the amount of godets used. Some of them have so many godets that some brides can bring their hands together above their heads and the fabric will follow easily. It's very fun and feminine.

This is Aurelie. A lovely French girl. Her dress was in Ivory silk satin and chiffon and the bodice was embellished with a French corded lace that we dyed black.

Aurelie was quite particular about her dress. She really wanted a contrasting detail and as she had such strong ideas about how it all should be, she was a great muse.

The lace was subtly embellished with jet crystals

The straps were in an Italian silk tulle

The back was quite low and the top of

each godet was also embellished with jet crystals

The skirt was full but still quite sleek

This is Eneida, a gorgeous Brazilian girl. She was such a pleasure to work with, a very warm and sincere person.

The dress was in champagne silks

The bodice and high waist was detailed in a

heavily embellished French lace also in Champagne

The skirt was soft and fluid

That's her son, who was very excited about the whole thing

This is my bride Louisa, who eloped with her husband to New Zealand to get married. Just the two of them. They arrived in a helicopter.

There was obviously a bit of a breeze that day!

It's still fun though

She also had a French lace down the centre front of the dress.

The lace was Ivory in colour with a metallic silver thread

This is Leona, who had the greatest curly hair ever! Although I'm sure she thinks it's a pain.

Her dress was actually the colour platinum even though it looks white here.

She had a soft cotton French lace on the bodice

and high waist which was in Ivory.

Her dad was very sweet, look how emotional he is....

And that is the end of variations on a theme x

2010-03-17T03:06:00.000-07:00

I have started a great book. I think our book club has waned a little. Some of us broke off and read Twilight and some of us didn't like the next book (The Gathering) and some didn't even bother to read it (me) after no one said anything good about it. And on the night we were supposed to discuss the virtues of it, we were all too busy. So it seems to have lost momentum. However I think I have found the book to revive it. I loved it from the first page.

It's set in Turkey in the 70's and is about a man who falls in love with someone he shouldn't and he starts a collection of objects to remind him of his love. That's all I really know so far and of course I'm sure it's about much more than that. It's translated from Turkish and is beautifully written and great fodder for daydreaming!

Anyway, back to brides (instead of having affairs), below are some girls from the recent and not so recent past. I forget that I have some pics of girls buried in emails and the like. I feel a bit guilty as I can't remember some of their names. A couple are from a year or more ago so maybe that's forgivable seeing as there have been so many girls since then.

Common themes, if there are any - natural white, unfussy design, breezy and ....fun to wear? Something like that...

Fiona in silk satin georgette

She had great legs

Some nice chiffon action from the back

A simple but effective back detail

Nellie on the beach in Silk Jersey

A Roman Holiday

Julie in Chantilly lace

Daria with a splash of colour

Not bad for 7 months pregnant

Inspiration

2010-03-01T01:15:00.000-08:00

I need to be more creative. I need to pay more attention too and not forget to change the daggy typeface that I first type this blog in, like my last entry.

Anyway, my girlfriend Tiara has decided that this is the year of an interior life. The year to do something more closely connected to things one feels passionate about and to nourish oneself. Well, I've expanded on that last bit but I'm sure she agrees. So I'm going to join her on that and do something too. She's going to write a short story a month and I'm going to......... mmmm

I don't know what. Yet.

I have to the end of the month to do it, but I know better than anyone that that will come around in a flash. So far she has given me some great reference to be inspired. Which I have been. Once I got over feeling completely uncreative by comparison!

Embarking on this project means I will have to give up on my love affair with Edward Cullen. (Don't read the daggy inscription at the bottom of the picture.)

And then of course also his alter ego, the absolutely divine Robert Pattinson. Yes shame, guilt and all that. I know it's embarrassing...

So below is something to kick start me off. Nature themes. Butterflies mostly. The black butterflies are the work of Carlos Amorales who I think did an installation in Dior Homme. I'm not sure who the others are I'm sorry.

I think I would need more than a month to do anything even remotely like these. I might have to work my way up to that. Plus I don't want to do butterflies. I'll think up my own themes. The idea is to make things that relate vaguely to what I do that I can just put around my studio. Maybe make window displays out of them and so on. I just want to tinker with my sewing machine and fabrics and make things that are purely for interest and fun. Well, in theory I do.

Anyway now that I've said I'm going to do it, I have to do it.....

