Lissom Yarn Fashion Studio

Hollywood Glamour

2012-02-07T21:31:00.002+11:00

This week, I'm delighted to share Cath's wedding dress with you.

Cath was married in the spring, in Melbourne to her partner Andy.

Now, Cath is a self-confessed 1970's glam-tragic, and I had made a fabulous satin catsuit for her the spring before, which was pretty fun. Cath mentioned she was getting married in 2011, and that we should "talk".

Flash forward six months and we were back at the drawing board, Cath sharing her ideals and wedding dress anxieties, me being pretty excited about the potential design awesome-ness to come. Because Cath wanted Culottes for her wedding. Thats right, amazing-pants, high-waisted, Katherine-Hepburn-eat-you-heart-out, pleated voluminous culottes. And a blouse.

I was, needless to say, breathless, at such a prospect.

Unfortunately, this did not transpire. For a few reasons related to "bridal ideals" and the reality of wearing hugely floaty pants, Cath decided on a more simple dress idea.

Her aesthetic was based in an old-school Hollywood glamour, draped Grecian elegance. With feathers.

Marion Davies, via J!-ent Online

Rita Hayworth, via Helloooooo

Judy Garland in Ziegfeld Follies (1946)

Cath wanted a simple long sheath, with a split up the side and a draped shawl/collar to give it some pizzazz and glam.

She bought me a very long length of bamboo fabric from which to make her dress. It was a beautiful sateen weave, that shimmered and had a wonderful drape.

I made her dress with a simple darted construction, with set in sleeves and a boatneck. Lined, with a split up one side for fun.

The tricky part was draping the collar. I tried several (hideous) tailored methods, until I finally understood what Cath wanted. I then just went a bit crazy with the fabric, tossing toiles and caution aside. I draped and knotted until the result was this:

Cath was delighted in the end, and added two diamante brooches at the top of the spilt and on her shoulder, to set off the whole look.
The success in this dress, for Cath, lay in her association with all the inspiration she had from those glamourous times, and her dress, albeit in a more modern style, transported her for her big day.

Thanks Cath for sharing your photos, and for being a wonderful and patient client too!

Summer Opening Hours

2012-01-16T19:01:00.002+11:00

I'll be open slightly different times during the summer, as it gets very hot, sans air-con, in the little sweatshop.

Tuesday to Friday: 9am - 5pm

Saturday: 11am - 3pm

Sunday & Monday: Closed

January opening

2012-01-14T14:33:00.000+11:00

Just a quickie to say.... I'm re-opening for 2012, on January 17th.

Hoping that your holidays were this relaxing...

Simply Elegant Ivory

2012-01-14T14:27:00.000+11:00

What better way to bring in the new year, than with another lovely bride from spring?

Simone came to me through a recommendation from a friend.

She had a simple and elegant idea for her December wedding gown, that was almost fully formed.

Simone is a singer and was wedded to her partner Luke in lovely country wedding in Carlsruhe, Victoria: very intimate and personal. She chose a dress style that she knew really suited her, with details that she loved.

Her ideas were based around a plain, long line dress, in ivory, with a twisted bodice and small cap sleeves.

For her fabric, I chose an incredible silk faille, which came from Italy. Faille is a much under-used silk fabric, as far as I can tell, with very few suppliers even stocking it. I would describe faille as being like a very heavy silk crepe or double georgette: the yarns are twisted like a these lighter fabrics, which gives it extra weight and superior drape, but it's opaque, and has a fuller body, so that it hangs beautifully, whilst also not clinging or needing an under-layer.

This particular fabric was from Clegs, and we chose the off-white, as usual!

A note about white: Colour is a very subjective thing, but for brides it would seem straightforward: white or white, right? But there is an important difference.

The vogue now (as apposed to 20 years ago) is for "ivory/natural/cream", which means a white fabric which has shades of pink, yellow or other "naturalising" tones to the final colour. A "pure" white will look blue in comparison, like you are standing under a fluorescent light. Unless you want a very white-blue looking dress, it's always better, and so often more flattering to choose the creamier, or warmer whites on offer. Also, keep in mind, that in Australia, our very harsh light will make all shades of white/ivory, look brighter and bluer, so always check your fabric choice in daylight, to make sure you don't choose the blue one.

Anyway, Simone was very trusting, and went with the design and fabrics that I presented to her, which was lovely to get right first time.

Knotted bodice and gore skirt with train.

I made a toile for Simone, and then went straight into construction, as everything was pretty much on-track.

I have to say, I loved making this dress. It was such a pleasure to have client who knew herself, and what she wanted, and I could go forward with confidence that she would (probably) love it.

Also, the faille was to-die-for: My rule is that basically, the better the fabric, the better the result. I even think it makes my machines sew better!

I made the skirt in three panels front and back, and added a little train at the back. The bodice front was really fun, and I ended up getting a lovely line with a seamless wrap-front-and-cap-sleeve construction, which was very restrained and looked just how Simone wanted it to.
I continued the gathered "belt" around to the back to add texture, and focus the dress.

Another important note about this dress is that whilst Simone wanted a very slim-line gown, in a soft fabric, she didn't want it to cling. Therefore this dress was cut on the straight grain, and because of the integrity of the fabric, it was easily tailored on the panel lines in the skirt to create the fit, without the bias "cling".

"Natural" silk faille wedding gown

Knotted faille bodice with cap sleeves

Back skirt with goddet

And here they are on the Big Day: thanks to Simone and Luke for sharing their photos, by Jeff Sheppard @ SoulPhotos.

Summer Loving

2011-12-23T14:30:00.002+11:00

Just FYI....

Lissom Yarn will be closed from Christmas Eve to January 14th, probably. Maybe I'll re-open earlier, but I doubt it. Sunshine beckons.

Please feel free to enquire/engage/disabuse at lissom.yarn@gmail.com

Merry Christmas, and thanks to all my clients who made 2011

a great year for homegrown fashion-making.

Congratulations to my stocked designers for enduring, despite the difficult retail market, and for making awesome, original and creative fashion and accessories.

See you in 2012!

Where I'm headed. Bye bye Melbourne!

Swinging Sixties

2011-12-11T18:27:00.001+11:00

Another lovely bride today; Fiona married her partner Emma on a very wet Melbourne day this spring.

Fiona asked me to make her dress when she found some beautiful silk taffeta from Tessuti. The very nice ladies there recommended me to her, thanks ladies.

Fiona was primarily concerned with fit: she had trouble finding clothes in the right shapes for her, and felt that her wedding day was a perfect opportunity to splash out on a custom made dress.

Fiona had a pretty good idea of which elements she wanted in her dress, and the fabric as well, so my job was mostly about resolving and harmonising these ideas into a successful design that flattered Fiona and made her feel great.

Her major design references were tailored dresses, some from the 1950's and 60's. A high waisted line, with pleats or gathering, a cross-over bodice and "interesting features" were ideas that we played with.

The context for Fiona's wedding dress was:

1. Spring

2. Public garden and indoor reception in an historical venue

3. 50's/60's style inspiration; elegant and no-fuss.

Because the fabric Fiona bought was so stiff, I was a bit concerned about getting the design right, in order to avoid that "I'm-in-a-crunchy-collum-of-taffeta" look. If the skirt was too slim-line, it would just crunch up all the time across her hips, and if it was too full, it would look like a marshmallow.

My first round of designs were about pushing Fiona's ideas a bit further, and perhaps presenting her with some new options. I also didn't like to just slap a wrap bodice on a straight skirt and call it "custom design".

I wanted to get some dynamic, vertical lines running through the design, and take advantage of the beautiful, porcelain-like silk, by layering or folding to create features that allow the light to penetrate the fabric.

Wrap-front dress design with layered and folded skirt features.

Refined design for toile, with wrap front, and skirt drape.

However, with the fitting of the toile, Fiona decided she wanted a more simple skirt, with box pleats or something similar, and a fuller skirt.

I re-worked the design, and we moved forward with a more vintage, tulip-style skirt, as shown below.

http://fascistfashionelitist.tumblr.com/

The bodice was based on a pleated and folded design, which wraps over the bust, into the princess panel lines. And I used a vintage belt buckle that finally came into it's own after sitting in my button box for about 10 years; see, hoarding has its merits.

I made the skirt with inverted pleats in the front, and a "gathered pleat" at the back. Whilst Fiona wanted the sharpness of box pleats, I wanted to continue the softness of the more natural bodice lines, into the skirt. I also wanted to work with, not against, the organic-ness of the fabric pattern, and so tried to "soften" the crispness that pleating usually lends to a silhouette, with little gathering sections. I kept the skirt slim down the side seams, and put all the fullness in the hem, to balance the bust, and at the pleat points front and back, to avoid the ballooning-hip tulip look.

To finish her outfit, Fiona had a friend make her beautiful fragile cardi/wrap, and she wore amazing green heels in "crocodile leather".

These are some of their quick snaps in between downpours.

Thanks to Fiona and Emma for sharing their lovely, rainy pics with us, and to Fiona for trusting me and going with all the "draping" and designing lingo. Congratulations ladies!

Next time: old-school, long-line wedding gowns: simplicity reins.

Alterations...no more!

2011-11-30T20:15:00.001+11:00

Hi again,

Just a very exciting announcement (for me, not you, probably) that I will no longer be taking alterations, like hems, repairs, re-sizing, zippers etc at Lissom Yarn.

I will still do dress renovations/re-makes, and bridal alterations, but all the little jobs are no longer a possibility!

This is, of course, to allow more time and energy for the bespoke design and dressmaking side of the business, which is really exciting. YAY.

All dressmaking and design commissions inquiries are very welcome.

Thanks to everyone for their support of my business, and I look forward to sharing more beautiful bespoke creations with you.

:))

Naturally... Natalie

2011-11-29T21:24:00.001+11:00

So at last! I can share one of the many lovely weddings I've been a tiny part of this last spring.

The first bride this season to be wedded, is the gorgeous Natalie Staub. Nat married her fiance Andrew at the Boynton's Feathertop Winery in Porepunka, Victoria. Their wedding was a rustic relaxed affair and as you'll see from the photos, a very warm, family event.

Natalie came to me because she had seen photos in the window of my shop and felt some of the dresses had elements she wanted.

