Dear Weddings (Dresses 196-205)

Dear Weddings (Day 160),
You make people all excited and festive and optimistic. I like that, even if I find the institution a little sillygoose... Most of today’s dresses inspired by the woman on my tram who was all dolled up to go to a spring day wedding.

Dress I: Wedding Dress: silk dress with painted silk feathers)

Dress II: Bridesmaid’s Dress: comfortable cotton with a silk overlay, painted on the stomach region, petals and the central section of the flower then cut out of the dress and arranged as a corsage/hair ornament.

Dress III: Flower Girl Dress: a photographic print of petals being thrown in the air, with some already falling and a border of petals.

Dress IV: To wear to a wedding in winter: silk ‘paragliding’ sail as headband/hood with silver chain and silver bird on a black matte silk dress.

Dress V: To wear to a wedding in Autumn: Tiny panels of grey slate over a lighter grey dress with architectural grey ‘gutter’ (lace)

Dress VI: To wear to a wedding in Winter: Woolen dress with 2D scarf

Dress VII: fringing over mesh on the neck, waist and hem.

Dress VIII: Indian fabric under an elastic corset.

Dress IX: To wear to a wedding in Spring: black ribbon outline hand-painted filling on matte silk.

Dress X: perforated ‘stamp’ hem with ‘wing’ collar and buttons to below the waist.

All my love,
Ip.

Dear REWIND (Dress 193)

Dear REWIND,

You're an ace vintage store near my house- way too expensive for my tastes (vintage chanel in the window, my size. makes me sad every time I pass it.) I am so glad the satin lined pink dress did not fit me (totally not into pink, but whatever). This dress would only work if it had been pieced as well as the REWIND dress was... guh. Vintage handmade work.

All my love,

IP

Dear Hamletmachine Tech Week (Dresses 180-189)

Dear Hamletmachine Tech Week,
OMFG.

Exhausting.

All my love,
IP

Dear AFP (Dress 125)

Dearest Amanda F***ing Palmer,
I cannot express how much you inspire me. Your skill and artistic integrity mean you have the opportunity to work with some of the most interesting artists, musicians and performers in the international scene. You're not a sudden star- you've worked (and continue to work) hard, constantly to be where you are now, with your collaborative project with Jason Webley Evelyn Evelyn now touring internationally.

I saw you perform in Melbourne's Forum Theatre earlier this year- and I will never forget what that did to me. You took to the stage, vibrant, engaging and wildly charming, sang your soul out for two hours, and then- as promised, serenaded us from the gorgeous balcony with Radiohead's Creep. I cannot help but feel that every person in that audience was buoyed by that anthem of the disconnected.

What happened afterward is something I will always remember, and treasure. I waited to speak with you, and thank you, and after meeting you, I walked away shaking, and crying- because as much as I love your music, your artistry, your creative path- that's what enthralls me.

Your manager comforted me, and asked my name, and let me know that yes: you can do it. He manages your tours in the southern hemisphere, and he was in five films last year... So why not? That even your tour manager is an awesome bloke just cements my perception of you as a collaborator, these people come together to make something amazing because you bind them with charm, talent and ambition.

You are a role model for artists everywhere to go and do what they want; with whoever they can get; and do as much as they can with what they are given.

Not just all this... you're also about to marry one of my favourite authors, the incredibly skilled wordsmith, Mr Neil Gaiman. Damn.  When his book Coraline was adapted into a film, and the film was nominated for an Oscar for animation you went along, and in true ballsy fashion- wore this:

Which was brave, funny, clever and stunning- and prompts this beaded dress over a silk slip (I'm not that brave.)

The beads are strung on long fine strings that are formed into that configuration as they are beaded.

Thankyou for your courage, your skill, and your generosity,

All my love,

IP

Dear Safta Haya, (Dress 118)

Dearest Safta (Grandmother in Hebrew),

It's strange, I only see you every ten years- and yet I feel I know you. We're remarkably similar, you and I- Our love of making things, of textures, and most particularly, of scent. A personal obsession of mine, the art of perfume and the chemistry of scent. Since reading The Emporor of Scent, by Chandler Burr i've been entranced by the collective power of the aesthetic and aromatic that is a flacon of perfume, and it's contents. You have a collection of old perfume bottles, mainly empty- for practicing your glass painting on.

When I was in Israel you gave me a half-full bottle of J'Adore, you said my grandfather (who passed away ten years ago) gave it to you. For all that you love it you said it is too subtle for you, too gentle- strange, for a woman of such delicacy, you look like Jackie Kennedy in the photos I have from my mother's childhood.

You handed me this beautiful little golden bottle, the gold colouring on the wire of the neck faded with age, and, wrapped in silk scarves i'd bought in Israel, it came all the way across the sea with me. And now, when I need to be reminded, soft clouds of pearly scent surround me.

Today's dress is corset-topped, wrapped in an even layer of bronze wire, the ends of which are bent over tiny silver beads, the back of the corset laced with silver ribbon. The skirts are navy silk, three layers, edged with the same silver ribbon used for lacing.

All my love,
IP.
P.S. Today is DAY 100! We've made it! Happiness and Delight! Rar.

Dear Koko Black (Dress 117)

Dearest Koko Black,
You make candied orange slices that are happiness and delight. Did I mention they're dipped in dark chocolate?
Nom
        Nom
                Nom
                        Nom.
All my love,
IP
(pieced silk with a double-belt with a bow.)

