Reworked Clothing and Accessories - Fashion Design

As a companion for my upcycled wedding dress, I needed a hat or headpiece that complimented and/or furthered the theme of the dress.  Well, a headpiece is certainly what I ended up with!

I was very inspired by my favourite designers, both living and deceased, who have used nature and total fantasy when having headpieces created for their collections.  I wanted to try my hand at dreaming up and executing one for myself. It had to have height, volume, a butterfly or two, flowers and…an antler.  Don’t ask me why because I don’t know.  It just spoke to me of the forest, dress and photo shoot location and I also knew it would give some of the height I wanted.

I searched online for an antler but was not willing to wait for it to be shipped nor pay the crazy shipping prices various sellers were asking.  I also searched at a local outdoor store to see if they had any in their hunting department,  real or artificial. No such luck.  I had all but given up on my yet another crazy and eccentric idea when I stumbled upon one at an antiques show that my husband and I attend each year at Carleton University.  We assumed from the weight of it (quite heavy) that it was made of a resin based material and did not ask the seller any questions about it,  but we were wrong.  When my husband helped me drill some holes in and shorten the stem of the antler to a better length, the dust and smell from it told us the truth…it was actually real.  I had the heebie jeebies about it for a moment but was comforted by the thought of how people hunt deer for food in our forests and not only as trophies.  Also, for hundreds of years, various cultures have looked upon animals such as deer as food and clothing and never waste any of the animal by also using its antlers as decorative art and body pieces.  I then resolved to just be happy for the find and grateful for the animal’s gift.

The base of the headpiece is an x-shaped, vintage headband style hat base that I had lying around.  The solid form and shape of the base give it a secure fit and help to balance any heaviness in the finished piece. After attaching the antler to the base with some wire, I covered the base and stem of the antler with moss.  The base of the headpiece has also been built up and further accented with various wildflowers, buds and leaves.

Pussy willow branches and russet red curly grasses/straw add volume, drama and more height to the piece.  A few flowers and a butterfly were placed on the branches, grasses and antler to help the vibrancy of the piece travel from its base to the top.  A second black butterfly came to rest on the moss near the flower bed.  A larger skull headed orange and amber butterfly on one of the antler points is unexpected and ties together the colour scheme and theme of the dress and headpiece.

This past weekend as I was leaving to go and pick up some supplies for the headpiece, I found a small and wondrously constructed bird’s nest on the ground beside my car.  It had fallen out of the tree on our front lawn.  It was the perfect finishing touch for my design!  Thank you God and my feathered friends for another special and wonderful gift in the making of this piece.  I made some “eggs” to place in the center of the nest and used the fork in two of the antler points as a cradle of sorts for the nest on the headpiece.

When I took into account all of the components and inspirations that went into dreaming up this design, it was easy to find a name for it.  I have titled this piece Nature’s Gifts.

There is a phrase in the wedding world known as “trash the dress”.  It is also called “fearless bridal” or “rock the frock”.  It  is a style of wedding photography that contrasts elegant clothing with an environment in which it is out of place.  It is generally shot in the style of fashion or glamour photography and often takes place on a beach, but other locations include city streets, rooftops, garbage dumps, fields, and abandoned buildings. The bride often wears a ball gown, prom dress or wedding gown, and may effectively ruin the dress in the process by getting it wet, dirty or in extreme circumstances tearing or destroying the garment.

Most brides do not ever wear their dress again nor do they pass it on to someone else to wear so perhaps immortalizing the dress and that happy time in their life by having such photographs taken is a cool way of making and preserving more memories of their special dress and day. However, what happens to the dress afterwards?  If it is ruined beyond repair, thereby rendering its re-use or donation impossible, it will be thrown away to join the rest of the discarded garments and fabrics in our landfills.

I was approached by a photographer friend after my wedding to see if I had any interest in doing a wild trash the dress shoot and I declined.  While I can find merit in this idea and decision on the part of a bride, I had decided that when I got married I would not be interested in “trashing” my dress in that way. My heart (and environmental consciousness) could not handle the thought of it, so my wedding dress hung in its bag in a closet.  Until now.

At the end of this month, I have a collaborative photo shoot scheduled and while I was putting together the looks for the shoot, I decided that I wanted to have a totally over the top and spectacular piece for the shoot.  A dress.  It suddenly hit me that NOW was the perfect time to dust off my wedding dress and upcycle it!  I would transform it into a wearable art piece that would save it from ending up in the garbage and be another piece to showcase my work and abilities.  Not only was my mind ready for this challenge, my heart was finally in the right place to let go of my wedding dress.  God knows, my body was in the right place to alter the dress….after almost four years I can’t even zip the thing up anymore anyways!