Her inspiration was fresh, modern and colourful: Strong, clean designs with modern details, but she also like the older silhouette with the wasp waist.

She loved coral, pink, watermelon, cream and wanted a dress that was really contemporary to suit her, and their spring, country wedding.

Nat also wanted a dress she could wear again. This is often a motivation for women who want a non-traditional gown for their wedding: they would like to get some extra value from what will probably be the most expensive garment they ever buy. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not. I like to suggest a few considerations:

1. Will this desire to re-use lead you to compromise the fabrics and design choices?

2. Will you be able to separate the association of your wedding day from the Dress? ie, will you actually want to wear it again, if it has become a very sentimental garment?

Neither of these considerations is difficult to overcome, but my feeling when I design for a bride, is that we aim for the best wedding dress possible and if you can wear it again, well, yay. And I think Nat will definitely get another wear out of this dress.

I did quite a lot of designing with this dress, because, really, there was so much scope for me: pretty much a blank slate, as far as wedding dresses go!

Preliminary Storyboard 1

Preliminary storyboard 2
© E. Christian

There was a lot of chiffon and/or georgette, but ultimately we decided on a silk/cotton for the skirt, because it was a bit less cocktail-hour, and suited the bush setting more. I also found a beautiful printed silk dupion from one of my suppliers, designed by an Australian textile artist.

Final design concept, with layered watermelon
skirt and asymmetrical bodice
© E. Christian

We went with the two-toned design, though this seems to be very dramatic idea to some people, incredulously inquiring in the shop, that surely "a bride shouldn't wear such colours?!"... what is this? 1906?

Seriously. Open your mind.

Printed Silk Dupion from Silk Trader, with asymmetrical neckline, cap sleeve and
covered buttons

Silk/Cotton voile layered circle skirt in "Coral"

And here is the beautiful bride on her Wedding Day. I love how relaxed, modern, understated and genuine this wedding looks: everyone clearly had a fabulous time!

Thanks Nat, for being a wonderful client, and Nat and Andrew for sharing your photos and special with us.

Photography by Shawn Smits.

Next time, more Spring weddings!

Florence

2011-11-02T21:16:00.001+11:00

Today, in a rhapsody of enthusiasm for Florence + the Machine's new album Ceremonials, I thought I'd take a look at her style and what makes her so great, to me at least.

First, a disclaimer, I'm a redhead: so it may not be a surprise that I find Florence Welch to be an inspiring creative modern woman. I grew up in the 90's, on the coast in Australia, where, culturally, the only thing worse than being a redhead was being....inbred? Albino? Of racially ambiguous hertiage? It was best if you were blonde and preferred homogenous surf-wear. Ginger Spice was a red as it got, in a sea of blondness.

So I love the revival of varied fashion that has a real preference for individual styling and expression. This has allowed red hair to get a bit of air time, with the resurgence of redheaded iconic women: from La Roux, Christina Hendricks, Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth, to Tilda Swinton, and even Lindsay Lohan has given red hair a whirl. These looks often hark back (except La Roux) to the glamour of early 20th C cinema: Rita Hayworth, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers et al.

What I love about Florence is her redhead style. Its a bit vintagey: Rolling Stone's - style floppy hats, manly jackets, velvet, chiffon, pretty prints and corduroy. We all wear that stuff, but she rocks it. And her hair is essential to pulling it off. Its her signature.

I like especially, that she is not pretty about it. Beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder and those who rant about her manliness confuse me because she is so goddamn stunning. No, she's not frilly, not pretty, not girl-next door and thats why she sounds powerful, and writes powerful music, and has something to say.

The best development by far, I think, is what I'm calling her Pre-Raphaelite look.

This is perhaps the look which is generating confusion in those who cannot process women who look anything other than cute.

Her look for Ceremonials promotional material is stunning: mature, strong, metallic and dark. These images are so reminiscent to me, of the Pre-Raphaelite works by artists like John Waterhouse, (Lord) Frederic Leighton, and Rossetti. These masters painted figurative compositions combining elements like water, armour and diaphanous fabrics with mythological subjects, to create the over-blown beauty that was the classic Romanticism of the Victorian period, at its best.

Beata Beatrx (1864-1870) Gabrielle Dante Rossetti

Mermaid, 1900. John William Waterhouse.

Flaming June, 1895. Lord Leighton.

The Lady Of Shallot, 1888. John William Waterhouse

The overwhelming difference is that all the pre-Raphaelite women are subjects, in the most passive sense of the word: Florence Welch is definitely not. She possesses each image she is in, and is not there for the viewer's sake, thank you post-modern, post-feminist world.

Below are some of the excellent, pre-Raphaelite, images from Florence's facebook, and websites.

Her hair and make-up is key to creating this look, it's capturing this neo-Romantic mood perfectly: pale, flawless skin, grape-stained lips, and deep, brown- shadowed eyes. The look verges on illness, but it's tragic-heroine potential is mitigated by the luminous shade of her hair and the lusciousness of her costumes. These garments reference the shapeless, glittering, clinging, often sheer shifts of the pre-Raphaelites, which in turn are imitating the classical style of the Greeks and ancient myths they were illustrating.

The other part of her appeal in theses images, and what makes them arresting, is the androgyny of face: She is clearly a beautiful woman, but there is a gender paradox in the planes of her face that create edginess: a sharpness that stops her from looking like an old-fashioned damsel in distress. This modernises her styling. She makes something that would look fussy on a pretty woman, look bold and exciting, because she is not predictably feminine.

Florence's ability to carry this look and make it contemporary is essential: she is an icon for me because she walks the line between referencing and copying. She takes the reference she connects with (1970's rock and roll, vintage, drapery, Romanticism), and makes it modern and her own. She is not scraping off her nose and bleaching her hair and dressing in Gucci, in order to sell her music. She is trading on her unique looks, not homogenising them.

Whilst a strong look is an essential marketing tool, I think the enigmatic nature of Florence's face and styling, which plays off her androgyny, is a beautiful reflection of her music: it is lofty and theatrical pop music on grand scale. How can that be?! The historical references in her music (arrangements and use of evocative instruments like the harp), are mirrored perfectly in her styling (Romantic make-up, heavily embellished costumes, armour, drapery, candlelight) for this album, and emphasise her unique-ness as an artist.

As a sucker for anything vaguely nostalgic, I just am thrilled to see the pre-Raphealites re-surface in this most modern of interpretations. I hope more people will look out for style references that compliment their own looks, instead of just following the dictates of broad fashions.
Flo is the perfect example, and she makes pretty awesome music too.

Spring Fashion and Hats, oh Joy!

2011-10-26T21:44:00.001+11:00

Gosh, its been a while!

I have been super busy, sewing wedding dresses for the spring wedding season, and hopefully, we will get to share those pictures soon...well, soon-ish.

But in other Lissom Yarn news, I have also just started getting beautiful new spring collections from the young Australian designers that I stock in the shop.

I am pretty excited about these:

Sebastian's Sister and Eternal Safari will delight you with a lovely spring collection, featuring their signature draping and modern lines for layering in all seasons. I have panelled stretch dresses, elegant linen skirts, detailed sequin scarves and the Loop dress, which sold out last season.

Stretch panelled draped dress

Loop Dress, in Black and White

Linen Skirt and grey marle draped top

Draped t-shirt dress

The Eternal Safari/Sebastian's Sister ladies at their latest photo shoot.

In this shoot:

Photography: Yie Sandison

Model: Vanessa Wakeman
Makeup: Linda West

***

And, just today I got these gorgeous summer frocks from Electric Sugar:

100% Organic Cotton Plaid Dress, with asymmetrical hem.

This is a gem of a dress: functional and sweet at the same time, it could be layered with a tee shirt or cute blouse for extra poshness.

I only have three, so get in quick!

***

Lastly, I have a selection of amazing hats from Barbara Mickelson, a Canberra milliner, who creates extraordinary and artistic headwear. If you're still looking for a hat for the races, you will be sure to find a unique and exciting piece from Barbara. Come in and try them all on till you find the right one!

These are just a few of the wide range I have in-store right now.

Happy Springtime!

Ludo Made It

2011-09-19T08:38:00.000+10:00

Just when you thought there couldn't be anymore awesome handmade jewellery ideas - Ludo Made It!

This is the label from local Melbourne jewellery maker Dunja, who painstakingly draws all her designs and then magics them into fabulous polymer brooches. So clever... so durable!

She has taken her inspiration for this collection from the whimsy of Alice in Wonderland, and other tales, like Puss in Boots, and Moby Dick.

All the beautiful pictured items are now available at Lissom Yarn, as well as "Topsy Turvy Alice", Big and Little Peacocks, and Moby Dick.

Ludo Made It "White Rabbit"

Ludo Made It "Flying Fox"

Prom? Anyone?

2011-09-12T18:15:00.000+10:00

This week I have two 1950's-style dresses to share.

Tulle petticoat with bound edges

For her 40th birthday party, Tashkah planned a 1950's Prom Night theme. She obviously wanted to feel like the belle of her ball, and so we worked on a design that incorporated her "ultimate" features, like a wide gathered sash, plunging neckline and a flattering skirt shape: even though she really wanted a full Dior skirt, we went with a straight pencil skirt, in a cotton/polyester remnant that I finally sourced in the perfect colour: vintage aqua.

Colour reference, aqua, plus ruffles. Gosh.

Belt reference

Sweetheart neckline and clevage "reference".

So it came together as a shift-style dress, below the knee of course. We added a bit of drama via a voluminous, aqua silk organza sash to be tied into a theatrical bow, accented with a vintage jewelled piece that Tashkah sourced. This gave Tashkah a nice streamlined silhouette, as well as incorporating the volume for which the 50's look is really famous.

Tashkah, on right, in Aqua prom dress with organza bow.

Sadly, I hear, the organza got a bit mutilated in the dressing process, so it's not all fluffy like it should be, but it's still fun!

***

The second dress featured today was made for a client who just loved the vintage look, and finally decided to get a version made, after coveting the style for ages.

Vogue Vintage Patterns available online, we chose to use the black design.