I especially love these birds

And also this piece is very beautiful

Sorry Edward, Robert. It breaks my heart to say good bye. Truly

A Nice Wedding

2010-02-28T17:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of one of my brides - Helen - and her wedding. I don't usually include many pics from the whole wedding. Well, I usually don't get to see them either, but this time I did and I really like the whole feel of it.

Helen did almost everything herself I think. The cupcakes, the flowers, she made little scented birds and coconut ice to give as gift packages to all the guests. She printed all the paper herself too. I know that's probably a stressful thing to take on, but then again, if you're looking for something charming I wonder if that's the only way to achieve it.

Helen is a slightly bohemian looking girl in a late 60's, early 70's way to my mind, very creative and her husband was a muso so I had these visions in my head that she should look luminous and kind of like a maiden from the Renaissance period.

Her dress was in blushes, golds and champagne colours. Silk satin and silk chiffon. I used one of my favourite French laces that is rather heavily embellished with silk tulle and crystal beads. We did drapery around the waist to show off her great curves and of course there was lots of movement and fullness at the hem. I think she looks gorgeous.

They were married at Neilson Park in Sydney, which is one of my favourite beaches. Anyway, you can see how it all looked below.

The photographer was Marzena. She did a great job I think.

2010-02-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

I think we all have a period, an epoque if you like, that we perhaps could have lived if not now. I have a few. I would loved to have been out and about in the late 1800's, still young and fabulous at the turn of the century and then of course retaining that youthfulness in the 20's. I would gladly have been around in the late 1700's if I could have been friends with Sarah Bernhadt. None of this in Australia though of course. In Europe.

Anyway, everyone can relate to the aesthetics of one time or another. Some girls who come to the studio look to me like they could easily channel a Jean Harlowe feel, while others would suit better Grace Kelly. I think it's good to think of that when deciding on a look for yourself. As a starting point anyway, obviously we want to modernise things and move along.

Which brings me to my bride Sarah who got married late last year. She wanted a 50's feel and she chose and bought the daisy fabric herself. I did the rest while she kept urging me to add more and more tulle. Sarah actually had one of the smallest waists that I've ever made a bridal dress for, not that I can remember it off the top of my head now, but it was little! So the fullness in the skirt only accentuated it, which is perfect.

The 50's was all about miniature measurements really, for things like waists at least and a style like this would not look as good if the waist were not significantly smaller than the rest of the bits.

Anyway, the underdress was made form a silk dupion. The bodice was boned and did up with buttons at the back.

There are two colours of tulle over the top (ivory and lemon) and then the top layer is a devore daisy pattern. There are tulle pleats and tutu like pieces underneath also to give it the swing.

This is my favourite photo. I love the swing of the skirt and the Combi. And also the fact that she had a look in mind and was obviously so particular about it all being just so.

Plus she was fun to work with. x

A New Year

2010-02-03T02:02:00.000-08:00

I'm ashamed to discover how long it's been since I've posted anything. I think I must have been so caught up with all the Christmas brides and getting all our work done and unable to think of much else. Then the New Year. This is the year of being slim... and healthy and cultured and much more personally glamourous than usual.

Oh and I've discovered Twilight (a thousand years after everyone else I realise, which is usual for me and things that are popular culture) so that has kept me busy for the last 3 weeks. I've got all my girlfriends onto them as well. Just so we can share the burden of our shame and guilt and of course our love for Edward Cullen!

But enough of that.

Here is my bride Gillian, who got married last last year. She was a lovely girl, quite softly spoken but bossy in the nicest way. At our first fitting I could tell that she had a clear vision in her head of how she wanted to look and having just received her photos I'm impressed. She looks completely wonderful I think.

Her dress was made from heavy silk satin

With a French lace bodice

All the maids look good too

Her belt and bow was made from a pale gold satin

She also had a great hairdo...

and a great photographer.

Drapery

2009-11-24T01:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some interesting offerings from the catwalks to inspire us to think of drapery. There are versions of these that would be fun to wear as wedding frocks. Longer and simpler perhaps.

Elie Saab

I do like this nude colour but it can make some girls look so pasty - like this girl. The same colour suits the one below much better. I think it's a blond versus brunette thing.

More Elie.

I noticed quite a few one shouldered dresses around.

Excellent. I love them.

This is Givenchy I think.

Again the pastiness, but it's still cool.