Dear Kate, Stevie & ? (Dress 101)

Dearest Kate, Stevie and ?
You were that hospital for a good three days... Wow. Congrats to a new little family.
So to Alice, or Olive, or the surprise out-of-left-field name they might pick for you.
Welcome little bean sprout!
(White silk stretched on solid thick white crepe, (switching to white elastic material on the neckpiece) with painted ink, and a leather tongue holding in the neckpiece.)
All my love,
Cousin IP
(Yeah. I'm evil. Sorry.)

Dear Frida (Dress 63)

Dear Frida,
You always entranced me- warm, strong in conviction and passionate. I walked in on my boyfriend's sister watching part of Schindler's List (which I'm embarrased to say I've never seen...) and saw (what I think was) the stunning Caroline Goodall, playing Frau Schindler- a picture of restrained german femininity. I wanted to show that beautiful crispness of her features with a quiet element of Kahloesque rebellion underneath.
(Sorry for the breif blog- but I'm off to keep watching.)

(Dress Specs: pearl beads, with a lace below (b/w pearls and the collar) silk body, hand painted veuns in green-black.)
All my love,

Dear Ophelia (Dress 62)

Dear Ophelia,
I'm playing you in a production at uni, it's a slightly surreal production (when is Hamlet not?) and I'm really enjoying the rehearsal process- we're on in a week, so I will be really proud of myself if I manage to keep up the daily uploads- I'll still be designing every day, but the show finishes at 9.30 or thereabouts, which means I'll be home really late- and uploading may not happen on the day... We'll see....
We're not using real flowers in my biggest scene, the logistics of winter/isolated performance venue make it impossible, but if we were I would like to make a dress like this one for that scene.

(Dress Specs: Stamped silk-cotton blend.)

All my love,

Dear Winter Night (Dress 61)

Dear Winter Night,
Everything about you is intense and electrifying, the cold setting into my bones, flushing my face pink, making everything seem saturated with colour and charged with bright energy.
Today's dress is cold and clean- silk mesh edged with an iridescant macaw greeny-blue satin piping. There are four layers of the mesh on the bottom, to allow for the camouflaging of a corset bodice, the bones of which are encased in the same material as the piping, with a feather-edge attatchment.

All my love,

Dear Suzie (Dress 57)

Dearest Suzie,
Monash University Student Theatre has a yearly artistic development festival (ADDfest). However, being so busy means I have only been able to attend a select few of the offerings -something I really regret, I've missed out on so much more the festival had to offer...- The writing debut of a dear friend of mine Izzy Roberts-Orr, a brilliant professional actor's panel, and tonight a showcase of short performance pieces, new theatrical works written, directed and acted by students, standup comedy and a amazingly gutsy and skilful burlesque performance by one of my classmates. Her costume was so stunning, so seductive whilst covering everything (albeit briefly) to reveal beautiful luxury lingerie. I wanted to design something that balanced those elements. It didn't come out in the drawing so much- I want this to be the underdress (in very stiff fabric with satin fused on top), with a ruched overlay of very fine crushed silk all over (even the crisscross section).

(Better photo tomorrow)

All my love,

IP

Dear IsraelPost (Dress 40)

Dear Israeli Postal System,
I bought WAY too many clothes when I was in Israel; which was somewhat of a problem when I realised I had to transport them home. Trusty SeaFreight meant I sent all my winter clothes home, and they promptly arrived this week, just as it started to get coolish. Timing = Win.

Also, surprise amongst the jumpers, was this hat- it doesn't fit, so i'm going to put a triangular 'slice' of some other felt in it, just under the ribbon (which will be revamped to match the wedge)
Therefore, in part in tribute to the gorgeous article on Coco Chanel's apartment (Harpers Bazaar), in part tribute to the wonder that is Israeli op-shops (they havn't realised yet!) in part a celebration of 40days and counting:

The dress is black crushed silk, the hat, a 2D construction of crushed silk and matte satin piping.

All my love,

Dear Vitamin E cream (dress 35)

Dear Vitamin E cream,
You're apparently awesome for scars; and since my legs got busted up rather wickedly last december when I went to the dead sea on insanely squelchy sinking mud (now with added scratchy salt crystals) I thought i'd do something about it; and hell knows if it does my legs any good- it certainly makes them feel awesome. Which got me thiking about textures and such, and thence came today's dress:

Not the easiest dress to draw, although i'll admit I botched it up pretty wicked. Something along the lines of either: low viscosity fabric paint sprayed in four layers- first goes from top to bottom, second from top to just below the knee, third from top to mid-thigh, and fourth layer ends at the upper thigh. That; or it's four layers of very faint grey-black mesh.

All my love,

Dearest Mario (Dress 23)

Dearest Mario (Dress 23)

You're turning 21 this saturday! And since you're wonderful (and wonderfully strange), you're having a Toga Party (which should be fun). Seeing as I havn't any togas lying about (surprising really... I have a ballgown, a velvet bodysuit, an oversized tutu, but no toga.), I've been thinking about what i'll make, which (as inspired by the hooded-flowing gown I saw on Charlotte Kemp Muhl in a magazine today at work) turned out something like this:

(headband affixed hood, two grades of mesh, one elastic-blend under-playsuit)
All my love,