The black dress on the right was the chosen style and I made it up in a polyester satin, from Rathdowne Fabrics. This made it possible to wash at home, and much more user friendly than a silk faille or crepe verison. Also better on the budget.

This commission was more of a costume than a fashion item: a dress-up dress!

Black satin 1950's cocktail dress with sash, shown with petticoat.

Neckline with cotton lace and cornelli ornamentation

This was a fairly straightforward job, making up from the pattern, and tailoring to the Client's shape.

We did vary the design slightly by not inverting and stitching the skirt pleats, because in polyester satin, that's pretty much a lost cause.

We added some details, including lace and satin ribbon cornelli.

***

Lastly today, just to finish off the 50's theme, here is another in my series of promo sketches for vintage cocktail recipe cards.

Reproduction 1950's Fashion Illustration © E.Christian 2011

Time for a Manhattan please.

Caped Crusader

2011-09-05T16:46:00.000+10:00

Who doesn't love a Cape?

The swirly, Sherlocky, wooly, warm goodness of a blanket you can justifiably wear outside the house... that isn't a Snuggie either.

As featured last time, I made an outfit for a client that included a sweet little white wool cape; this week its the opposite. Impressively purple, almost knee length, this cape is one for the ages. But not the aged.

My Client wanted something cosy that she could wear through the winter, that was a bit more exciting than a plain ol' jacket. We went with a tweedy black and purple wool crepe from The Fabric Shop on Brunswick Street. Tres chic, chickens. It kind of matches my walls...

Wool cape with welted arm-holes.

I found the awesome leather buttons at Rathdowne Fabrics, and we chose to use the wrong sides, to go with the rustic-ness of the tweed.

Button and lining detail: lining is a viscose/Lyrca blend. Very nice, will keep out the wind a bit too.

I designed a gathered collar shape, to funk the look up a bit, and make it more modern.

Gathered collar, and button detail.

Thats all for this week, but next week, it's Prom!

If you were going to a Wedding...

2011-08-22T14:44:00.000+10:00

Lovely wedding outfits from the winter months....

Dusky Pink bridesmaid's dress.

Katie was the bridesmaid for her friend's South African wedding in July this year. She wanted something pretty and lacey - these are her inspiration pics..

Lace bodice reference

Lace bodice and nice skirt length

As South Africa can be pretty cold this time of year, I set about making this very light dress a bit more solid so Katie wouldn't freeze.

I found a lovely soft pink wool that I layered with silk georgette to get the soft floaty look Katie wanted. I used a great polyester lace from Tessuti for the blousey bodice and lined the sleeves with the georgette for warmth.

"Rose" lace boatneck bodice, over pink wool suiting.

Antique black glass buttons and silk grosgrain belt

Dusky pink winter bridesmaid's dress, with georgette skirt overlay.

Next, is a lovely outfit I designed for Rose, to attend the wedding of her brother in August. I almost didn't want to hand it over.

Rose came to me with a broad but fairly good idea of what sort of outfit she wanted; mostly expressed through fabric choices and ideas.

She wanted dusky colours as well, but loved teal as well.

I found a fantastic printed silk satin at Clegs, but thought it would be too outrageous: I like to challenge my clients occasionally.

Happily, she loved it and I decided to team it with a bold teal bodice to really make a statement, after all that's why you hire a designer. The bodice also features a self bow and button closure.

Pretty-in-pink toile.

Rose also wanted a wool cape for the garden ceremony, and we chose a "winter white" (cream) woolen crepe from Tessuti again, which I lined with silk habutae and a portion of the printed silk from the dress.

Cream wool crepe cape with draped collar

Cape lining with skirt fabric section

The cape features a draped circular collar that can be worn tied, or dropping down, or wrapped around the shoulders.

Wrapped collar option

back view

All together it looks like this:

Event wear: silk dress with bias cut skirt and contrast bodice.

Dress back view; darted bodice with french seams, and bias cut skirt

Teal silk georgette darted bodice with "pussy-bow", and built- in camisole lining in silk satin.

Self covered buttons aptop invisible zipper

Ensemble, with wool cape, worn open.

Ensemble detail, cape and bodice.

Next time... more winter capes!

Ice Maiden

2011-07-19T22:54:00.000+10:00

Here is one some of my latest... icy blue a nice change from the dominant black of winter, and a good fit for the current temperatures in Melbourne.

This dress was for Miss Rosalie, as she shall henceforth be called.

Miss Rosalie has been planning to go to the Oxford (as in, University, as in England) Ball for... maybe, three years?! So obviously her dress was absolutely central to her planning: flights and accomm, travel etc, coming in a distant second.

Her brief to me was - "Make me a dress!'....Oh how I love an open book - or not.

So after a bit of *thinking* we had a strong 1930's theme going on - lucky for me with my bias toward bias cutting!

I developed the major features through a toile and drawings, as Rosalie was in Sydney, so there was a lot of... "You mean this? ohhhh, like a drapey thing here like that. Riiight." Etc etc.

Blue Silk bias gown.

Our most contentious issue was colour! At the outset, Rosalie offered blue as a "good colour". Not one for overstatements, our Rose.

But, as is often the case she was loathe to go for an eye-popping colour; more for a restrained and elegant option that she knew was safe. She was thinking dark blues, midnight, navy, inky transparent tones.

After some sleepless nights, I had to face up to Rosalie and say I thought her idea was a bit crap. Tough. But after all that's what you hire a designer for, I would have thought. And she thought so too.

I felt, for her colouring, a dark tone would be unflattering and boring. Combined with the very simple design, she needed a gusty, strong colour to pop on the red carpet at Oxford. As one should.

We decided on "Kingfisher" blue; my favourite colour in the Derwent Watercolour Pencil set.

Clegs silk satin and georgette, in "Petrol" and "Marine".

I chose a combination of two silk fabrics: Silk satin crepe in "Petrol" (dark teal green), using the matte side "out", over-layed with silk georgette in "Marine" - a strong blue with a hint of green.

I felt this would play off Rosalie's beautiful pale skin and green eyes, making a stunning combination.

The dress itself was entirely cut on the cross - I dont know why I keep getting myself into jobs with many layers of filmy silk and grains going up the wah-zoo, but here we are again.

The dress features a sleeveless blousey bodice with a pleated neckline and deep v- back.

I've always wanted to use the lovely transparent "wings" that were often a feature of the Deco gowns: a pretty fluttering, and flattering, design that can be good for hiding the back of the arm...not many people have pretty arm-backs, really. They knew that back in the day.

Skirt front is one panel, with godets to the thigh, and in the side seams. This was pretty tricky, doing georgette godets, but I was very happy with the sit.

Blousey bodice with pleated neckline

Skirt front with godets and plaited belt

The back skirt was made in four bias panels, with godets graded into a train in the centre, and a large centre godet, for good measure, I guess. I was pretty damn happy with the fit and cut and sit, to be immodest. It was tricky!

Last fitting - two days before departure!

On the red carpet

Nice location eh?

I wish I went to the ball.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme for a Carbon tax.

2011-07-06T18:39:00.000+10:00

It's a bit like when you're pregnant, you see a lot of other pregnant women. I'm told.

Well, I'm into Green Things at the moment - they seem to be very exciting to me, and I covert them. Anything coloured "herb".

My first favourite things in green are my woolly Snuggarms, recently featured, pictured below.

I just had to get a pair because they are practical and cute. Can't loose!

Also, this cute little jewellery box that a client gave me - so faded, so sweet!

And, yesterday I was in Kensington, home of the very delicious breakfast, and also a relatively new shop called Onabee, where I saw the very beautiful textiles by the Ink & Spindle ladies... my favourite, obviously, being the green ones.

Ginko in Olive and Stone, on 200gsm Organic Cotton and Hemp unbleached basecloth.

I think I love the limey goodness of these green things because its such a tonic to the greyness of winter, and the winter wardrobe. Its fresh, and modern, has just enough reference to vintage colour schemes.

That said, I recently did a graphics job for a Sydney company promoting vintage cocktails with Cointreau, and this was one of the images, for their 1960's cocktail recipe card.

Lime green - enough said.

1960's vintage fashion drawing, for Cointreau vintage cocktails.
© E. Christian 2011

And my last favourite green thing of the moment, is the Carbon Tax! Yay to developing a rational and practical path to a carbon neutral society. We've gotta start somewhere!

Winter Dresses

2011-06-27T21:31:00.000+10:00

Red Merino knit dress

I've just started making these dresses in the last couple of weeks, as an adaptation of my last season merino knit dresses.

They feature a plain sleeveless bodice and a full circle skirt from the waist, with an asymmetrical hemline.

They're lovely to wear and layer in every season, and are available made-to-order in almost any colour, in pure merino wool jersey, for only $149.

Thin grey and black stripe dress with button detail

Grey marle and green stripe knit dress

Kiss Me Kate

2011-06-21T20:57:00.000+10:00

Kate is this week's feature bride.

I described the design process for her dress previously,
in "How to Design Your Wedding Dress, Part 2".

Her Lissom Yarn gown is bias-cut, "Natural" silk satin, featuring a cowl back and gathered bodice, and a full train and veil. Lined in silk crepe, finished with self-covered buttons, and twist belt.

Here are her beautiful photos...thanks to Ben Adams, who did Kate and Cam's photography on the day.

Thanks Kate, for sharing your gorgeous photos with us!

Thoroughly Modern Maude's Wedding Dress

2011-06-13T20:51:00.001+10:00

This week we have the beautiful Maude as our feature bride.

Maude came to me with a picture of a Celine gown, which she felt was the perfect style for her modern, urban wedding. Its the one below, on the left, in blue; fresh, contemporary and yet still romantic.

From Aria Blog

Maude of course wanted hers to be a bit more "wedding", in ivory or cream.

Maude's setting was as follows:

1. Season - Late Autumn

2. Setting - Urban, warehouse reception

3. Style - modern and simple.

Maude loved the gathering around the bodice, and the delicate cap sleeves, as well the romantic flowing skirt.

She also loves Japanese prints and fabric, so I used that as a reference point for the aesthetic of the dress: simple, elegant, utilising the inherent beauty of the fabrics we chose

Design sketch

I decided that perhaps a more natural cotton and tulle effect would suit Maude and her wedding, removing any fussy satin, silk or shine from her look.