Lanvin.

Of course you'd lose the sleeve but I love the low slung kind of swing it has.

This is Givenchy again.

No bride would want to look this puffy but there's something nice about it that could be done.

Also this girl looks very cute and kooky

I have to get draping, obviously!

So a separate nod to Deadwood

2009-11-11T03:03:00.000-08:00

Now I've never said I was trendy and my recent discovery of the HBO series Deadwood proves that I'm well behind the times. And maybe one shouldn't admit to a penchant for some of those American dramas. Six Feet Under, Madmen etc but really they can be just so good and perfect fodder for chilling out at night. Around the lunch table at the studio the other day we intellectualised Madmen for the entire repast before we realised what we were doing! Anyway, with most of them my attention usually wanes (Sopranos, Boston Legal) or I forget to watch a couple of episodes (United States of Tara) and that's that, but Deadwood I just adore.

You have to get beyond the constant use of expletives that they spit out at each other and of course the most horrid violence at times. It is the old West after all. Now I finally get the inspiration of the likes of Bonny Prince Billy, Tom Waits and the like. But anyway once you get over all of that then there is the dashing Seth Bullock to gawk at.

As I said perfect night viewing, ladies! He never smiles, see below. It's an illustration but it captures the moodiness of the man. Ha ha.

Where have these types of men gone eh?

Chiffon is a lovely fabric

2009-11-11T01:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if one can talk about the beauty of chiffon and how much I love the series Deadwood in the same blog post, but I'm watching the last episode of the first series as I write this so it's impossible to ignore. But as this is about bridal things after all, I will talk exclusively about chiffon.

Seeing as summer is coming up it's the perfect time for thinking of lovely light fabrics with lots of movement. Chiffon is in my opinion much nicer than georgette, it's lighter, more papery and much more diaphanous. And even though it's delicate it's not too precious, it survives the perils of travel and still looks great at the other end.

This is Alex in her silk chiffon dress. It has some tarnished gold lace around the neckline with an assortment of gold and pewter coloured beads for a little Bollywood effect (her description!) and she wears it with great aplomb I think.

See, a little wind swept action

Alex was very beautiful I thought

More movement which looks quite fun doesn't it?

So if anyone is thinking of chiffon, do it I say. It's so breezy and lovely to wear, you'll want to grab the skirt and just cha cha all night long.

It's time for some inspiration

2009-10-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

Seeing as so many of my frocks are leaving me around this time of year, I thought I'd put up some ideas to inspire some wedding photography that has some style and whimsy to it. Again plundered from my favourite wedding site. Which I guess I should say is Once Wed for those who care to look. Why don't we have a site like this here I'd like to know.....

Anyway, I've collected a few fun pics to add to the thinking-outside-the-norm fund.

This only works if there are good legs involved of course

Is the photographer likening her skirt to those roots do you think?

I don't like her cardigan but I do like his blue scarf and of course the landscape

It's cute, but she should have shown more purple

This is just a nice hair piece

A nice colour selection

Again, nice colours

This sort of doesn't really work, but the idea is cool

I like her cape.... and why do those dogs always look obscene?

Inspired? ............ I hope so x

Real Brides - Wedding Pics

2009-10-06T02:30:00.000-07:00

I think it's time for some real brides again. Seeing as this is the wedding season.

This is my bride from earlier in the year - Miss Kim. She was a pretty cool chick who had managed to charm her way into a reservation at El Bulli in Spain. Which if you go to the site and can manage to navigate your way around, you will see that that was no mean feat! I think it was about this time in the year that she should be going, I'm not sure if she took it up.

Anyway, her dress was made in a silk dupion in quite a lush colour with a jazzy name. I also made her a corset as a lingerie piece for her to wear underneath. The dress was very fitted around the waist and pleated over the bodice. She was a curvy girl and the shape we ended up with was perfect for someone with lush curves like that. A corset can be so good for nipping in the waist and getting the girls up high!

You can't really see all the detailing in the bodice from these pics but judging by that fur wrap it was a brisk evening in Melbourne. They make a stylish couple in my opinion....

The fabric looks metallic, even though it wasn't

this card is a good idea isn't it?

I hope everyone had a good long weekend. Mine was great. Two visits to the Opera House for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, a massage, a great bottle of red with some mushrooms flown in especially from France and a walk through the Botanical Gardens in the rain under a huge umbrella. Very nice indeed....

