This new year has such a nice, grand sound! I, for one, am not going to be calling it "Twenty Ten." Thanks for all the lovely and very kind inquiries about my 2010 Bridal Collection. I'm hammering those little keyboard keys ever so fast to respond to everyone, so if you haven't heard back from me yet, never fear...I am working my way through.
If you know me, you know I am a bit of a grey fanatic. My favorite New York fabric company has a pale, pearly, seashell-y grey silk that I believe was created for me to love. It has no name--unless you count 243--but it will always be oyster to me. So I was really excited when Erika ordered a version of my Honeychurch dress with my beloved oyster underlaying the lace and tulle. I do like her style.
The 2010 bridal season has crept up on 2009, and I have started some new custom dresses. If they're all like Tasha's, it's going to be a smashing year. This very special dress is embroidered all over with 100-year-old guipure lace. This lace is all made from small pieces from my collection, cut apart and reassembled as a collage of blossoms. They've been hand-tinted and tea dyed to harmonize in color. The bodice will be fully covered in lace, tapering down the skirt in a scatter pattern to the hem. More pictures as it comes together.
I have had this fabric for years--1950s houndstooth wool in vivid magenta, scrounged long ago from some estate sale or other. Barely a yard, a bit shrunken and felted, but with its own quirky charm. The bitter winds and drab palette of winter oddly inspired me--I had a sudden passionate urge to make it into a tiny hooded shrug. I really had to dig to find that little scrap, since I never thought I would use it (never say never). I also never thought I'd like purple. Never, never say never. I think I have found my purple, and I am taking it on the town.
Custom dress embellishment for Clare. Velvet dusty miller leaves, silk peonies and hydrangeas. Such a lovely, ghostly palette--as if every petal had been delicately frosted over.
