Dear Huntingdale (Dress 149)

Dear Huntingdale,
You are structurally unsound.
There is a tunnel under the tracks to get to the platform. This is not really the problem, but the drains get clogged, and then it floods, and then no matter what you are wearing you are going to have wet socks which is like purgatory, only worse.
You have bathrooms which are always locked, and benches that are always wet with fresh paint.
And no matter where you stand, you are always in the path of freezing winds.
BUT:

if you look out from Platform 1 at dusk, you will see a collection of streetlights, wires and poles washed in intensely beautiful cobalt skies.
and that is why, for all your faults, I really do like you.
All my love,
IP

Dear Lucksmiths (Dress 148)

Dearest Lucksmiths,
I went to your penultimate concert last year with my father- totally unaware of how lovely you were, or that the gentleman who worked at the greengrocers in my street was your bassist. There is something intensely australian about you, without being Casey Chambers grating or Missy Higgins samey.
There's a song called Fiction (from Warmer Corners) which is what I based this dress on.

The song is really clever, and sweet, and darn catchy too.

Listen to the song- and then look at the dress and it should all make sense.
The 'Fiction' bit is printed on mesh, and the Firs on the front of the dress are painted on. They're from one of the album covers, First Frost- which has another of my favourite songs on it; Lament of the Chiming Wedgebill.
)
Enjoy!
All my love,
IP

Dear Neil Gaiman (Dress 147)

Dear Neil Gaiman,
I've been reading your books since I was a child- graduating from Coraline to American Gods, and thence onto the bizzare wonder of the Sandman series. Your mind seems to fit into a same pattern of those artists I admire- Stephen Fry's encyclopedic knowledge and immense respect for other artists (watch any and all interviews with the man. He is a god.) or your dear Amanda F***ing Palmer's intersongstuality, or Billy Connolly's scatterbrainedness, or your friend and mentor Terry Pratchett's hyper-referancing, or anyone else equally awesome.
You just won a CARNEGIE MEDAL!
(for the Graveyard Book)
freaking congratulations.
Two blind girls were on stage when you accepted the medal with a gorgeous speech (watch this also. It is sweet and lovely) and presented you with a braille copy of the winning book.
How ace is that?

Long time readers may know I have a deep love of Braille, I made the bf and myself matching rings when I went to Israel with our names on them. It's not as clingy as it sounds! It was more a piece of myself to leave behind whilst I travelled... This is a guy who wears a silver replica of the one ring; so it is very hard to take his jewellery seriously.

Anyhow, this dress would have to have little 'beads' implanted between the dress and the lining. might not be very comfortable. Would have something meaningfull written on them, but not sure what. Any suggestions?
All my love,
IP

Dear Brotherhood (Dress 146)

Dear Brotherhood of St Lawrence,
I miss you- when you were old-school. You were so messy and disorganised, which meant that if you put in the time and the effort you were bound to find a bargain/something interesting and reasonably priced. Now you're really just becoming a Retro store, which is such a pity, since I really wanted skinny ties to make a bow tie (Tutorial when I find some, design alert courtesy of @ilanacharnelle) and there aren't any, because all the hipsters shop there. And who wants to pay 8$ for a scrap of badly patterned polyester? I just want something I can take apart to take a pattern off... Silly.
If I found a nice cheap tie to take a pattern off, I might be convinced that this dress

was a good idea.

All my love,

IP

Dear Reader (apologies)

Dearest Reader,
I'm going through a 'lil transitioning, as my mother took the family camera to india with her (she's backpacking. Is it just me or is this the wrong way 'round?) and the camera on my laptop is atrocious.
I'll post this week's dresses asap.
xoxo
IP

Dear Bed (Dress 145)

Dear Bed,

I want to go to you.