A flower is a splendid thing

2009-09-26T03:18:00.000-07:00

I have not had the internet on at home for the last few weeks so posting a blog has been impossible. But I have read quite a few books, cooked many delicious dinners, hand stitched lace on a dress or two, indulged in both The Wire and Madmen, not to mentioned delighted in the bursting forth of life in my garden.... So there was an upside. There just has been no nosing about on the net at all! And although I liked not having it, I missed it too.

Now that I am here and seeing as spring is in the air and in my garden too, what better things to look at than flowers. I am growing what many real gardeners would probably think of as weeds, but as I'm just a beginner they're all wonderful to me. I can upgrade later. I have African Violets, Alyssum, pansies, jasmine, wisteria, lillies, a lemon tree, different types of daisies, some natives that I can't remember the names of and that flowering tree that you see everywhere in Sydney. I don't know how to spell it and I can't be bothered to look it up. You know the ones I mean.... bogies!

Anyway, my friend Mat who directed Victoria Beckham's latest fashion campaign sent me a link to a fantastic wedding site from the states. I'll post it another time as I want to plunder it first before I give it away. It is by far the best one I have seen and it is the only one that I relate to.

Here are some pics of flowers and floral decorations that I found and think are really lovely. All bridal flowers (and those in real life too) should look as if they've been swiped from someone's garden on the way to wherever. Beautiful but not precious. Some bouquets are so tightly bunched that I'm sure one could play tennis with them.

I would love to be having lunch here.

A close up of the flowers.

There are lots of interesting flowers in this bunch

Simplicity can be so stylish

Are these flowers straight off the prairie do you think?

A bit more formal, but still nice

I think these are Ranunculus, which some may regard as the poor mans rose, but I think they are just as delicate and mysterious. Worthy of a still life painting by some Renaissance master. I like the berries too.

Favourite Words

2009-08-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

Lune is one of my favourite words. It's lovely to say, it's lovely to think about. It's a wondrous thing to look at as in below, especially with some old lamp posts thrown in for ambience. And a bit of snow. Very still..... and quiet. Just out of reach......

Photo by Franco Ferri Mala

..... or sleek and stylised like this Red Eye Loon. I just love black and white with a bit of red nearby. Not sure about the green, but he wears it well.

Do you think you'd say he was covered in feathers if you didn't know that he was?

I don't think you would...

A bygone era

2009-08-14T03:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to imagine myself as a seamstress type person living in the early 20th century. I've just set myself up in a shop (or salon rather) and I'm making things for glamourous ladies. Maybe I have a gaggle of women who work with me like Evie and Beatrice from The House of Elliot and I go to lavish restaurants and parties like they do.

This is my studio, so it's easy to imagine such things.... although no gossiping chooks here

Everyday I admire my painted floor which I did myself. I liked them so much I made Tim paint our floor at home. Although it should have been me as I did a much better job. He sees it as a chore whereas I like painting surfaces.

Maybe my beau could be Carlo Mollino. He could pick me up for evening drinks in his plane that he designed and flew himself. Is there anyone around these days like him?

Anyway a lot of dresses that I make seem to be reminiscent of the 30's or thereabouts. Well that's what I thought and it's certainly what people seem to think of them, but just now, when looking for some examples of this I could only find two brides. But that's mostly because I have no say in the final styling of it all of course. Still, I think it's a good thing to have a piece that is not screamingly modern because it's really a family heirloom in a way. To be cherished and tried on again when one is feeling nostalgic, to hold pride of place in the cupboard and then finally the dress up box when the kids arrrive!

This is Katharine. Her dress was made from a crazy Italian Macrame lace that is all squiggly and looks like string. It had a layer of silk satin and silk chiffon underneath that and the back was quite textured with pieces of Italian silk tulle and extra macrame lace.

Some photographers can't help themselves with the old Dutch tilt can they??

This is Jessica getting married at The Carrington I think, in Katoomba. Great place. People used to go up there in the 20's to drink martinis, smoke gaspers and indulge in a bit of partner swapping!

Her dress was made with French lace on the bodice and to the waist. The skirts were silk tulle over silk satin. Her cap sleeves were also silk tulle trimmed with French lace. I think she had a sprinkling of small crystals here and there on the lace.

