A Photo Shoot with Ms. M…
Ms. M arrived for her final fitting. It was such a beautiful day that we took advantage of the late winter light, and stepped outside for a photo shoot. We had a great time getting some pretty fabulous shots of her as she modeled my “Dangerous Beauty” fashion for the upcoming Botanical Bacchanal Gala for the Fremont Arts Council.
Ms. M. never stopped smiling and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Now we just need to figure out the hair and makeup to complete her look…
A Botanical Gala Gown – Part 3: The Jacket and Hat…
The jacket for this ensemble was a Very Lucky Find at the Goodwill bins in Seattle’s Sodo district, where you buy by the pound. The jacket had beaded seams and a scalloped hem at the front, a short tail at the back, was well constructed and in great condition. The label said Mariella Ferretti – it’s a jacket from a 3 piece suit that originally cost $325. I think I snagged it for about $2.
I folded the collar upward, which made the modern notched lapel disappear and extended the chest size of the jacket. I planned to fasten the stand-up collar with a large hook and eye, obscured by an even larger antique-looking button from my collection. My model is wearing a black lace top, so I added black lace to the front and collar of the jacket to tie that look together. I even found remnants in my stash that were exactly the length I needed for those two embellishments, and a pair of black lace mitts to complete the look.
The butterfly brooch was another lucky find, again at the Powerhouse. I think they were those hair bun holders, one of which I stripped of its pearls and rhinestones which I replaced with blue jewels and clear crystal hearts that I dyed with a black Sharpie.
It’s a good day when you -do not- break your glass-front curio cabinet when your dress form tips over while you’re prepping for the arrival of your model… The first fitting went well, and I was ecstatic to find that the jacket fit without the need for alterations.
I had planned to add black lace to the cuffs but ran out of remnants. Then I realized that fern fronds were one of Nature’s laces, so again I stripped silk from wire and sewed it to the cuffs. I added gold trim to the back hem of the jacket, and ran foliage up the back slit to visually tie the jacket into the bustle. A giant poinsettia, a water hemlock, and a few more butterflies completed the look.
It was sheer coincidence that I started reworking my bowler hat for this ensemble on November 25, also known as St. Catherine’s Day, patron saint of lace makers. The hat will have veiling, and miniature versions of the flowers and butterflies from the rest of the ensemble.
I made amarita muscaria from Styrofoam balls, cut in half and covered with brocade, with metal studs as the spots. Pieces of avocado bags form a bed of lichens for the flora to nestle into. The lace that trails down the back has clip-on butterflies, which carry the theme upwards from the bustle.
I lucked out in finding miniature poinsettias on a garland at the Powerhouse. I replaced the plastic centers with beaded ones, and cut leaves down to size from much larger versions. I made nightshades from a wool coat scrap, and berries from wooden beads suspended on wires. The leaves were ivy shaped until I trimmed them down to a more appropriate shape. I was of course aided by the ever helpful ShopCat.
It took me awhile to figure out the bleeding hearts. Once again, the Powerhouse yielded up exactly what I needed – little heart-shaped ornaments that I covered with lace. I also found two little cicadas done up in orange net, that I reshaped the wings and painted black to look more like beetles. I just gotta say that the Powerhouse is a candy store for scavenger artists…
I tried to give the white Water Hemlock blossoms a coffee bath but I don’t think it took. So I took a fine tip sharpie to the petals to try to give them some dimension and break up the stark white. They cascade out of a broken black beaded buckle, and were the final additions to this hat.
The full ensemble for my Dangerous Beauty is now complete. Shown here are two early progress shots and the back of the finished project. I look forward to see it modeled at our Botanical Bacchanal Gala in March!
A Collector of Saintes: 18th Century Menswear…
The Dupuy Mestreau Museum in the city of Saintes, France is advertised as a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ with about 3,000 artifacts showcasing the cultural history of Saintes. This is the fourth and final in my series highlighting some of my favorite objects here.
Until my visit to this museum, I had not had an opportunity to get up close and personal to pieces from this period in menswear. All of these pieces were laid or hung flat in display cases, so I have rotated the orientation on some of them to better show them as they would have presented on a human form.
There were three waistcoats in this collection. The case at lower right also included shoe buckles and some other items I could not identify.
Here are additional detail shots of the waistcoat in the previous photo. I have never seen one that used fringe / frayed edges as a decorative element.
This next coat and waistcoat combo was one of the most impressive examples of embroidery I have seen outside of Qing Dynasty Chinese court robes.
