Welcome Back! Things are just getting back to normal around here after costuming Cobbs' Carnival of Dreams Stage show and with the impending relocation to NorCal I've got my hands full (by the way if you get a chance, check out my shop, almost everything is on sale!)
So I've already talked about my first ever experience with RAW Artists in my post "Harlows!" which your welcome to read about. Today I'm going to talk about two dresses, sisters in fact. Because, well you can't have one without the other!
First I'd like to draw your attention to the pink dress on the left. I wish I had more/ better pictures of this dress, but this was at the beginning of my fashion career and I did not document my work very well.
Back to the pink dress, so our story starts when my Tia Paula gave me a bag of vintage, 80's dresses which was such a wonderful gift. Several of those dresses have gone on to live as permanent members of my wardrobe while a few ^ like the one above I transformed into something new and beautiful!
Again I wish I had pictures, but I don't so we'll have to use our imagination. It was a really cool pink dress, but classic over the top 80's so I cut off the hem to make it shorter, removed the sleeves and shoulder pads, reshaping the armhole and replacing the sleeves with lace. I added lace to the front of the dress, and like a cool flower on the hip, I was really into flowers at that time. It may not seem like a lot but it really was.
My model liked the dress so much she ended up buying, which made me happy that someone else also loved this dress! To be fair I almost sold off that collection in its entirety and only have a couple pieces from it left. The blue dress from the top right corner (currently on sale in my shop!) as well as this dress.
So you might notice that the top of this dress matches the other dress perfectly and. Why? How? Well remember when I said I cut the hem off the pink dress, I then used the hem to make the bodice of this dress. Pretty ingenious right!
I then used a Black Silkessence https://www.joann.com/sew-classic-silky-solid-silkessence/1446244.html
From Joanns Fabrics, silkessence is not a fabric I use often because its super thin, lightweight and delicate and I'm always terrified I'm going to damage it. But it really is a pretty looking fabric and had a beautiful feel to it!
As you can see the dress is very simple, all I did was use the hem to make the bodice, and gather the silkessence skirt at the top, where I attached it to the bodice, I then gathered the bottom into a skirt lining, which gives the hem of this dress a slight bubble effect. The technique usually results in a really puffy hem, but because of my fabric choice, it doesn't which its exactly what I wanted.
The dress I ended up pairing with this Faux Fur Bolero, I lined it in blue because the original model wore a blue flower in her hair, also black on black isn't the most creative, and I think the blue gives it something special. The fabric and lining came from Joanns.com was made a few years ago so I don't believe the fabric is still in stock.
This dress is not up for grabs, definitely part of my personal collection, but the bolero is being sold in my shop if interested. Harlows may not have given me the best experience, but I got this dress out of it, and that makes it all worthwhile!
Hey! Hey Friends don't know if you missed it but I recently announce my relocation to Yuba City CA my hometown! As I prepare for this move many of the items in my shop have been heavily discounted to help facilitate the move. Also I will be closing down for the month of October as I pack my things up and make that journey North! If you were interested in getting something made there's no time like the present, and make sure to follow me on Instagram @MadsenCreations for giveaways! Look forward to seeing you all on the other side!