 

I knew I wanted to make use of the full tulle skirt of my dress and I had always wanted to use three dimensional butterflies on a dress somehow.  To get me started, I stripped down the dress by removing the beaded lace outer layer of tulle on the bodice and skirt so I could see the bare bones of the dress.  I also tea bathed the dress in my bathtub to take away the light ivory colour of the fabric and tulle and give it a more aged and antiqued look.  I then composed an inspiration board of ideas and key elements.  Since the photo shoot was going to be outdoors (in a cemetery to be exact!), I knew I wanted a very nature based quality to the finished dress….perhaps bringing to mind the fairy queen of the dead creatures and butterflies of the forest.

My colour palette and theme were confirmed after I found a set of butterflies in exactly the right tones and shades through a seller on Etsy.  They were composed of russet red, amber, gold, chocolate brown, dark khaki and a warm ivory with hits of black to add depth and drama.  I selected my fabrics and trims and the final design plan flowed from there.

The panels and structure of the bodice of the dress were enhanced by an unusual floral brocade fabric with braid trim further accenting the seams of the bodice.  Chocolate brown beaded lace motifs were applied to the now strapless sweetheart neckline, sides of the bodice and just below the bustline.  The same brocade fabric used in the bodice as well as fabrics in a plum toned brown Dupioni silk and teal taffeta with brown velvet flocking were employed to create a three tiered over skirt sewn to the waistline of the dress over the existing tulle skirt.  More of the chocolate brown lace motifs encircle the waist of the dress to finish off the addition of the new overskirt.  In order to add further drama and colour cohesion, additional pieces of tulle in teal, amber and dark brown were placed at the over skirt opening.  Amber and dark teal Swarovski crystals were placed in various spots in the lace motifs for sparkle and a bit of glamour.

The back of the dress was also changed.  It originally had a center back zipper closure, which limited the size for the wearer of the dress.  A corset style back closure was accomplished with large grommets and brown velvet ribbon.  The back hemline of the original dress was longer than the front and that has also been altered so that the hemline is now a more manageable length, especially for outdoor photo shoots.

Last but certainly not least, the butterflies!  All of the butterflies were placed on the top most layer of the overskirt, save for one which adorns the top right side of the bodice.  The six larger butterflies of the twelve used have had skulls added to them to inject my signature creepy element into the femininity of my designs.  The six smaller remaining butterflies were left as is.  I struggled for a bit with how to transport and even store this dress with these fragile creatures attached to it and with some help, came up with the idea of attaching them to pin backs so that the butterflies can simply be removed and place in a small box.  Once the dress has reached its destination, the butterflies can simply be re-pinned onto the dress.  I was careful that no butterflies were placed too far towards the back of the dress as we would not want any of them to be sat upon in the event that someone actually chose to wear the dress to an event!

The dress is now unrecognizable as my former wedding dress.  I have accomplished what I set out to do – created a one of a kind, unique piece of upcycled wedding couture as well as saving another wedding dress from being trashed and then discarded.  I cannot wait to see it on the model outdoors amongst the trees and stone structures in our chosen location later this month.  It will be magical and other worldly I am sure!

I will be posting my writings and photos from the shoot later next month so stay tuned for the continuation of the transformation and new life of my wedding dress.

 

Good morning, everyone!  Today I have some fun and totally awesome news to share about a recent sale of one of my fascinators/hats – Stepping Out.

I stopped in at Curious Shop early last week to check on my sales etc. and was pleasantly surprised to hear that this total fantasy creation of mine had found a home.  I was totally floored and elated when I found out who my customer was!  Read on to find out more and to view a picture of him wearing the piece.  Yes, that’s right, I said “him”…..

My new fan’s name is Richard Ryder.  He is a standup comic and was recently in Ottawa doing some shows at Absolute Comedy. He was out and about near the market and came across the shop and fell in love with my hats. He reviews a show called RuPaul’s Drag Race for OUTtv (http://www.outtv.ca/) in Canada. The reviews run on YouTube and are seen by about 2 – 3 thousand people per week.  He reviews the show as a drag queen named Wilma Fingerdoo (actually, he tells me she’s a Drag Bear or a Bear Queen, he hasn’t decided which yet).  As you’ll note from his photo, he does not shave and does not  wear too much makeup –  just a wig, false eyelashes and a fabulous hat. He usually makes his own headpieces but every once and a while, he finds one he can’t refuse. Stepping Out was one such hat to him!

I had planned to send him an email to thank him for his purchase and introduce myself but, he beat me to it!  He gave me all of the above information about himself, was very flattering and kind in his compliments on my talent and artwork and provided me with a photo of himself wearing  my hat as well as the following link to his YouTube channel – http://youtu.be/i8f6QOTsqNc .  He also has a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheWilmaFingerdoo?ref=hl) and a website  http://www.richardryder.ca ).  You can also listen to Richard weekdays from 6 -10am on The Pride Of Toronto, 103.9 PROUD FM ( www.proudfm.com ).

I have viewed some of Richard’s reviews on his YouTube channel and have visited his Facebook page as well.  He has high energy, a great sense of humour and is well loved by his friends and fans.  I can see why.  Thanks again, to Richard (and Wilma) for his wonderful spirit and great fashion sense.  I hope to hear from him again and maybe even have the opportunity to create something custom for Wilma someday!