But if I'd been around then I would have had the war to contend with and that would have been a bore to say the least!

A Cool Haiku

2009-08-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

The pheasant -

She has indeed

A handsome lover

Alexander McQueen's idea of male beauty from Winter 2009

I like it

I bet this man appreciates a Haiku

Photos by Tranism

Lacey Real Brides

2009-08-11T03:55:00.001-07:00

Hello, I love the internet. After years of dawdling around on it, just barely a bystander, I've finally got the hang of finding and collecting images. I've put all my brides into files and I feel organised at last.

So, here below is my lovely bride Alison and her hubby. They were married in Autumn. Her dress was made from silk satin with an Italian Macrame lace overlay. The lace is crazy actually when you look at it but it makes up to be quite vintage looking. It's not for everyone and it's certainly not traditional but who cares about that!

The back was very low on the dress and the macrame fell in fishtail pieces under the buttons. I guess the front is quite low too but it's not a cheeky dress. It's a simple style and one that can look completely different depending on the fabrication. It has a little Hollywood glamour in an unfussy way.

That is one enormous bouquet!

Here's a bride from a while ago - Penny. A very cool chick who worked at Sass & Bide. This is taken in my old shop in Paddington (thanks be to God that I am no longer in Paddington!) which is why she looks less sparkly than the usual bride.

This fabric is also a crazy Italian lace. A silk linen with big burn out flowers. It was only ever creative people who bought it. In fact it took me some time to think of what to make in it! But I do love it. I don;t have any left now and I miss it!

Finally to continue the theme of unusual lace, here is a dress for Danielle. This is obviously not her although she is the only person I have ever made a dress for who has the exact same measurements as my mannequin, so in many ways this is her!

The lace and colour underneath were her idea, the style mine. We wanted it to look like a vintage dress from the 50's. Which it does. She had green eyes so it looked amazing on her. Which was lucky as when she first bought in the rather acid green silk for underneath I almost wanted to run a mile!

The lace was corded which is my favourite kind of lace. Anyway that's enough about that, Tim has made me a chai tea (his own special recipe) and it's calling me...... x

2009-08-07T03:23:00.000-07:00

This is my bride Anastasia who got married earlier in the year. She was very tall and willowy and a lovely girl. Although maybe not too lovely by the looks of this murderous red! It was a very simple dress and quite sexy really.

There's no such thing as the perfect red that I can ever find in a silk. I always end up dying the fabric to get the colour I want. The first time I ever did it, I went to the paint shop and got a colour card of an almost perfect colour, then off to the make up shop for some nail polish. Once I'd painted over the card with the nail polish, the colour was right. Luckily the fabric dyer is such a clever man who never gives one any grief no matter how pie in the sky one's requests are. For Anastasia, we took the colour from a velvet top of hers. But as velvet is never a flat colour it was the depth of red half way down the pile that we wanted, not what you could see when you looked at it from above. The dyer had to look through it, which he just might have done as he got it right. I do so love this shade of red.

This is a good red too. You have to look in the middle of the leaf, not the ends....

And this is good too, although it's more of a burgundy, but you can't be too picky about that when it comes to vintage cars. You'd never get a colour like this these days..... now they're all taupey and neutral...... what's the world coming to?

The piece de resistance in red though is to be found here.
This marvelous burst of nature is as perfect a red as ever could be found. Are we all just a bunch of cheap imitators? Mother Earth has already done it a hundred times over with more aplomb and attention to detail than we sentient beings would ever dream up.

Here is another great girl - Pip. I love these photos, she and her husband look very cool and glamourous in a nonchalant way I think. I also like the fact that he apparently does not like champagne and could care less for pretense! Sometimes I feel so sorry for some men made to play act in wedding photos.

Pip's dress was a sort of tutu. A long version. Her belt was in a gorgeous red and it had a hand made silk chrysanthemum on it. I didn't make it, a fabulous girl called Jen did. I'll have to put her details on here. The tulle of the skirt was draped from the waist and it dropped and came up again from there. It had a slightly bubble effect in some places and not in others. Anyway it looked quite fun, delicate but not too precious. I think in years to come their kids will look at these pics and marvel at what groovers their parents were!

I hope my daughter thinks that about Tim and I.

A splash of Fuscia

2009-08-05T04:27:00.000-07:00

This is my lovely bride Daria. She was about 5 or 6 months or maybe 7 months pregnant. I love the berries and flowers in her hair. Hence the fuscia ribbon.