I really wanted a Japanese silk brocade, a matte white on white jacquard pattern that is usually for kimono, but instead Tessuti provided me with the beautiful option of a seersucker cotton Hana, which is very modern and not too elaborate.

White Hana Web Seersucker 100% Cotton

This was for the dress proper. Then over the top, I layered silk tulle and some nylon net - a super find from The Fabric Store, in a fleshy colour, just to reduce the whiteness of the cotton; Maude wanted cream, not white.

This is the first time I've used silk tulle, mostly because it's so gosh-darn expensive - it retails for about $170/m. And when the design is so drape-y and folded, thats an awful lot of money. But it was so very worthwhile this time.

I made the top and bottom halves in the cotton, and fused the bodice, then gathered the tulle panels and machine tacked them over the cotton. Then sewed the bodice together, and the bodice to the skirt.

The skirt layering was made by cutting oblique shapes from the tulle and layering and draping them until they looked pretty. Then I lined it with cream silk crepe,and finished the dress.

Maude bought me her chosen Japanese feature print, and I made her belt, her groom's hankercheif and a little purse for her things on the Big Day.

Layered tulle and net over cotton seersucker

Japanese cotton purse w/ strap

I was absolutely in love with this dress, I have to admit. It turned out to be so delicious and modern and restrained, but I'm a sucker for cotton and silk, so it was a joy to make.

As part of the Lissom Yarn Bridal service, all bridal clients receive a framed, original fashion sketch of their unique dress...for the wedding scrapbook, you know :)

And here is the Maude on her wedding day! Enjoy!

Next time, more real brides, and other nice-things-that-I-made-myself.

Sebastian's Sister and Eternal Safari

2011-06-03T18:34:00.000+10:00

The Loop Dress, transformable. Available in Black and white knit.

Super Exciting!

I have just received a wonderful shipment of these new items, an exclusive collection from the collaborating designers Sebastian's Sister and Eternal Safari.

These ladies hail from Canberra, and are making incredible, modern, elegant, clever fashion that suits almost every body shape.

Their signature detailed pattern-making, and focus on transformation in a lot of their garments makes each piece intriguing. They use high quality fabrics such as merino knits, and really interesting textile patterns and textures, to offset your black winter woolies.

This is a limited edition winter collection, so get in quick to nab one of these awesome Aussie pieces.

Hebrides Wool Jacket: can be worn two ways

The Wim Top, Merino Vest, and No.16 Merino wool Jumper

Bones Medley Stretch Cotton Jacket: can be worn two ways

Bat Macumba Dress

Check out their full range at Sebastian's Sister/Eternal Safari

Wedding dress, part 4

2011-05-23T14:12:00.000+10:00

This week, the lovely Maria's wedding dress is in the spotlight.

Maria came to me with a pretty specific idea of what she wanted and what suits her. I was thrilled: one of the greatest hurdles in designing a wedding dress is trying to devine what a bride truely wants when she doesn't even know herself!

Maria knew what she liked, what looked good, and what she felt comfortable in, which is a big deal as well. Many women are prepared to feel uncomfortable on their wedding day to achieve their ideal look, but it can also show up clearly in photos, and in real life, that you're not actually able to breathe, or your feet are killing you, or that your dress keeps falling down. Not a good look.

So Maria's wedding context was as follows:

1. Setting: Winery

2. Season: Autumn

3. Style: Contemporary,

with an Italian/Indian theme (bride and groom, respectively).

Maria bought me a few photos of the style she thought would be perfect and her ideal colour: soft, mauve-y blue. Its hard to explain.

This Roberto Cavalli gown worn by Christina Applegate was Maria's most important source photo. She loved the draping across the bodice, and the flattering boned corset shape, with the slim-line skirt and detailed back. Being petite, Maria didn't want to have a big skirt, and her wedding would not be one at a which a large white gown would have suited anyway.

So I went about finding exactly the right shade of blue chiffon for Maria, about 6 months before the wedding. This was important because colour production can be very unreliable and is determined by manufacturers trends, not what the consumer wants!

Luckily, I found an incredible colour match at Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants, for a great price and bought about 6m.

When we got closer to her date, I began construction of Maria's dress. I made a toile, for the corset and basic skirt line, then got stuck into construction, proper.

We chose a silk satin, called Sea Pearl, to go under the blue chiffon, as Maria's groom was wearing a traditional Indian wedding suit, all gold and burgundy. And her bridesmaids were in augergine, so to pull all the elements together, I suggested a soft fleshy colour underneath.

corset pieces

constructed, with boning and fusing

Corset, inside out with extra shaping fusing.

I used a lovely soft knitted fusing that went well with the softness of the beautiful satin, and didn't give it that "fused-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life" look. I also added extra fusing around the top of the bust to keep it firm against her body.

Dress underlay in Sea Pearl satin

Back/side view

The pictures above show the dress on my mannequin, which is too long for Maria's dress, hence the funny cups on the corset!

This was actually a major problem because the next stage was draping onto the satin base, to create the blue layer.

I had to work at the hip/skirt section first, then move the whole thing up and work on the bust and shoulder draping, but it went pretty well.

Practice draping

Almost finished, with cap sleeves

Hanging, back view

With Diamante feature, back view.

So, in the end, I was pretty happy with the result, and Maria was too; its always such a challenge to have a red-carpet gown to measure up to, but also to be inspired by. I think Maria felt very "her", and just right for her wedding, and she looked beautiful!

My next bride in the spotlight will be a Japanese-inspired cocktail-length number; stay tuned!

Winter Lovelies

2011-05-18T15:12:00.000+10:00

I know, two posts in one week - you're thinking - "what's going on??"
Well, I have a concussion, from dancing too hard at a wedding on the weekend. Fail.

So, yay! More nice things to share from the couch!

First up, new stock at Lissom Yarn....

I am loving these new items in store, called SnuggArms. They're made by a Canberran textile artist, and she designed them to combat the chilly winter weather in our nation's capital.... but they are very useful in Melbourne, as winter has suddenly arrived.

These fingerless "mittens" are awesome. I had to purchase myself a pair from my own stock last week, when the temperature in my shop dropped in to about 8C at 3pm in the afternoon. And I've barely taken them off...

I have a limited stock, but in beautiful colours. These handsome, hand-knitted mitts come in two-tone designs, in reds, navy and grey, blue and green... oh except I just bought those! Also, I have one beautiful pair of cream gauntlets, which are a larger, more dramatic version.
See them at the Hingstonbrook website.

If you get cold hands and want to make them snugg, come and get yourself some of these beauties. They're made from Australian wool, and can be ordered in specific colour ways to suit your wardrobe.

Yay.

Next up we have new pieces from Grazed Youth. I have two of these tops in red merino wool and in three black merino. They feature a soft open turtleneck, t-shirt sleeves and a wide hem.

Check out better pictures here!

They're great to layer over skinny jeans, especially, and I just love the bright red, to add some colour to your winter wardrobe. Its so hot right now.

Handmade in Australia.

I'm also doing a range of made-to-measure knit dresses this winter.

Custom order, in Blue Gray

Cutting out

Last year I made a few versions in black and they were a hit. So this year they're available in six colours, custom made, for only $149.00.

This means you can choose your skirt length, shape, sleeve length and neckline, to make a dress that is perfectly suited to you, and perfect for winter layering.

Colours available are: Red, Merlot, Khaki, Sage Gray, Black and Navy, all in 100% Merino wool.

Thats all for today!

2011 Met Ball, New York

2011-05-16T19:09:00.000+10:00

Well, for a bit of variety, I thought I'd share my favourite gowns from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala, 2011.

This is a great event that a client put me onto, and has a bit more pop than the regular red carpet outfits, which have become so damn boring, in our times of over-stylined celebrity. I would love a few more celebrities to man-up on their stylists and go for broke. Or just choose stuff that they actually love?

Anyway, here we go..

So there were some strong trends, like wearing red on the red carpet. Camouflage is always a great way to stand out, surely? Gisele and Lea and a few others wore the ever-present silk-crunch-confection, while others went for the slim red line.

Gisele Buchen

Mary Kate in vinatge Givenchy

J-Lo in Gucci

Lea Michele in Escada

I particularly love Mary Kate's choice - I never thought I'd say that. Whilst the vinatge trend still creeps into every corner, I absolutely love how she stands out from the silk taffeta-wearing red-carpet crowd. But I have a weakness for real hippie couture.
J-Lo's floral wrap is amazing as well, it makes her look like beautiful wallpaper.

Next, Michelle Williams in Miu Miu.

I adore this dress; if I could speak French sufficiently to rhapsodise about this dress, I would. Apart from my love of bird motifs, this is just a ripper of a dress. Its so deeply elegant, with the 1930's draping around the arms and the slim skirt and grosgrain belt. Its all so restrained, and with her hair, it just pops. Sexy and elegant and timeless altogether.

Elizabeth Banks, Maggie Gyllenhall and Diane Kruger all rocked the sequined dress:

Again, these are great because they are elegant, yet exciting red carpet gowns. There is nothing as simply appropriate as a sequinned frock for a gala. I love the matte sequins and muted tones; shades of gold and flesh, and Maggie's midnight blue is stunning and restrained.

And just for fun, and because I love Mick Jagger, his arm candy (girlfriend L'Wren Scott) designed her dress and I think its rad. Clearly I'm loving black/navy and gold, but it been a while since it was a popular choice and I think its outrageously right on some people.

Lastly, the ever-gothic Christina Ricci, in Zac Posen.

Christina Ricci is what Helena Bonham-Carter could be, if she were fresher and more fashion savvy. Ricci's strong personal style sometimes overwhelms the flimsy numbers she chooses, but more often than not, her dark, romantic choices are great, and this is definitely one of them!

This is such a classic example of "wearing the dress", as opposed to "being worn". Its a killer gown, but she carries it off with class and power and makes it all work. The fit is incredible and the design has everything: classic silhouette and strength, with very contemporary fabrics and treatment that contrast in their delicacy: its a tour de force of line.

I think I love it because it's so like an ink illustration; all black tones and graded lines. Very exciting.

There were so many more, but whether it was a boring fabric choice or detestable celebrity (Blake...) wearing it, I choose not to comment on those.