All my love,
IP

Dearest Paprika, Chili, Gefilte, Puck, and ? (Dress 144)

Dearest Paprika, Chili, Gefilte, Puck, and ?,

You were my pet fish. I tried- I really did, but I was never very good at curing the multitude of diseases you caught, and even though I fed you often and cleaned the tank, I really wasn't so good at the Dr House impersonations. Sorry!

All my love,

IP

Dear Reader (Poll Results)

Dearest Reader,
Today's post has the bad news before the good. Isn't that always the way? I'm a little deflated by this month's poll results. I made the poll open to multiple votes this month, posted it on facebook- and got a total of 6 votes.
1 for Dear Tramdrivarr
2 for Dear Beautiful Read-Headed Girls
1 for Dear Sally
2 for Dear Jorge
I said last month that if I didn't get more than 20 votes I would make whatever dress I felt like- which I'm glad i said, because Dear QE II would have cost an arm and a leg (silk!?!), and taken me all month to make... (When did I think I could do corsetry?) I made Dear Melbourne Dandy- it's given me a little trouble in the fitting, it was made on schedule, but it was a funny shape, so once it looks shmexy (or passable...) I'll post it. I'll probably make Dear Jorge this month, but it depends on fabric costs etc. Between moleskines and material this is becoming an expensive experiment!

For all that voted last month- I couldn't be more greatful. Every vote surprised me, you didn't go where I expected- and I liked it!


What I'm trying to say is, please, make this exciting, make this something I can't control. If you're reading this I imagine you're into design and/or sewing, and you might know others who are into such things- I would really appreciate if you encouraged a couple of your friends to go through the links in the last post, have a look at the dresses in the running this month, and have a vote- remember you can vote for as many dresses as you like, the more the merrier!

I'm finding it really hard right now to post every night, since i'm out of the house 7am-7pm every day, but I promise i'll do better than i've been doing.

I really appreciate your reading this- taking the time to check in every so often, knowing my little collection of scribblings is out there interesting anyone is a great feeling. The reasons I made this public was in the hope that someone would find it interesting, that I would feel responsibility to those reading, and maintain this thing- I've never done a 365, and it's just as hard as I thought it would be. Knowing you're out there reading/seeing/commenting/liking/hating/being curious is the only reason I can keep this up every day.

If you're alright with it, I'd love to see what the people who read my blog do- I know the lovely Tammie takes the most incredible photographs, and Jess is an insanely talented woman of many mediums, Jorge (the patient boyfriend) is cleverly interesting on a bizzare variety of topics, if you're out there, reading silently as I have so often done, please let me know who you are- enjoy a virtual scone and perhaps some tea to escape the Melbourne chill.
Be safe, warm, happy and healthy,
all my love,
Ip.

Dear Reader (This month's dresses!)

Dearest Reader,
The dresses up for voting this month are
Dear Half Way Mark (Dress 102) Knife and Fork
Dear Half Way Mark (Dress 105) Patches of Text
Dear Half Way Mark (Dress 106) Orange Peeled
Dear Half Way Mark (Dress 107) Spats Dress
Dear Half Way Mark (Dress 108) Quoted Cleavage
Dear Ilana (Dress 114) Strawberries and Cream
Dear Antoine (Dress 116) Le Petit Prince
Dear Koko Black (Dress 117) Nom Nom Nom
Dear Safta Haya (Dress 118) Copper and Midnight
Dear Metro (Dress 119) Tracks and Tunnel
Dear City Hatters (Dress 121) Top Hat and Macaw
Dear Darryl (Dress 122) Pallette
Dear Tom n' Jess (Dress 123) Vase/Face
Dear Alice (Dress 124) Carrots
Dear Dad (Dress 127) Space Invaders Arr.
Dear 1980's (Dress 129) Mirror Image Collar
Dear 365ers (Dress 131) Ruled Margins
Dear Collectors Everywhere (Dress 133) Film Trimmings
Dear Renault (Dress 134) Grille'd
Dear Scrabble (Dress 136) Seven Buhbillion Letter Score
Dear Dianna Wynne-Jones (Dress 137) Backless with Torq
Dear Pentel (Dress 138) Graphite 1920s