Because Daria was pregnant, it was important to make a dress that flattered her new shape without hiding it or showing it off. We wanted something that was soft and romantic, so the under layer was a silk satin which was cut quite close to the figure and then over the top were silk chiffon pieces coming from the under bust which could move as they wished when she walked. Having these pieces dropping from this point gave the dress a sense of elongation. The hem looks nice and swishy in the sea breeze too.

I always feel a little weird about the kissing photos but at least in this photo they're doing a nose kiss!

I think it's nice that their baby got to go the wedding also.

2009-07-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

Some friends and I have started our own book club (so hot right now I know) and this is our first book. It was written in French originally and beautifully so, I'm sure, as a large portion of the book is about the use of language, both written and spoken. I'm loving it as it's one of those books that illuminates one on many levels. Not just with the story itself but with all the dense subtext. I think it almost needs to be read twice, the second time to really take in the thoughts and interests of the characters. There are references to all levels of culture, like this as an example: Dido's Lament by British composer Henry Purcell. For listening not looking.

Anyway, it makes me think it would be nice to be more cultured. We do our best and there's only so much one can fit in with a business and a child, but all the same it would be lovely to visit Paris or New York soon and soak up the scene!

Could this be lingerie for stones?

I need to get back to drawing. This isn't mine, it's by Guido Crepax. A fantastic illustrator of all things tantalising and erotic. Only

peek here if you're game and won't think badly of me!

Here are some pics of my bride, the lovely Sarah R. Her dress was made from silk satin with silk chiffon on the top layer. There were panels down the front and the hem was quite full and swishy. It was designed specifically for her and I think she looks great in it. The bodice was draped with pleated chiffon and the belt has a squiggly French lace and vintage beads on it. I do love chiffon. It's romantic and fun and even though it's delicate it can be glam without being too precious.

Ninax

Skin care dilemmas

2009-06-11T03:52:00.000-07:00

This picture has nothing to do with anything really, it's just quite cool. The photographer is Robert Jaso.

Another great pic. This is completely up my via in every way. By Jose Luis Tabuena.

We've been trying to finish renovating our kitchen which is why it takes me forever to get back here. Plus I am so easily distracted on the web. For the last few weeks it's been the trials of Britain's Got Talent and I know I should be ashamed to say that. I haven't ever succumbed to reality TV before and I may never again but for the brief dalliance, it was fun. These were my favourites and I was so pleased they won.

Just now I've been looking on www.strawberrynet.com thinking that I might buy some skincare.I can't seem to get the link to work, so it's best just put that in and then get to the right site. I dont know why this and so many other things in life eludes me. Anyway, there are so many products and I thought I might try something new, but really I've just ended up feeling a little overwhelmed. Then I came across this site: Beautiful Reviews which reviews all sorts of skin care and make up products. I haven't found one product that they rate after 15 minutes of reading. All I could glean was that they seem rather obsessed with something called peptides. And anti aging, which they seem to rate everything in light of. Truly, I don't care about that, I am aging, and as long as it's happening gracefully I don't care if it's happening! I had a naturopath once who had been putting olive oil on her face for 25 years and she looked fantastic. Of course she also had regular colonics every year which no doubt helped. Clean from the inside out and all that! I did dabble in that some years ago and I must say that it did do wonders for my skin and my eyes also looked very sparkly. I guess that could be an idea for the impending wedding. People always think they have to go to the gym or get the personal trainer etc and while that is all good, perhaps a colonic on the sly could assist with a little extra glow on the day! Just don't talk about it over dinner! ha ha x

Cherry Blossom

2009-05-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post dedicated to the humble Cherry Blossom. I know we're coming into winter and it's not the time to be thinking about CB's but then I wonder if it could be precisely the time to be thinking about Cherry Blossoms. Something to look forward to. Perhaps to think about as an addition or the lone star of a bouquet or scattered about the place exuding charm and loveliness to all.

I don't know if many brides have Cherry Blossoms, but they should. I do know that they are delicate and can fall about everywhere but I think that only adds to their beauty. They are the essence of impermanence and beginnings. They're fragile, just like beginnings can be.

My favourite garden in Mt Wilson has a spectacular Cherry Blossom walk. The branches curve over to each other and create a sort of tunnel. So when you look to the sky it is through a web of Cherry Blossoms. I especially love a weeping tree as that is exactly what I want to do when I see them!