Lastly, and perhaps from a different time period, is this one, perhaps belonging to a gentleman farmer. It looked like it might have been made from something like denim. I was quite taken by the side pleating and the cuff treatment.
This museum was extensive, displaying over 3,000 artifacts. I also took photos of ceramics and furniture, and plan to post selected items to Instagram over the next few weeks.
A Botanical Gala Gown – Part 2: The Skirts and Bustle…
The Skirts
I found a pair of really great imitation silk curtains that had been donated to the textile loft at the Powerhouse. I took them home and put them through my washer/dryer to make sure they would hold up to wearing. I was thrilled to pull them out and find both the hems and cotton lining intact, so all I needed to do was cut them to length and gather the waist onto a cord. I overlaid that skirt with an overskirt from my steampunk wardrobe, made from vinyl window screening and edged with black fringe I rescued from a dumpster a decade ago. Over that I overlaid a beaded shawl I had been recently gifted. The window screen overskirt would be the base for the nightshades, bleeding hearts and silk foliage.
The Bustle
To create a garden-inspired lobster-tail bustle, I made a panel from heavily stiffened linen which would form the base for all the materials I had collected from the Powerhouse. I added some heavy ivy vines that I stripped all but the larges leaves from, and used them to form a cage that would be filled with wads of black netting, avocado bags that simulated lichens, butterflies and amanita muscaria.
The arrival of red polka-dot balloons at the Powerhouse one evening spurred me to add the classic poison mushrooms to the mix. I made the larger amanita muscaria from half globes, the smaller ones from plastic balls that were soft enough to cut in half with scissors. Foam stems wound with white fuzzy yarn allowed me to sew the mushrooms into the bustle. I used black yarn to tie things into the black netting and left the ends exposed because they resembled worms. Because what’s a garden without worms?
All materials in the bustle are second hand, courtesy of the Powerhouse, which should be called a Treasure House. Next step – the jacket…
A Collector of Saintes: The Headwear…
The Dupuy Mestreau Museum in the city of Saintes, France is advertised as a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ with about 3,000 artifacts showcasing the cultural history of Saintes. This is the third in my series highlighting some of my favorite objects here.
There was a remarkable display of women’s headwear dating to the 18th-19th centuries. These ‘ballons’ consisted of a ‘coiffe grisette’ of quilted chintz, with a separate lace overlay that was secured to the coiffe with pins. They dated to 1830-70 and were worn for weddings and baptisms. Their shape and construction was region-specific.
There were more sedate lace bonnets as well. I thought the pleating was extraordinary.
Here’s a map I found online, showing the different styles and which regions they come from:
One headdress that I thought was made from wood was a ‘ballet’ made from thin sheets of cardboard or thick paper that were pleated around a brass form. Since they were modeled on ‘aged’ head forms, I took that to mean that they were typically worn by more matronly women. They would also have been warmer and not as subject to the whims of rain and wind. Again, the pleating on this piece was remarkable.
There were a few men’s hat scattered throughout this floor, most in poor condition and set on top of armoires and bookcases so it was difficult to see them in any detail.
And then there was this one, of such a size that I wondered if it was worn by the same man who owned the ginormous boot I had posed next to in my “Shoes” post.
A Botanical Gala Gown – Part 1: Flower Studies and Construction…
As some of you may know, I became a volunteer for the Fremont Arts Council in May of last year, and more recently took on the lead volunteer position as manager of the Powerhouse, where much of the art is made for our annual events.
One of those annual events is our fundraising gala in March. This year’s theme is “Botanical Bacchanal: A Garden of Mirthly Delights.” If you buy a ticket, you will enter a hall through a gigantic beehive and enter a series of gardens both majestic and mystical, and enjoy drinks, dinner and an auction. But you’ll have to buy a ticket to see these marvels…
I was enlisted to make one of the fashion pieces to be modeled at this show. In keeping with the chosen color palette of vibrant jewel tones and the theme of oversized flowers, I designed a Victorian-inspired ensemble using pieces from my personal collection and overlaying them with flowers and bugs of a poisonous variety. I am calling the ensemble “A Dangerous Beauty.”
My first step was to make a survey of poisonous flowers that might have been found in a Victorian specimen garden, and then narrowing the field to those I thought I could replicate easily from textiles. I settled on Bleeding Hearts, Nightshades, a Poinsettia, and Water Hemlock. I also discovered that Monarch Butterflies are on the poisonous insect list, as are Blister Beetles, whose secretions had been used from the 18th century as an aphrodisiac but which could also be lethal. I also added Amanita muscaria for the bustle after materials arrived at the Powerhouse that were too hard to resist…
I crafted Bleeding Hearts from red brocade scraps with bead and lace accents. After making a single leaf from a fused brocade, I opted to use commercial silk foliage to save time. The ferns are silk fronds, stripped from their central wires and stitched to the overskirt.