Vote well! Vote often! Vote wisely!
And please invite your friends to participate, the more votes the merrier!
All my love,
IP

Dearest Eve (Dress 143)

Dearest Eve Yamouni,

You're inexpressibly amazing. Talented Artist, Lawyer, Cook and Playwright. You're part of the tight-knit community of artists who were in and out of my childhood home(s). Every time we moved, you moved with us- apparently you were doing a lot of moving around yourself, I can't remember the other houses- only the one in South Yarra, the apartment with the balcony view above the Botanical Gardens and the abundance of ferns and indoor plants. I remember hours spent drawing in oil pastels (the kind whose quality assured you should never let a child near them) whilst drinking lemonade and listening to Vivaldi. Everything about you is class and sophistication. Today's dress is a combination painted/preforated number in black and white. Complex structurally, but aesthetically simple and straightforward.

All my love,
IP

Dear Rambo (Dress 142)

Dear Rambo,

So I fell asleep ten minutes in; so I'm not really the authority on your, shall we say, art. However- I do know that at some point in the early part of the film (Rambo 3, I think.) you use a bow and arrow to catch fish.

Bad. Ass.

voila!
black satin ribbons on white muslin, with feather embellishments.

All my love,

IP

Dear Bernina (Dress 141)

Dearest Bernina,

You're gorgeous, sexy, you come in a red box, and you help me make lovely things. You're not like the other sewing machine I had, pale, sickly, plasticy shmickery. My dearest Bernina just helped me make this month's dress; she's not quite ready to show yet, I need to re-pleat because the pattern was massively off, but once I don't feel sillygoose wearing it, i'll upload it.

I hope Bernina will help me make today's dress, it's simple, classic lines, wth beading as the vertical 'lines' in the drawing.

All my love,

IP

Dear Gelobar (Dress 140)

Dearest Gelobar,Wow! One Hundred and Forty Dresses!
I'm excited, I don't know about you.
Gelobar is an amazing cafe/gelaterie near my house, where I once did a single shift of work- it was more an introductory on-the-job interview. Suffice to say I did not get in, but I did get paid in Gelato, so I care not a whit. Can I tell you? Icecream straight out of the machine- INSANITY. Too much loveliness- it was almost painfully delicious.
All my love,
IP

Dear Wineglasses (Dress 139)

Dear Wineglasses,

I have a confession to make: I don't really like wine. I've tried, I promise, all types, and just 'drinking through the taste' trying to find why it's so appealing to others- I really can't get it. At most I'll finish one glass, but it's really tough. I think I have to come to terms with the fact that I'm missing out gastronomically, maybe my tastebuds will refine. Until then I will be content to drink fruit juice (as long as I'm allowed to drink it out of a wineglass.) There is something classically beautiful about a well made wineglass, and the new varieties of stemless ones are stunning! It's really irritating when a restaurant won't let you drink out of the wineglass, it's one kind of glassware or another, and i'm not going to miss out on beautiful design just because my tastebuds are low-tech!

Today's dress has a silver 'hoop' in the outline of a stemless wineglass, to which a white (synthetic) material is affixed. over the white, synthetic black threads are bound around the bodice, and then zigzagged down the front of the skirt part of the dress. another clear fabric is fitted over that layer, and they are fused together on a mannequin specifically designed to be warm, and therefore ensure even warmth and shrinkage.

(NB: this technique was made up for this dress, and may or may be physically possible... Oh well!)