Here are some lovely Cherry Blossoms to inspire.....

This one is especially lovely

CB's go perfectly blue skies. How could one not feel happy gazes up through these?

This one looks a bit like a peony doesn't it? I don't know the name of it which I guess I should try to find out....

Anyway, I'm thinking that maybe I could get Tim to come up with a CB design for our kitchen splash back. Then I could admire them while I'm cooking.

Real Brides - Wedding Pics

2009-05-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

After months of working with a bride designing, fitting and making up her dress, it can be rather sad to see it walk out the door. And her too of course! My dresses are like children really and no one likes to see their kids leave home when they've just gotten used to them! So it's a very nice thing when I get sent some photos of the dress on it's big day. I have been quite astonished sometimes to notice how fetching a bride actually is when she's all polished and dressed to kill! Like most of us, she usually comes in wearing jeans, hair hardly done or not at all and not much make up to speak of...... I could almost be describing myself then!

Anyway, what I mean is that I love receiving photos of my bride in her dress looking fabulous, especially more fabulous than I expect. Throughout all the fittings it's me putting the effort in and finally on the day, the bride then gets to put in her side of the bargain. I'm rarely disappointed and occasionally thrilled!

This is my lovely bride. Her dress is made from Silk satin underneath layers of French silk tulle and French Lace. Perfect for the beach. Soft, bohemian, glamourous and a little sexy. The colours are antique blush satin, bleached sand silk tulle and the lace has a metallic gold thread running through it. It has lots of lovely movement in the fabric and is quite swishy when you walk.

I also think her hair is rather fab. I'll have to find out who did it and post that information. Her photographer was Bradley Patrick from Sugarlove

I love a glamourous girl! What a great muse!

Tutu's for all women

2009-05-04T02:57:00.000-07:00

I think every woman should wear a tutu at least once in her life. Although, as far as I'm aware, I haven't..... but every other woman should. I didn't get the idea of the tutu until I went to see Sylvie Guillem perform in the Sydney Festival a couple of years ago. Actually she wasn't wearing a tutu at the time but there was a book of all her performances in the foyer and it was in there that the beauty and extravagance of the tutu was revealed to me. See below for yourself...

Perhaps because of the romantic images they evoke and even the music one hears when thinking of them, they seem such magical things. Dainty, elegant and graceful, I'm sure one couldn't help but be all those things when swishing around in one. I think it would be such fun to wear one for a wedding. The right one of course.

There are many versions to be had of the tutu and I think there is a style for everyone. As long as the bodice is fitted and fine and there is tulle involved in some way, I think that qualifies as a tutu. Here below are some versions of the tutu that are good for inspiration.

Here's the lovely Gwen Stefani in a fab Chanel tutu style dress. I realised upon finding this image that I made a dress based on this for one of my brides last year. I'll have to harass her for a pic.

The fantastic Alexander McQueen and his versions.

This is a Christian Dior dress from 1950 photographed by Norman Parkinson. I love the fabric.

This is Norman Parkinson again. I don't know whose dress this is (the book is in my studio) but apart from its loveliness I think this is a great shot for a wedding dress with a back detail and lots of drama in the skirt like this.

Tim sent me this image, not for any reason other than he thought I would like it and it happens to fit perfectly with this post. It's so handy having another designer in the family, the more eyes to see things with, the better.... See it's still lovely even when it's a wilting flower!

Anyway, there will be more on the tutu...... x

Bridal Inspirations 1

2009-04-29T03:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few ideas for bridal dresses. It always pays to see what's happening on the European catwalks. Of course one has to look beyond colour, transparency and the general angularity of most models (not to mention the fact that most of them don't have any boobs) and see the possibilities. Like theses rather fun ruffles from Elie Saab