Nightshades were unexpectedly complex and took me a couple of tries. The top row of photos (below) are the real models for the textile versions shown in the second row. I cut the petals from a woven shawl that I fused to a wool backing to give it enough tensile strength to support a center wire. For the stamens, I sewed two pieces of lace together, stuffed them with Q-Tips and painted them with latex paint before setting them into a circle of fake pearls. I found berries at the Powerhouse that were the right shape and size, which I wrapped with red silk to preserve the look of everything being made from textile. I trimmed the silk ivy leaves into a more appropriate shape for a nightshade.
Both the bleeding hearts and the nightshades were wired into sprays and covered with florist tape, to make it faster to attach them to the overskirt.
For the jacket, I found a single velvety Poinsettia blossom that I tore apart and mounted the petals onto the last of my red brocades. Wild poinsettias have smooth edges rather than the notched ones of our domestic varieties. I ran a braid down the center of each petal for texture and to hide the stitch line, and a bit of red lace to the tip just for fun. I replaced the ghastly plastic center with a cluster of yellow glass beads.
The last flower I constructed for the jacket was a Water Hemlock. Again, I found small white wildflowers at the Powerhouse that I stripped from their plastic stems, and mounted onto wires with bead centers. After a coffee bath failed to mute the stark white, I took a green sharpie and ran a line down the center of each petal to try to tone them down. It wasn’t quite as tedious as it sounds…
I was fortunate to have friends who donated Monarch Butterflies made from feathers. I will cover the construction of the Amanita Muscaria in the blog devoted to the making of the skirts and the bustle.
A Collector of Saintes: The Shoes…
The Dupuy Mestreau Museum in the city of Saintes, France is advertised as a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ with about 3,000 artifacts showcasing the cultural history of Saintes. This is the second in my series highlighting some of my favorite objects here.
Possibly the most significant footwear in the collection is this pair of shoes said to be worn by King Louis XVI “while he was prisoner in the Temple.” The placard reads: “…great-grandfather Jacques-Alexandre Dubois de Saint Mande, Knight of Saint Louis, Lt. Col of Cavalry, Commissioner of the Nobility of the Senehaussee of Saint Jean d’Angely in 1789, received these slippers from the hands of Clery, Valet de Chambre du Roi 1792. This was passed down from father to son, by oral tradition, I hear it from the mouth of my maternal grandfather Guillaume Alexandre Dubois de Saint Made. I can therefore with complete certainty confirm the authenticity of this precious relic.” Signed, Garnaud on July 9, 1912.
There was a -really big- and single, unidentified boot in the hallway.
Here is a mismatched pair of ring pattens which date to 1720, and the tiniest wooden clogs I have ever seen, about 5″ long.
A pair of (I think) 19th century sabots, and a pair of men’s brocade slippers from (I think) the same time period, that complimented the coat that was also in that display case.
There were also stockings – the pair at left were worn by a man, those at right by a woman, date and origin unknown, though the men’s stockings were in a display case with an 18th century coat and waistcoat.
Curiously, I did not see anything that I could identify as garters…
The Second Art Jacket…
My second art jacket was another one of those “years languishing on the project shelf” while I decided what form a beloved thrift store skirt needed to take in its second life. I love this skirt and bought it more for its embroidery than its fit, and subsequently only wore it a few times. So, fittingly, it now becomes a jacket.
I cut the embroideries out, and at first had just planned to mount them to a new garment ‘as is’. But what’s the fun in that? So I combed through my beads and trims, and started adding another layer of detail.
For the jacket, I had remnants of a perfect shade of red wool, and spent some time piecing those together to make enough yardage for the body. But there wasn’t enough for the full jacket, so the sleeves decided they would be black.
I fused the appliques to the wool in order to seal the cut edges, and to keep them in place while I added the additional detail. But I found that the appliques were stiff and affected the comfort and fit. I took a gamble and put the jacket into a hot dryer, which softened the fusing, and didn’t wreck the embroidery, and allowed the jacket to hang properly. Whew!