All my love,

IP

Dear Pentel (Dress 138)

Dear Pentel,
Without you I would have no mechanical-pencil-lead. Something about the tube- a black rubber cap on a case in a brown no-one else would ever dream of using, has become a part of my keys-wallet-phone-diary-drawingutensils leaving-the-house checklist. For all it's pigment-related-shortcomings, it really is a rather pretty shape. And today, as i sat down to design the dress, it seemed fitting.
All my love,
IP

Dear Dianne Wynne-Jones (Dress 137)

Dear Dianne Wynne-Jones,
Your books were such a focus of my childhood- You were the author (along with Roald Dahl) upon whom I could always rely to transport me, sick, home from school, into another world without the mild headache or minor stomach upset (that, to a child seems plaguelike in proportion). One particular image (among many) that remains embedded is that of a tribe of strange elfin creatures that wear the (traditionally Gaellic? Welsh? English?) neck-jewellery, the Torc. Today's dress is in honor of that forgotten necklace.
(The drawing on the left is a view of the back. The Torc itself is made of silver, as are the balls at the end of the ribbon at the back. The ribbon is knotted around the Torc, and is part of the plain backless sheath dress part.)
All my love,
IP

Dear Scrabble (Dress 136)

Dear Scrabble,

I’m nerdily fond of a good game of Scrabble, or Upwords or whatever.

So shoot me.

This dress comes with a fabric marker (and no filled in letters.)

Go wild!

All my love,

IP

Dear Phil and Susan (Dress 135)

Dear Phil and Susan,

You are a lovely couple: kind and interesting and gentle, with two gorgeous sons. In my first memory of you I’m being asked to be your flower girl- although I wasn’t sure who you were at the time, you’d met on the internet, countries apart, spoken often, met, and married. Phil became more than our web designer, he was our friend. Susan became my mothers design co-conspiritor, and their sons my miniature companions. One particularly intense memory is the younger son, Casey, at no more than eight months showing great promise of continuing the familial lineage- impressive English stock where six foot is nothing unusual- so solid that, bouncing on my knee for an hour or so he left an impressive mark- the ghost-weight, as if he was still there, even twenty minutes later. In their first Melbournian house they had the unenviable task of stripping a sedimentary history of wallpaper- from subdued Victorian patterns to the garish and gently furred monstrosities of the eighties. So great a task, in fact, that they wanted to leave it, but peeling strips of wallpaper proved otherwise.

All my love,

IP

Dear Renault, (Dress 134)

Dear Renault,

My Dad somehow got it into his head that I should have a car, and since we’re financially rather comfortable right now (which for artists is more mirage than reality) he’s been looking around for one. Recently he heard of a friend selling an ancient Renault for (apparently) peanuts (ok, not ancient. But older than me by a good decade or two.) I’ve since been unable to stop my eyes a-wandering every time I catch a glimpse of an older car. And therefore:

A dress in honor of ancient (and not so ancient) cars. May unnecessarily large grilles be always in style.

All my love,

IP

Dear Collectors Everywhere (Dress 133)

Dear Collectors Everywhere,

You have these strange obsessions- you require the most meticulous of specifications in your collecting- autographs must be framed, and mounted, and photos, and strips of film; oh my! Even though he only collects books (which doesn't count. Really! It's exempt in every way... can you tell i'm justifying my own, embarrasing National Geographic collection?) Jorge has a couple of autographs- bought from those collectible poster stores I imagine, and they have little strips of film in them from the films the actors starred in- kindof silly when they're mounted on blue board and you can't see what's on them!

Silly it might be, but it's responsible for today's dress.
All my love,
IP

Dear Donnini's (Dress 132)

Dear Donnini's,

Your pasta is freaking amazing. You've been selling it on Lygon Street for who-knows how long... And every time I go in there I remember why I want a pasta machine. Gorgeous, delicious ravioli in every colour and flavour (my favourite: Beetroot and ricotta, purely for the aesthetic appeal of translucent creamy parcels with their vibrant fuschia filling.) I thought a ravioli dress would look ridiculous, but that's not all you sell! You've got regular hand-made pasta too, fresh and everything. There is nothing lovelier than bunches of pasta, half-looped- the neckpiece of this dress would be silver reproductions of that pasta (detatchable for use as a necklace), with three or four wisps around the waist. The dress would be cream crepe over a light blue cotton (inked version to come later.)
All my love,

nom nom nom
IP

Dear 365ers (Dress 131)

Dear 365ers everywhere,

You're freaking AMAZING! Some of the things I've seen are bloody intense. Particularly entrancing is the work by Brock Davis: One piece of creative work made every day for 365 consecutive days. Exactly the spirit in which I started my project- to be constantly creative. Brock's work is varied, funny, interesting, and often breathtakingly beautiful.