Or the fabulous drapery and drama of this number. I love the cinched in waist. Again from old Elie. The colour is fab too. Of course there will probably be a slightly daggier shade available here which is almost right but missing the depth. Why can't local silk suppliers get some colours right?
This is Givenchy. I don't like the animal napping on her shoulders but the cut of the lower skirt is very sexy. The plunging neck is also right up my alley but not for a wedding .... I guess!
This is Gaultier. I like the idea of transparency with a graphic nature. It wouldn't have the same impact in lighter bridal shades, but I think there would definitely be a version that would look utterly gorgeous if it were done right. Not as busy around the bodice and torso, but it's quite sexy I think.
I have just booked a rather gorgeous Parisian girl who is having her wedding in Montreal and then another do in Paris and she would like a contrasting combination of black and ivory. I think she's after something quite glamourous but with some surprise detail. I'm really excited about the possibility of what we could do so I'm going to collect plenty of reference. This is the first one. I think this is Gaultier too. Can I say that he is one of my favourite designers. He is always clever and other worldly in his ideas of what an interesting woman could be. I think my style is a little softer than this dress but the hem detail is rather fab.

Anyway, www.style.com is a great reference I think. The trick is to look at RTW as well as couture as there are plenty of details in a dress and it's important to look for them in all sorts of places. Piece together a neckline here and a waist detail there. You know, that sort of thing.... x

Hayfever

2009-04-14T22:31:00.001-07:00

A weekend spent with the worst hay fever one has had for ages means a week spent peering out at the world through bleary eyes. That's of course only when I can see past all the tissues. I don't think the never ending kitchen renovation is helping matters either. I think the hay fever looks around and thinks " oh yes, it's party time here boys, let's hang out for a few more days yet!" Never mind me, it's fine for me to look unfit for the public's attention.

Anyway, I did manage to read a huge amount of magazines. Mostly homey magazines and the odd Selvedge which had an article on the preservation of one's clothes and the art of repairing. Things that someone's mother taught them in generations past (not mine though!) like darning and patching. Not the efficient and professional type of repair that one would expect from an alteration joint but the charming homemade repair, lovingly done by the fire or telly. The kind that even though the colour is wrong and the stitches wonky, the love that has gone into it is plain for all to see. Actually their examples were not as bad as that, but they were rather romantic. It's the idea that a garment can take on another personality after a bit of repair and be just as lovely as before. I think I will do this with my absolute favourite piece of clothing, a Tsumori Chisato black cotton cardigan that I bought in Paris a hundred years ago. It has huge holes on both elbows. Boo hoo...

Anyway, I think that's what can also be interesting about using things from the past and incorporating them into clothes we make today. Of course this is not so easy on a large commercial level, but for me making lovely wedding dresses it's a definite possibility. I have two recent examples that immediately spring to mind. Both dresses used fabric from mum's wedding dress, which would otherwise do what? Sit in the cupboard in a box if she's good or in a plastic bag if she's not, used as dress ups later if she's lucky enough to have grand daughters. Actually both of these dresses were adapted in such a way that this could still happen. They just also got to have another shine in the sun. It's a bit like a mother dough or passing on a characteristic to an offspring. I think both these dresses were very much each bride as a separate person to their mother, both dresses were quite different to what their mother wore and yet there was something of mum in them just like she is there in the daughters. That might be getting too sentimental about things, but you have to agree that it is a great idea.

This is Anna's silk jersey dress. A little Grecian. Her mother had a lilac wedding dress which became the fabric for the belt. We then added French lace and a few sparkles.

This is the lovely Susie. The corded lace on the bodice of her dress is from her mother's wedding dress. It was Ivory in it's previous life but here it has been dyed a very soft pink to match the chiffon of the skirt. I's such a cute dress. I have a cool picture of her with her husband, they have great style I think. He's wearing a pork pie hat.

I will have to find other examples of this, I have plenty about.... somewhere.....

2009-03-02T02:30:00.000-08:00

It's rather strange writing the first post. Especially as the husband hasn't the energy just now to fancy up my blog page and I'm not skilled enough to do it myself. And I do like things to look good so it will have to be one of the many things I've got to learn if I'm to get my rhythm going with this. It took me ages to think of a name. Finally I remembered that once my dad said to me ' ..you're a funny bird Neen' which I took as a compliment, once I'd rearranged it in my mind. It is a good description of me I think, especially now that I've modified it to sound posher. It also relates to my blossoming relationship with nature (excuse the pun!) and to my work which in may ways can be regarded as creating plummage of one kind or another.

Mostly I expect this blog will be about the things that I make or think about making, or wish I had made or am glad that someone else has made. But now I just need to go to bed and mourn the finishing of my book which happened earlier today and had to be brought on sooner than usual as I was in danger of being eaten alive by it! Who could live without stories...