This jacket is cut from the same pattern as my previous one – long and dovetailed in front and short box-cut in back. My miscalculation on this jacket was the pockets, which interfered with the embroideries. So I moved the pockets to the inside, after a night of much cursing and coercing of a cantankerous Egyptian cotton lining. I also added trim to that free hanging lining, and a fun applique to the center back – little couture touches that will make the jacket look nice on a hangar.
I completed this jacket by my November 8 deadline after after about five weeks of working on it. My submission has been accepted to the Gallery section of the RAGS Wearable Art Sale and Show, March 8-10, 2024 in Fife, Washington. Participating artists donate 33% of their proceeds to support the YWCA’s mission of ending domestic violence in Pierce County, Washington.
A Collector of Saintes: The Fashion Accessories…
The Dupuy Mestreau Museum in the city of Saintes, France is housed in the Monconseil Hotel, built in 1738. The museum is advertised as a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ with about 3,000 artifacts showcasing the cultural history of Saintes. The collector was Cecile Guinot de Monconseil, wife of Etienne, Marquise de Monconseil who was the first owner of the hotel. Cecile set out to collect items that would trace the history of Saintes, though very few items have a provenance or a description attached to them. Objects range from furniture and dishes, to clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories.
There were fans and little straw cases:
There were parasols. The shoe at the bottom of the first photo is entirely beaded, and I was surprised to see that this parasol was lined, which encased the stretchers and ribs.
Another parasol had what looked like a double-headed ferrule, and may have had a matching shawl folded up nearby. The one at lower right had a collapsible handle and had bead detailing at the top.
There were combs and coronets.
Silver clasps, goggles and spectacles:
And an entire case of buttons, some hand painted, one with sequin detail. I could not get decent photos of the majority of them:
Two sewing kits, the larger one looks like a beading kit:
A collection of things one might have carried in one’s purse or pocket:
And a case of playing cards, some dating back to the 17th century, as well as some of the printing blocks used to make the.
There is a lot to see at this little museum. Had I arrived earlier, I probably would have spent half the day here…
The First Art Jacket…
For my first art coat, I decided to do an adaptation of the Eagle of St. John from the Book of Kells. I had wanted to tackle this design for as long as I can remember – first onto a banner, and then onto a cushion. But after my favorite thrift store jacket started wearing out faster than I could patch it, I decided that the Maker needed New Clothes.
I simplified the bird by taking out about half the detail from the original and removing the crosses from the halo. I then disassembled the template to extend the wingspan. For the color scheme, I chose red, gold, purple and blue for the eagle, using up several remnants I had in my workroom. I braided a variety of soutache and cords because I wanted the wings to have chevroning to simulate feathers. I like to add texture to my pieces wherever I can.
I worked this design on a piece of waste linen. I was surprised at how quickly I made progress. The wings came out too spindly, so I added another set of braids to bring it closer to the proportions of the original. It was also a great way to use up some of my favorite laces and trims that I only had a few inches of. I used a button from my collection for the crown in the halo, ad a bezeled glass jewel for the eye. Brass Fleur-de-lis studs tufted the chest in a nod to my upcoming trip to France in a few weeks.
I ended up adding lace tips to the wings to resolve a technical issue with my applique. My first attempt with the legs and feet was all wrong – they were out of proportion and a bit cartoon-like. One of my artist friends pointed out that the legs were actually backwards, and made a suggestion that corrected that issue. I added a key charm because I felt like the eagle should be carrying something.
The jacket itself was patterned after that favorite thrift store find that I mentioned at the top of this article – rectangular construction with dropped 3/4 length sleeves. I was a little concerned about my choice of olive drab for the body of this jacket, but I have learned to not question my initial instincts since that color made the applique work really pop.
I cut the collar and neck facing from black striped raw silk. Because the jacket is unlined, the seams are bound in red lace and tapes. The jacket is intentionally shorter in the back because I don’t like to sit on my coattails on planes and trains. It also mimics the pattern of my first shirtwaist, which is also longer in front than it is in back and is complimentary to my current body shape.
One of my favorite all-time thrift store finds was a Nehru jacket with lace detailing on the inside. It’s a great couture detail that I copied here. I like a little flash of color at the hems of my jackets and skirts, so this purple lace binds the hem of the jacket on the inside. I decided to go with a simple braid on the cuff of the sleeve rather than a more ornate passementerie pattern I had originally planned. The pockets are lined in red silk and use the same lace as the wing detail on the eagle. The front facings are in a red lozenge-patterned silk.
By the time I finished this jacket, I was still tying up my travel plans and had not yet booked my hotels for my trip to France, but at least I would be the best dressed homeless tourist in Carcassonne…
