Thank you for the shout out Paula!

Here is an interview with Paula Delley shot early last year.

If you are interested in buying a leopard print skirt like one she is wearing in the interview, send me a message!

Jennifer's wedding dress and the 1930's heirloom lace

When Jennifer and I had our first meeting, all was going well. Jennifer wanted a 'non-wedding dress' made from 100% Silk Dupion using a 1950's inspired pattern. "And I would like to incorporate this piece of lace that belonged to my great grandmother, it's been in our family for years and it's very, very old".

I instantly got stage fright and I must admit, went into a little panic. As I composed Jen's quote I worked out the best way that we could get the most out of the piece and after the quote was approved, Jen set out to have the lace professionally cleaned and dated.

The National Gallery dated the lace as early 1930's, which made me feel a little more relaxed as I would have felt a little nervous cutting anything that was from the year 18-something.

We agreed to a simple design and let the lace be the main focus of the dress. The silk was purchased at Tessuti in Melbourne and I wish that you could see the true colour of it in the photo, it is divine! I bought the 100% Viscose lining from Harvey's in the Nicolas building and used a heavier lightweight woven interfacing (that sounds strange, I know) for the bodice.

I gathered a rectangle piece of the lace onto the midriff to ensure that we got the maximum use of the piece, the invisible zip was inserted into the side seam.

Jen wore a very cool pair of black and gold metallic snakeskin stilettos and accessorised the dress with an antique brooch.

To see the backview of the dress click here.

Thank you so much for making me a part of your special day Jen! x

Alexander McQueen, RIP

When I woke to the news that fashion designer, