It started with collectiveselection’s post on Boyant Spring Prints. I clicked on the link to Browns Fashion and found a dress made for M. It was the dress with the open back that would frame her tattoo. The Opening Ceremony Silk Dress.
Then there was a mu’umu’u. “ Most people think that I started with an over-sized scarf, but they were wrong. The mu’umu’u was named “Chairman Mau” by a co-worker. The construction was surprisingly easy. I started with the back. I had measured the placement of M’s tattoo and set about making a frame for it. I cut out a rectangle and used twill tape to finish the edges. A broken necklace chain was used to fasten the back. I added casings in the shoulder seams to ruche away the the excess fabric. I also added casings around the waistline which would later be filled with elastic. The pockets were a last minute add a week before the show. I took the side seams apart and managed to figure out a way to keep the seams outward and get the pockets to go inward.
The dress ended up as the final piece in my collection, “Smoke House Dresses”, to hit the runway at the Treasure City Thrift Fashion Show. It currently resides in M’s closet.
Runway photos by Steve Hopson
Total $ spent= just my time. Notions were found in house.