Particuarly his work for Jan 3rd. This image played on my mind for ages, until I couldn't help but make it today's dress.

I know it's not intensely original, and were I to make this dress it would have to be with his permission; but I just thought it was such a gorgeous image it would make a lovely dress (although, due to penfail not a great drawing on my behalf.)

Done in ribbon on cotton fabric.

All my love,

IP.

P.S. A shout-out to the lovely Lucy, an old friend who I don't see as often as I'd like, who (when I bumped in to her in the city) said she reads this, and totally made my day! Which, considering the day I had was a mean feat! Time spent with Jorge, and the delightful Tess in City Hatters, nomsome soup, heavenly pistachio cupcake, cheap and pretty silver shoes, not having my bike stolen when I locked it to itself but not the pole, an Outsapopable stripy jumper, Heston Blumenthal on Masterchef (don't judge me! He's amazing.) and now, a cup of earl grey while I write the blog are just some of the reasons today was simply brilliant. Knowing that people are out there enjoying it is a wonderful feeling, (GoogleApps tells me there are people reading this in Russia! and France! And one lovely lady in the US!) Thankyou- to Lucy specifically, and to others, those I know, and those i'm yet to hear from. Please, if there is anything you'd like to see, anyone you think I should take a look at for inspiration or anything you're not happy with, let me know. I really appreciate the time you take reading, and voting, and commenting- it helps me keep this going more than you could know!

Dear Phyllis Dietrichson (c/o Barbera Stanwyck) (Dress 130)

Dear Phyllis,

In high school I studied your film Double Indemnity, an intense and visually gorgeous Film Noir, tagline: From the moment they met it was murder!

(image credit)
Nothing sticks from the student of Film Noir like the good ol' Venetian Blinds trick, signifying mixed emotions and internal crisis...

In honor of Phyllis, queen of mixed signals and the tiny touches that make an outfit complete (remember... this is the 1940s, when sexual repression meant an anklet was the height of titilation!)

A dress fit for a murderous widow; hand-painted, each dress is individually 'shadowpainted'. White dresses are made, and then put on plastic-covered dress forms, each dress is taken to a white room where a light is shone through a filter that imitates venetian blinds- the dress is then hand-inked at a particular angle and with a unique light focus (some dresses would be sharp focus, meaning that the light is close to the blinds and very bright, or soft focus is achieved by soft light a distance from the blinds.)

All my love,
IP

Dear 1980's (Dress 129)

Dear 1980's,

Clothes then were sodding horrible. At the secondhand shops near my house they sell pattern sets of ready-made outfit-sets. Every. Single. One. Horrible.
All clashy prints and big lapels and really, really, really, really hideous hair.

And then there's games of the 90's- which are all strangely cool now, like Prince of Persia, which I remember playing on an ancient Mac... how things have evolved.

So in memory of big lapels, and the sands of time,

In affectionate nostalgia,

IP.

Dear AvantCard (Dress 128)

Dear Avantcard,

You're freaking awesome. I have a stack of postcards from you, and when I get bored with my room instead of doing huge alterations I just re-do my postcard board. Here in its' new incarnation, a rainbow(ish):

There isn't really an explicit link between the board and the dress, but I was trying to find a swimsuit (now that they are cheap) because I left mine behind in Israel, and I saw awesome monokinis (which is such a ridiculous name) and one of the postcards is a autumnal tree that looks like it's on fire.

The colours came out too bright- i wanted them much more muted.

All my love,

IP