How to design your wedding dress, part 3.

2011-04-17T16:17:00.000+10:00

Third instalment...

This week is a very fun wedding dress conversion.

One day the client, Kathryn, came into the shop with her Mum's wedding dress from the 1970's. It was a sweet, but very '70's dress with a lace high - necked bodice and sleeves, and polyester A-line skirt. She wanted to wear it to honour her mum, and to hopefully get an original dress for her own wedding.

1970's wedding dress

Back

Kathryn said she wanted to transform it into a modern dress for her beach wedding. She wanted a strapless, boned bodice with the lace extended down to the hipline, and a slimmer skirt line. I suggested a a silk lining and possibly an over-lay on the skirt in order the cover the polyester. For her budget I needed to "retro-fit", not deconstruct, then re-construct the entire dress.

So the three "S's" for Kathryn were;

1. Setting: Beach

2. Season: Autumn

3. Style: Contemporary

We integrated these through the modern strapless design, and the softness of the overlay, which created a more organic, flowing silhouette, to suit the beach setting.

First I cut back the bodice and took it in to fit Kathryn's shape, marking the new design lines around the hip and necklines, shown below.

Then, onto the dress, I draped the corset shape in calico, extending from the new neckline to the hip line. I then transferred this and made the corset pattern in paper.

Then I made the corset "insides'' from Shapewell and polyester boning, to sit inside the shell of the dress. There was also a silk lining, from the same (tightened) pattern.

Then we came to a fork in the (design) roads; once I had a basic re-modelled dress, I started playing with how to adapt these features Kathryn wanted into an original, and appropriate dress.

There were two main directions:

1. As Kathryn had directed, lengthening the lace bodice to the hips. As she is a petite bride, I was concerned about the 1:1 proportion of this design, as it could make her torso look too long. In other words, she would be half torso/half skirt, which is not a great ratio.

I added the overlay here to soften the sad old polyester skirt, and added a silk petticoat with a duster hem (ruffled).

2. The second option was this more classical, empire-line design, below. This worked with the original line of the lace, and had a more flowing look to the skirt, which I felt suited her setting better, as well as her figure.

Ultimately, Kathryn and I devised a combination of the two.

She wanted a fitted form over her tummy, and hips, and felt the softer design wouldn't suit her, so we went with the longer lace to the hips. But I added a belt to raise her waist visually, and we draped the chiffon over her shoulder and across the skirt to get some dynamism into the silhouette, with drape and asymmetry.

Finished gown, with lace to the hip, built in corset,
satin belt and chiffon draped skirt.

Back view

Draped side view

Front; sweetheart neckline, asymmetrical strap and skirt drape.

Again, Kathryn had a great time in her dress, and loved that it was handmade for the occasion. It was a very personal and very cost effective way to create an original wedding dress, and I had a great time doing it. Thank you Kathryn, for thinking outside the box!

Next week, a wedding dress inspired by red carpet glamour.

How to design your wedding dress, part 2.

2011-04-08T13:55:00.000+10:00

The second installment of the the wedding pages...

This gown was designed for a friend's sister. She very bravely decided she wanted me to make her a dress for her March 2011 wedding in Newcastle. I say brave, because, at this point I had only made my wedding dress previously, so it was a big leap of faith for her.

We had a few sessions of talking about ideas, and designs, and the overall style of the wedding, once this had materialised a bit. I think one mistake that brides can make is matching their wedding event to the dress they bought two years ago, or whenever they began organising. Whilst it may be fun and tempting to buy your dress straight up, until you have booked in a few essentials (venue, season), you may end up trying to make your wedding work around a dress which is incongruous.

Like I said last week, the three most important defining factors to choosing an appropriate and original wedding dress are:
1. Setting
2. Season
3. Style (theme) of the wedding.

For Kate, these were:
1. Indoors - Victorian- period ballroom
2. Autumn - Newcastle, NSW
3. Evening, indoor formal modern ceremony and reception.

We spent a day looking at fabrics together, and trying to narrow down the fairly broad ideas Kate had. Like many brides, she went through a lot of searching for source inspiration and had many many pictures that she "liked". I think we shared about 60 photos in the first set of emails, so I was working from a huge base of references.

Neckline reference

Overall image reference: this was the picture that
typified what Kate loved about "a wedding dress".
Also the great train.

Back detail.

The good thing about that was I was able to get a great overview of the elements that Kate loved in the gowns; there were many linking elements when the dresses were broken down, like repeated necklines, skirt shapes, and the overall "feel" Kate was drawn to: classical, romantic and very feminine.

We looked at laces initially, but that turned out to be too busy, and was difficult to narrow down the right kind of lace, colour and satin underneath. So, in the end, we decided on a plain, heavy silk satin crepe, in a "natural' colour (just off-white).
Kate's focus for the dress became simplicity and elegance, and something her fiancee would love to see her in. She wanted to accessorise with pearls and so the satin was a natural choice. Her overall theme was very restrained, and so a simple, but glamourous dress would suit her wedding context.

Initial design after fabric shopping; Bias skirt with
train and cowl back. Fitted bodice and slim line overall.

We began draping and playing with silhouette ideas, as Kate was keen to see the ideas on her, not on paper.

Paper toile, for a fitted bodice

Changes; draped and gathered style.

Kate lives in Newcastle, so we had to factor in three fittings in Melbourne over the five months before the wedding, and we were able to make effective and personal changes each time.

For Kate, who, is a doctor, not a seamstress, I think it was a series of great excitements and major anxieties, as I was putting her in draft dresses, in order to refine the design; I knew how it would turn out, but she really had to trust me, and she did!

Refined design © E. Christian 2010

Features gathered bodice, cowl back and

full bias skirt w train.

Final toile, January 2011.

The major design changes that I wrought from Kate's original ideas were mostly about resolving her required "features" like the draped bodice, with the cowl back, and the height of the waistline. I raised this to make the proportions harmonious and added a belt to bring the draping and texture down from the bodice into the body of the dress. It needed a focus point.

From the above toile I also expanded the circle of the skirt and train, to get the drama Kate wanted in the overall drape of the gown.

Draping the bodice

Cutting out... tricky on a narrow table..

The real thing.. skirt assembled.

Bodice attached to skirt.

So, when we got to the final fitting, everything was resolved and Kate was delighted with the result.

I added a long row of 30 self-covered buttons, instead of a boring zip,

to finish it with a real hand-made touch.

I also added adjustable straps inside the back of the bodice to keep the gown in place, and maintain the tension between the front and back draped bodices.

With train tied up, for dancing.

Finished dress with self belt

Kate on her wedding day.

In the end I was really happy with the dress; it was an amazing learning experience, and I have been able to really perfect some techniques with silk satin, which is such a tedious fabric to get to perform exactly.

From all accounts Kate had a great Day, and looked fantastic, and it was a pleasure to be part of her wedding. Hopefully there will be a couple more photos to follow soon.

Next week, a 1970's wedding gown conversion!

How to design your wedding dress.

2011-03-30T20:10:00.000+11:00

So begin the wedding dress pages!

Its been a long time coming but I will begin with my wedding dress, just to start at the start.

Although it is a very personal project, I want to share how I came to decide on the dress that I made for my wedding, as many women seem to be overwhelmed by the sheer scope of "wedding dresses" out there.

My first Tip is: DON'T LOOK AT WEDDING MAGS. They will clog you mind with white fluffy catastrophes of archaic wedding bad-ness. Look at dresses everywhere. Whatever you think suits you can be made into a "wedding dress".

I chose to make my dress because I couldn't imagine wearing white, or something off the rack.

My most significant source of inspiration was Ginger Rogers and the 1930's musicals she starred in, and all the costumes, of course.

The particular scene that I have loved since childhood, is called "Night and Day", a song written by Cole Porter. Check it out; sublime.

Her dress is a goddamn killer; I still don't really understand how it was made; perhaps that can be a life goal.

So I simplified how I thought it was made, it and chose a colour I loved, that would go with the:

A.setting,

B. season, and

C. style of the wedding.

For me, these were, in order; country/bush, spring and "vintage".

For each of these reasons, I decided that white was inappropriate. And, Boring, with a capital B.

Consider these major points to make your dress choice appropriate and meaningful; It's great to wear a ball gown in a paddock, but you need to change it somehow to make it fit into your particular wedding setting.

Design for Wedding Dress © E.Christian 2009

I came up with a design that felt modern and still classic enough for me (being an old-fashioned kinda gal).

It comprised a dusky pink georgette dress with cream satin under-dress, to lighten the whole look. I wanted it to be luminous, even though it wasn't white.

I chose a t-shirt top because I like simple lines, and replicated the layered tulle Ginger dress with layered georgette bands around the hem .

I chose a circular construction to get the fullness, made from super-soft, drape-y fabrics, to achieve the elegant fall of the gown.

I also factored in that the October evening reception, in the garden, would be cool, and so my mum created a chocolate and pink knitted bolero cardie. It was sublime.

This all became clear over the months of preparation for the wedding, amongst deciding things like menu, venue design, ceremony, drinks, cakes, etc etc. I luckily had the freedom to change my mind because I was making it, and left it until 2 months before the wedding to really get stuck in and make it.

Another learning curve was underwear. My Tip 2, is: Decide on the dress first, then the underwear. Seems obvious, but I had to re-engineer my layers because of the transparency of cream satin against my pink skin. I ended up making a "Franken-bra" which had a soft layer of silk attached to the underside, to act as a primary layer between me and the dress; an unattached lining. Also, if you are wearing white/cream/ivory, you MUST wear flesh-coloured undies; white will show through. Durr.

Franken-bra

The cream satin dress went over the top of Franken-bra and all the hosiery. The fabric was bought from Tessuti, and I chose a classic 1930's bias cut to create an ultra-slinky under-dress to support the georgette.

It has a darted "negligee" bodice that cuts right up to under the bust, to take full advantage of the drape of the bias cut skirt.

I cut the sides of the skirt very wide, almost horizontal, so the side seams are almost on the straight grain. It gives amazing fullness to the skirt whilst maintaining the slinkiness.

Dressing with my Mum

Then we had the pink georgette dress over the top. I bought this fabric from Clegs in Melbourne (a far superior Lincraft, if you're in Victoria).

