And a new border dress inspired by wonderful Horrockses dresses with those candied flowers.  Our dress is embroidred in Royal blue and Kelly green,  available here as  Flora Goes Green  in our new shop.

Red Dress

This little Red dress is off to New Orleans for a winter wedding. This warming red has come at the right time, just as the mornings have turned cold and crisp.

Vintage Dresses Coming Soon

We are busily working away on our new website, soon be launched in the next few days ..... here's a sneak peek at our vintage selection ......

Lady Sings The Blues

This was another fantastic commission which has just been completed.
The brief: A 50's inspired, Etta James, blues wiggle dress in a striking blue, designed to make a lady's curves pop!
 This dress has to be one of my favourites, when I packed it away in it's tissue paper those pleats felt as though it had been made 60 years ago and I really hope it makes it's lovely owner feel wonderful. I think you call it a labour of love when your fingertips have so many holes in,  Anyone who knows of a thimble that works please let me know.

Studded Heart

It's our friends birthday today and whilst I could get her a bunch of gorgeous flowers, the rain is falling heavily outside and thought I could use my skills to make her something to enjoy for longer.

This is the first time I have used these frames but it all went swimmingly and the final bag is looking quite pleasing! It feels great in your hand with the super soft nappa leather and gold metal studs. Lined in my favourite emerald green silk.

The Illusionist and the Blue Dress

We took a trip to the watershed last night to watch the Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet. I give it complete 10 out of 10, it really was as near to perfect as you would want a film to be and was spine tingling charming the whole way through.

There is a gorgeous scene in the film where the girl stops to admire a dress in the window display at Jenner's department store. The dress is blue and it sparked up memories of the classic Disney films featuring the female characters in blue dresses, maybe this is a nod to the old masters of hand drawn animation?

I can't remember the last time I stopped in front of a shop window and really longed for a dress (unless it was  vintage or I was in New York in the perfect setting outside Bergdorf Goodman's). Some dresses seem to be able to hold that aspirational feature, a shape, style and presence that you don't usually get with many dresses today. Certainly not on the high street.
We are now such heavy consumers that if we like a dress, we buy it, it gets bundled into the carrier bag and off we go without too much care. The dress will then be worn, spilled on, end up on the bedroom floor, in the washing machine, hang around and then off to the rag man or land fill.

I want to make the dress in the shop window, the one you stop and long for, the one that makes you feel wonderful, that's beautiful to touch, the one that will still be with you in twenty years time, that a girl finds in your wardrobe and then makes her feel special. It may be asking for a lot but I can at least try!

I love the way that the Illusionist perfectly demonstrates how old fashioned skills should be treasured. The film is about the end of an era, the way the magician no longer amazes his audience over modern amusements is heartbreaking. In ending with 'Magicians don't exist' sent me into a blubbering mess.

The one noticable part of cgi whirling round Edinburgh for two seconds, looked cheap and I hope this was there to make a point. It hit home in a big way and knocked most cgi animations to the ugly pavement next to Tesco's.  

Old skills rule! xxx

Gorgeous Grey Roses

A quick post to show you this darling of a dress.

The fabric is an original 1950's crisp cotton purchased from atomickatz (an excellent etsy shop packed with gorgeous vintage finds) and we teamed it with a crepe bodice and added our all important bow!

Black Lace Dress

This was a fantastic custom order, the kind I could do all day long! A lovely creative customer wanting something gorgeously vintage and in keeping with our style.

The dress was made in a soft black lace (nothing scratchy for the skin) and is designed with black silk slip underneath complete with boning and a fitted waist.

 The dress just screams demure 1940's glamour and I am very pleased with this one.  (if you haven't already guessed!)

And the inside just for good measure. As this was unlined lace it was important to keep the inside light and tidy so we bound the main waist seams and french seamed the rest.

New Tidy Studio

Over the past few months my studio has become more and more out of control with bit's paper being hoarded in one corner, fabrics scraps in another and stuff everywhere.
Wing quite wonderfully gave up his day to tidy my studio for me whilst I worked on a dress. He is one incredible man!
So the studio went from this

To this.....

All my lovely old furniture at one end to take photos and read and relax and the work end at the other. My desk looks so wonderful without the technology around it!

Weekend Dress

This weekend we celebrated our friend Sooz's birthday at Prosecco in Clifton. We had a great night, the food was delicious and it was good to spend time with friends for a treat. 

I made a dress made for the occasion, the first one for myself in a long time. The fabric is a fine cotton with anchor print (which I think was found in a charity shop once upon a time) and a jersey wool bodice. Teamed with red tights to match the bound hem and my mums vintage black heeled brogues.