Silk Faille found in the Tessuit remnant bin.
The colour is called "Chartreuse".
Like the alcohol.

I found the sash fabric at Tessuti, and thought it was pretty brilliant, and it just went with the dress so well; it gave it the pop it needed to make it modern.

I also added strips of the bias georgette across the shoulders and sleeves to add dimension and interest, as it was actually an incredibly plain dress, all in all. These mirrored the hem strips and pulled it all together.

Pearl reproduction Edwardian buttons, $4 a packet.

Dusky Pink wedding dress with chartreuse silk sash.

And then we had a really big party.... and afterwards the dress was hand-washed by my mum, and turned out perfectly.

This is why we use silk, people!

I hope this has helped somebody out there decide on a bit of a different path to wedding-dress happiness. I had never envisaged my wedding dress before I was engaged, and I am so happy I went for a (slightly) non-traditional dress.

Tip 3: Choose what you love and what is appropriate to your event context, and you cant go wrong!

Next week; Summer 2011 Brides, sneak peeks!

All photos by Hanna Hosking of Hang Studio. Thanks Hanna, you were awesome. x

Galaxy of lovely

2011-03-21T01:37:00.000+11:00

"Oh, so long ago,
and so far away,
when time,
was just a line that you fed me when you wanted to stay,"
Soft As Chalk, Joanna Newsom

Well, it has been a while but here are a few beautiful things that are rocking my boat today.

Last week I went to see Joanna Newsom at the Recital Hall in Melbourne, and oh my, did she do an amazing show.

I lost track of all time, but her dress (above, by Christopher Kane) and her incredible talent held me glued to the chair.

As always her modern style was abundantly clear, making all of us with (perhaps romantic) notions of her poetry and whimsy remember that she is a truly contemporary artist.

Also, what an awesome dress to wear whilst playing a harp!

Next, Madeleine Vionnet.

I cannot say enough to explain the absolute admiration I have for this woman; Chanel, eat your heart out. Everyone laudes Chanel for being "liberating" and contemporary, but again, I think Vionnet had the edge, in terms of craftswomanship, and absolute style.

Check it out...

Is this not an entirely modern and relevant garment, 70 years on from its creation? I actually thought it was an Akira at first glance, for its simplicity and "Japanese-ness". But its absolute elegance is unmistakeably Vionnet. I am a sucker for bias cuts too.

This is one of four newly acquired gowns at London's V&A Museum. Sigh.

Next week; Wedding dresses! My (varied), but experiential, summer of bridal creations.

Summer Arrivals

2011-01-27T22:45:00.000+11:00

Lissom Yarn now has some new lovely things from designers Electric Sugar and Grazed Youth.

Grazed Youth has sweet and funky "You're nothing but a pack of Cards" Skirts, made form hand-printed fabric, and featuring a waist yoke and tie; loveable!

"You're nothing but a pack of cards!" skirt.

Electric Sugar is sending their second drop for the summer, and it includes another very wearable and stylish tailored tee, and shorts to team it with.

Abby Mill Top and Incantation Shorts, by Electric Sugar

Come in for a look at these lovely summer pieces!

Silk in the Sun

2011-01-17T15:40:00.000+11:00

Before Christmas, I had two lovely special projects focused on elegant and simple designs using beautiful fabrics.

The first was a rush job - "Hello, do you make clothes? I need a dress for a wedding next Tuesday..."

My Client had found a Roland Mouret gown she wanted to draw her inspiration from; simple silhouette, with a very classic long skirt and a focus on drape as the design feature.

Roland Mouret - Spring RTW 2011.

She also loved the black binding on the sleeves and soft neckline.

We chose, after much deliberation regarding texture (yes? no?), drape (how much is too much? do we want a bias drape??), colour (what exactly is mushroom anyway?) and fibre content (silk? rayon? wool?)

a most beautiful French Silk Faille, from Rathdown Remnants, the price of which I will not divulge.

Needless to say, cutting was a tremulous process.

But I got it done in three days and it turned out to be quite engaging; at least my Client thought so. (hoorah!)

The next project was a chocolate silk all-in-one pantsuit, for a Client's 50th Birthday Party; pretty daring, but thats what makes this job great.

My Client had hoarded the fabric for years in anticipation of this day finally arriving, so again, there was some trepidation when cutting. It is a designer silk satin from the 1980's. There is no more of this fabric to be had if I was a bit shy of anything.

The brief was for a wide-legged all-in-one pantsuit, with perhaps a halterneck and some kind of transformable or interchangeable scarf that could act as an inventive accessory; a wrap or a sash, or "sleeves", to glam it up. My client is a self-confessed "70's tragic", but in the best possible way.

I (delightedly) searched for "jungle" themed silk prints and found a couple of beauties from the Fabric Store, and Tessuti.

Dusky pink and yellow animal print silk satin,

from the Fabric Store.

I made two toiles because, well, I've never patterned a pantsuit before, and it was defiantely necessary!

I lined the bodice with silk satin, and made the two chosen silks into long silk scarves that can be threaded into the back loops and draped as desired, around the shoulders or waist.

I hope both these garments bought joy to these Clients, who were both very open and enjoyable to sew for. Thank you!

Summer Lovin'

2010-12-15T20:23:00.007+11:00

Tom Palumbo for Junior Bazaar.

Its summer; I'm loving natural fabrics.

It's summer; I made linen wrap skirts.

Just for fun, you know, in my spare time, chained to the sewing machine.

But, martyrdom aside, here they are!

Fabric is, as usual, from my brilliant friends at the Fabric Store in Brunswick St.

They have a great range of summer linen and cottons, printed and pretty, and funky, and classic.

I used a circle skirt for the first two skirts (the apricot and the floral), and a more tailored shape for the striped skirt.

I'm feeling the Fifties vibe (just a teeny tiny bit), so long as its very comfortable and very liberated.

hissandpop.com

Thank you Marilyn.

These are actually Christmas presents for the Fam', because I'm so damn tired of buying useless junk at Christmas. Shame my whole extended family is not female; it would be so easy!

Speaking of... I found this lovely ladee...her green laundry ideas are great, as well as her retro style.

Midnight Maniac

Happy Holidays!

Electric Sugar

2010-12-07T16:59:00.004+11:00

Lissom Yarn is now stocking the label Electric Sugar.

Created by designer Eline Martinsen, this label is both ethical and evocative.

She is influenced by her strong traditional corsetry skills and a penchant for moody literature, though not of Twilight type!

Eline describes the label thus:

"Electric Sugar design moody, provocative collections, incorporating traditional corsetry techniques and evoking the spirit of a circus sideshow: magical and dreamlike, yet sleazy and sinister."

The current collection is called Pendle Hill and is inspired by the English witch trials. Lissom Yarn has the beautiful Alice Nutter Skirt (pictured below), in a very excellent brown and aquamarine floral print; and the simply wearable One O'clock! singlet top, in grey.

These are strictly limited edition items.

All Eline's designs are realised in wonderful sustainable fabrics including soybean, hemp, bamboo, recycled PET and organic cotton. I'm in love.

I will be getting another delightful drop in early 2011, featuring tailored shorts and another elegant blouse style.

Drop by for a dress up!

Lace Ahoy

2010-11-29T18:43:00.012+11:00

The last big project from the Spring Carnival was a "racey" little red number, courtesy of Stella MacCartney.

Again, the client had found a pic she loved and wanted me to do a similar job for her Oaks Day dress.

But, as my Client is not 20- something and under-eating, we made the skirt longer.

I chose stretch cotton sateen, from Clegs, as the bone-coloured base of the dress because I wanted stability and enough substance in the weave to be flattering.

We chose to bone the bodice and I also added bone-colured orgnaza straps which could convert to a halter-neck if my Client wanted to wear it out "to a barbeque", as she put it. Without the sheer blouse over the top. She hosts some pretty special barbeques I believe...

It was all lined with beige silk habutae.

Anyway, I got red polyester lace from Clegs and red silk organza from Tessuti; the only place I could find that stocked red - outrageous!

I draped the lace onto the dress base, as it was the most effective (and, dare I say it) enjoyable way of creating the right look.

I hand-sewed long vertical darts around the bodice to shape the lace, and then cut and pieced the neckline to create the scolloped look of the original dress.

I added a silk organza hem about 10cm wide to soften the look of the hem.

I toiled the blouse that goes over the top in a design that reflected the original picture, but found it lacking- too Jetsons, not chic enough.

So I drafted the peplum again and used a half circle to create the volume and silhouette that was more flattering and exciting. I made the back slightly longer, for a more elegant line around the body.

We added a belt with a vintage gold buckle, to make it more age-appropriate, and break up the blocks of red a bit, giving the eye something to focus on.

I bound the edged of the blouse with self bias strips, and put an invisible zipper and a little keyhole and button a-top the centre back closure.

I was really happy with the silhouette in the end and enjoyed working with the lace in such a restrained way.

Then it was time to sleep.

Spring dresses.. continued.

2010-11-29T17:40:00.009+11:00

This is the second of the major jobs I had for Spring racing.

My client bought in a picture of a dress by Christopher Kane; a beaded satin cocktail dress with apricot pleated skirts and tulle. Its ladylike, yet pretty edgey as well, of course.

Samantha Harris in Christopher Kane; image from "Style Me Romy"

Our intention was to get the beading done in Bali, as my client was visiting for a holiday.

I chose duchess satin for the tunic-inspired part of the dress, as I needed shine and weight, as well as structural integrity, to handle the weight of the beading and cutouts.

I got a remnant from Rathdown Fabrics; 2m of pure silk duchess satin for $35.... it was my first purchase there and I am now converted! Such amazing prices, and if you visit often you will find what you need. Its just a bit of a lucky dip.. but I like challenging retail experiences ;)

I had to dye the satin once to get the right colour; a pale kingfisher blue, but not too pale; tricky.

Then I replicated the overall shape with a princess line pattern and cut out the hip panels. I chose silk georgette for the hip panels, over-layed with a pre-pleated tulle to give the layers and reduce my work; i love perma-pleats sometimes!

The next hurdle was that the beading came back... less than useful, shall we say. There were about 11 partial flowers over 2m of tulle, which, had it been complete, I had intended to cut out in the princess pattern and stitch together with the satin panels.

In the end, I cut out all the flowers and spent an afternoon arranging them to look like a "design feature"; as they say in Fashion Design 101, if you make a mistake, make it look intentional!

I added double- layered tulle sleeves with a flower in the centre of each, thankfully there were enough to stretch to that part of the dress. A ruffled tulle and satin collar was also added and, the whole thing was lined in flesh - coloured silk habutae; the best kind of lining, as far as I'm concerned!

The skirt inserts of georgette and tulle were sewn together and gathered, then I pinned them into the cut outs around the hip and arranged them carefully so as not to drag the satin tunic in any direction, or ruin the drape of the georgette.

I used an invisible zip down the centre back and hemmed everything right at the end, then slipstitched the lining to the satin parts of the hem.

So that was our tribute to Mr Kane; we hope he doesn't mind.

Spring Racing Carnival of dresses!

2010-11-08T11:27:00.011+11:00

Well, as the racing season is finally over, I have a chance to share some of the more exciting projects with you.

I had three very interesting and challenging dresses this year, all for the same family!

The first outfit was inspired by Louis Vuitton's last collection (F10), featuring full 1950's skirts and corseted bodices. Very simple and very chic.

The only hiccup was the Client wanted the leather skirt, and I've never really used leather - well, not in this application anyway.

I sourced it from NSW Leather in Collingwood. I bought six sheep skins, as it was a full pleated skirt, with a separate hem panel; very scary for aligning grain and weight on an unfamiliar "fabric".

Cutting out skirt panels from pieced hides.

The other major difficulty is that any pins holes are permanent; try making a pleated skirt without pinning! Well, I found it hard...

I also added a lining of course and layer of soft tulle to assist in creating the fullness of the skirt shape.

Petticoat

The corset was a simple construction made by draping onto the mannequin, designing the shapes, and then patterning and making. Shown below with toile skirt, and without straps.

I used plain old plastic boning and a silk/lycra satin lining in apricot, just for fun. And bound the bottom edge with orange cotton bias binding.

I used black cotton velvet for the straps, lined with black silk,

both from the Fabric Store, Brunswick.

In the end it was very cold day for Cox Plate, but my Client still looked smashing, and braved the elements. In the end it was decided that a cape was necessary, and she chose a Jaimi Kark design from the ready to wear section of Lissom Yarn.

It is shown below on a model for Jaimi's collection, the Interview, which was created in connexion with CraftACT in 2008. We stocked black versions of this capelet for Spring this year.

So the final outfit looked like this:

You can see the published photo from the Age newspaper here!

Spring Racing Carnival of dresses!

2010-11-08T11:27:00.000+11:00

Africana

2010-10-25T19:07:00.010+11:00

To continue on with my jungle-pattern obsession, last weekend we went for a holiday to Daylesford in the countryside, and I managed to book "the Zebra Room" at the Manse. It was pretty awesome and had an array of verging-on-hilarious-but-kind-of-cool african-based prints and decor.

Zebra bath!

Mantlepiece Hippo....

The bed head was an amazing print of a Victorian-era botanical drawing, for which I also have a fetish at the moment.

I just bought a beautiful book called "Botanical Riches; stories of botanical exploration" by Richard Aitken. It charts the exploration and documentation of the world's flora by all the major colonial powers from Egypt and Islam, though to Asia and Great Britain.

Left: Franz Antoine, Die Coniferen nach Lambert, Loudon und Anderen. Nut from the Australian Bunya Pine.

Right: Henry Andrews, The Botanist's Repository, 1806. North American Aloe Agave americana and vanilla, below.

British manuscript album "Shrubs and Trees"1802-4. Rhododendron arboreum, the national flower of Nepal, bought to England by Thomas Hardwicke.

I find the precision and delicacy of these beautiful works both calming and enlightening; I love that people were drawing like this, sketch book on their knees, out in the wilds, wherever crown and country let them sail.

Spring Racing

2010-10-25T13:15:00.006+11:00

So we are off and racing, literally at Lissom Yarn, to Oaks Day, after which I intend to collapse and sleep for about 4 days.

Earlier this month I did a spring-coloured merino dress for a client, in a very pretty pale sea green-blue. Very nice as there is still a chill in the air, and these are so good for layering.

Next was a bridesmaids dress for a wedding next weekend; it was a simple job from a vintage pattern, which was actually really enlightening. The plethora of innovative design features in '40's dress is amazing; you just dont see designs like this anymore. Its a 1948 Vogue pattern.

The bodice was constructed in two s-shaped parts with gathering along the curves, opposite to each other (shoulder and hip). This gave a delightful asymmetry to the volume in the skirt, set off by the strong padded shoulders and high neckline.

It has a side invisible zip and I just put one button and loop at the back of the neck to stop her looking too "stitched-up". I particularly like the long back darts and how plain it is compared to the front design.

The client chose the fabric, a polyester steel grey satin, which is always a challenge, but I think it turned out nicely.

The Client is very slim and quite tall, so it looks great on her.

Next week, how to make a box-pleat leather skirt. It takes five and half sheeps.

Daylight Save-d My Life

2010-10-06T19:38:00.006+11:00

Happily the sun is returning to my world and it really looks like winter may finally end.

Latest creations are delightfully breezy; no more tweed please!

With the Racing season approaching fast fast fast, I'm getting into the mood with printed cottons and classic lines.

This linen and printed cotton dress was ordered way back at the beginning of the year, for Derby Day. It is an adaptation of a dress I made when Lissom Yarn opened and I didn't have a lot to do.. the original skirt was a full circle.

The back of the skirt is longer than the front and the bodice is lined and bound with my old favourite, black satin bias binding.

The cotton print came from the ends bin at Tessuti, back in February. I wish I had 5 more metres!

Next is a lovely thing made for a client with fabric she supplied, a very interesting printed silk chiffon.

The client was inspired by my awesome "How to be a Fashion Designer" book from 1979 in my studio; lots of drawings of rip-offs of Yves Saint Laurent's bohemian Russian gypsy collections.

So we decided on bell sleeves and a little peplum, that she can add a thin leather belt to at home.

I'm rather proud of this little blouse, mostly because the construction is largely french seams on four layers of chiffon; quite a challenge. But it looks great inside, so it was defiantly worth it!

I also love the "pussy-bow", and the way the print worked out; the blue section only ran along one selvedge, so cutting was slow and cautious!

Again with the self - covered buttons, which were desperately fiddly with two layers of silk chiffon.

But hooray, it all worked out in the end.

Coming up this month are some outrageous race dresses and hopefully some hats...Stay posted!

Colour and movement

2010-09-06T13:08:00.005+10:00

This week... latest projects:

On the left is a pure Modal (cellulose fibre) jersey tricot dress, double layered, with a double bias-bound hem. I added the neckline ties as a detail to break up the blocky texture of the jersey, as the client is new to "dress-wearing", and needed some distraction from the overall orange. My brief for it was "a European-summer-holiday-dress" , so it had to be travel-safe and very very comfortable... read "cool".

On the right is a copy of a skirt for the same client, a simple darted a-line skirt, made in this version from pure silk animal print (a-la-jungle fever, see last week's entry), lined as well, for comfort.

We also added a pair of comfy brown linen drawstring trousers to her travel wardrobe, with a special passport pocket hidden inside!

This last week has seen an influx of spring orders, for weddings, races, parties, amid a general call for "something flattering please!"

This last dress was one such job, needed for the 8th September, and its turned out pretty well I think..

The brief for this dress was "an elegant all-round dress, with a funky/modern edge". The Client loves Japanese fabric and styles, so I incorporated a piece she sourced from a furnishing textile wearhouse into the centre front and back panels of the princess line dress.

The main fabric is a cotton/elastane blend, from Tessuti. Its a wonderful fabric, but I bought the last 2.5m! I made the self belt with a recycled vintage buckle, and keeper, as well as the double straps. I have just discovered self-covered buttons, so I used them as details on the back straps as well.

Its not lined, but the Japanese panels are sewn into the panel lines, over a panel of the black cotton, as backing and strength. We wanted a bit of gathering/blousing in the silk panel, for contrast. Overlocking was quite sufficient as the cotton fabric is firm and forgiving.

Thats all for now, hope you like them!

Jungle Fever

2010-08-23T16:30:00.013+10:00

So, in nerdy anticiation of the release of "Tomorrow, When the War Began" on Thrusday 2nd September, I'm feeling the "jungle guerilla" vibe; bold animal prints, green, yellow and brown and warm grey are all lovely transition colours from winter to spring, as the weather finally gets sunny!

Wool tweedster pinny in pale grey.

Made to measure for A.Chambers.

This is one amazing piece from the new collection by Amanda Assad Mounser.

Her collection uses semi-precious stones, chain, spikes and crystal to create bold, rock and roll pieces that have strong organic forms.

Assad Mounser describes her new collection on her site: The collection's aesthetic maintains a 1970's wild bohemian luxe feeling, which was typical of this lavish time of excess and indulgence. References are also drawn from editorial imagery featuring the popular 1970's model Veruschka as well as the films Cleopatra Jones and Mahogany.

I think it just radiates jungle glam!

These are the kinds of organic textures that I love right now: combining the neutrals trend with a vigorous texture like snakeskin or leopard creates some much needed diversion from the "flesh-on-flesh" look. Bold prints provide interest and are great for layering with plain colours or denim.

All these amazing prints are from Tessuti on Flinders Lane.

As a side comment: I'm over the 1950's.

Mad Men makes me angry: yes the dresses are great, but the men are chauvanists and the women are bait, and I'm so tired of people asking "can you make me something like those dresses from Mad Men?"

So jungle-chic is my solution. Although it brings to mind images of Beyonce on a sandy shore singing about being a "Survivour", I love the potential for this style to shake up the conservative-ness of current trends.

HOW CAN THEY BE WRONG?

So much animal hide, it must be right.

Cant wait for Tomorrow When the War Began!

Linen Jacket

2010-08-23T15:55:00.006+10:00

As promised, here is the Linen-silk jacket that I've been working on for a while.

Its finally finished, and I think it's turned out to be quite interesting..

I still haven't been able to confirm the fibre content of the fabric, which is really frustrating!

Possible combinations might be silk, rayon or linen.

It crushes very easily, but also holds its shape beautifully.

Above are details of the cuff and front pleating. I decided to bind the edges of the collar to refine the overall impression of the garment. Because the fabric is so floaty, I think the binding really centres the design, and the client loves that kind of detail.

The cuff are gathered up and stitched, and close with a button and roule loop.

The front fastens with a set of 3 large hook and bar, across the front of the jacket.

All the hems are just over-locked, turned once and topstitched. The fabric is so light that anything more would really change the way the hems sit.

I added small shoulder pads to support the shoulders and tops of the sleeves.

This garment was made for K. Elkins.

Hope you all like it!

Custom dressmaking

2010-08-16T13:35:00.006+10:00

Well today i thought I'd chart the process that goes into a made to measure dress for a client, at Lissom Yarn.

I start by talking to the client about her hopes and fears (!) about the dress and what it should be like.. if she has some ideas... or is open to interpretation.

This example job was for a client with a very clear idea of what she wanted, so there was little need to go over the design.

Her brief was a simple, elegant black stretch dress she could wear to after-5 events. Her specifications where:

Knee-length

Black stetch jersey "tube" dress, with 3/4 sleeves

A cowl on the back neckline and a gentle scoop/v-neck on the front.

She also specified bra - strap keepers on the shoulder to stop the bra and dress going south at odd occasions.

I began by taking her measurements, bust, waist, hip, arm circumference and length, and drafting a pattern.

When I got to the cowl neck, I had to do a bit of reasearch, as I couldn't remember ever drafting one or even using one from a commmercial pattern: what does a cowl look like flattened out, and how do you get that bias drape when you are cutting on the fold and trying to create a deep scoop??

My answer came in part from The Coracle, where Pat Loughery described re-using an old tee shirt by turning it into a cowl neck tank. Her pattern instructions where simple and (to me) rational. I could elaborate as much as I needed to: the secret is in pivoting the shoulder point out from the under- arm, thereby extending the back neckline as much as necessary to create the bias folds that drop down the back when you right the shoulder line to meet the front shoulder. Ingenious!

So this was my first whole toile, which also had a single sleeve to check the fit on the client. Sleeves are my... love/hate feature. They can be amazing and also so very depressing when they are wrong. The cowl wasn't deep or elegant enough for me or the client, but it was a good start for fitting purposes.

So I toile-d again,

this time creating a really wide swing on the shoulder point and got a nice deep cowl.

Then I had to consider facings or lining, or using a double layer of the jersey over the whole garment, to give it extra weight.

I opted for a front facing, with fusing, and back cowl facing without fusing, to maintain that drape and stop it looking like a hood.

So then I cut out the real garment from the black jersey, (Poly-Spandex from Clegs), and started on the proper dress.

I'm finishing the sleeves with little folded cuffs to give the sleeves some definition and form.

Its not quite finished yet, but im happy with the overall design and shape. Next I will just be finishing the hem, adding the bra keepers and have one last fitting to check all the details are right.

Recent Commissions

2010-08-07T11:23:00.009+10:00

These are some of my more recently completed jobs of particular interest.

This Edwardian skirt (left) was bought to me by a friend who had found in on Ebay for $10. The lace on the outside was mostly intact, but the entire lining, a silk acetate I think, had disintegrated into barely connected strips of fabric. And there were also massive tears all through the georgette lining under the lace.

So we decided to try a rescue mission and see if we could salvage this beautiful garment.

I copied the skirt pattern and cut a silk georgette lining in softest pale pink, which creates most of the colour you can see in the skirt.

I then re-constructed a lining skirt, or petticoat, on the same 5-gore pattern, with all the extra volume gathered at the back to create the (small) bustle shape. The hem of the petticoat was constructed with concentric strips of bias taffeta to give fullness at the hem, and edged with a large ruffle for good measure.

I used a blue-shot pink polyester-spandex taffeta for the petticoat that gave the skirt some depth of colour under the lace and georgette. The same fabric is used for the waistband/sash, and is washable: hooray!

This cocktail dress was commissioned by a

client to wear at several black tie events,

over the coming months.

She wanted a flattering and easy-to-wear dress that she could bundle up in a suitcase of necessary. She loved the midnight blue colours, and also like the idea of velvet. She definately didn't want "another black dress".

The design challenge with this dress was to create an after-five dress that wasn't too frilly, but would enhance the client's femininity, as well as making her feel special.

Softness and drape were a special part of her requirements. I ended up using a blue polyester jersey as the "lining", over- laid with rayon velvet patterned with devore roses. It was a challenging fabric combination to use though, and I would definitely re-consider such a choice in the future, although I love the final look of the fabrics together.

Lastly is a fantastic linen/silk jacket/blouse that's in-progress at the moment.

This has been a long-running commission for a client who sews herself, but was seeking a variation in her wardrobe, and something interesting for her larger size.

She found the fabric online, and bought a whole roll.

I have to say its one of the most amazing fabrics I have ever used. It has a twill pattern, but is extremely light and as open as a linen weave. It hangs beautifully and shines in the daylight. Its kind of like what I imagine they made the Hobbit's Elven cloaks out of for Lord of the Rings. Hows that for a nerdy reference?

Anyway, I am using pleating, sewn almost flat across the from to create texture, and rolled bias strips as a collar, that will overlap across the front.

Final photos to follow!

2010-07-22T19:42:00.011+10:00

Despite the pervasive grey of July in Melbourne, I keep coming across lovely vignettes of natural beauty all across the city. Texture, colour, and the cold, almost European light in Melbourne brings a clarity that's really refreshing.

I also love the rhythm and form of the many succulent plants that are grown in botanical gardens, in borders and massed as vast ground covers. The colours and shapes are really interesting. I would love to have the time to transform these into the basis of a collection.

And then there are just the pretty flowers..

Lovely things

2010-07-09T21:04:00.012+10:00

An excellent source of American cool, Flavorwire has this beautiful image featured, and other works in their "Best of Art Chicago".

Lillian Bassman, Fantasy on The Dance Floor, Barbara Mullen, 1949. Gelatin silver print, 24 x 20 inch. Courtesy Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica.

This image shows the model, Barbara Mullen, in a 1949 Christan Dior gown, of course.
The New Look silhouette is shown at its most exaggerated in this spiraling silk ruffled ballgown. Its hard to believe the war and rations had only finished four years before.

Lillian Bassman is one of many women I am discovering lately; trailblazers and more modest women of accomplishment whom I find inspiring. Lillain was born in 1917 and had a remarkable career in fashion, but she came to fame later in the 20th century when her work was "re-discovered".

Bassman's (predominently) black and white works show to me a world of fashion that is not so dominated by the male viewpoint. The fashion items are of course consistent with their respective periods, but I find her work conveys an altogether different tone to that imbued in the dominant male photographer's perspectives. The subjects are calm and in control, relaxed, even when active. There feels to me to be a liberation from the"capturing" and "being captured" paradigm that guides other fashion photographers.

Anyway, check them out at..Lillian Bassman on Flicker

Winter Thralls

2010-07-06T19:48:00.014+10:00

Well, here we are again, in the thrall of Melbourne's winter. And my studio is so cold!

Despite this, some excellent far-sighted clients have had me sewing away on some lovely little projects that really show what winter dressing is about!

This boiled wool cape is lined with black cotton voile and has a rink collar. It buttons down the centre front, on the inside. Made to order.

I love it particularly because its such a good example of a client wanting an old-fashioned garment, but with such a modern feel to the aesthetic.
Credit must also go to my colleague Jaimi Kark, for her inspiration to the client from her eponymous label, and the collection, the Interview, from which this concept was derived.

Also happening a lot this winter are requests for"pinny dresses". These kinds of garments fall into the "new utility" trend that's taking off in Europe; they are stylish and simple to wear. Pinnies are excellent for layering, and if made in cotton, they are transferable to one's summer wardrobe.

Geometric print cotton pinny, high-waisted with invisible front patch pockets. Made to order.

Also happening this season is the ever-comfortable knit.
As a dress, long top, leggings or layered cardigans, the wonderful range of softest merino and other good quality knits is really exciting. My favourites are at the Fabric Store on Brunswick Street,
because it has a huge range and good prices.

Lissom Yarn will shortly be stocking a range of knitted dresses-slash-tops made for winter layering, as right, in the black merino herringbone knitted dress. Also available in khaki, charcoal and gray marle.

Stretch rayon knit wrap dress with black and white printed cotton collar. Made to order.

Merino knits are also great because they are a natural, sustainable and far superior (in my opinion) fabric to many other knits that tend to pill and look tatty
quickly.

Stay tuned for more winter ideas, and with spring on the way, I'm hearing wedding bells and other indicators that brides are out and looking for gowns!
We'll be looking at the origins of "the wedding gown" and why our bridal stereotype is culturally a little bit strange. Yay!

2010-06-07T14:28:00.002+10:00

This woman is my one of my heroines: costume designer Sandy Powell.

I was first drawn to her through the film Orlando (1993), directed by Sally Potter. She had also designed the costumes for Shakespeare in Love, the Aviator, Wings of the Dove, Interview with the Vampire. You get the idea.
She is an amazingly talented designer and knocked all the A-listers for six, as far am I'm concerned, this year at the Oscars, with her 1930's style gown and fabulous accessories. She won (again) for Young Victoria.

Welcome to Lissom Yarn

2010-06-07T14:11:00.004+10:00

Hi out there,

So, this is the blog attached to Lissom Yarn, my fashion studio and boutique in Flemington, Melbourne.

Here I will be finding beautiful things to share with you: colours, designs, fashion tips and style notes, costume, history , sustainability and anything thats inspiring me lately in my travels through everyday fashion and design.

I hope you can enjoy and be inspired to look at fashion and design from a different perspective; fashion is not just what's on the catwalk, it is a larger expression of how we see ourselves in the context of our communities and what we value in ourselves and others. It is the most immediate and flexible transference of ideology in modern society and helps to both align and divide people.

I believe fashion can be constructive, not just consumptive, and hope this forum helps to get these ideas flowing.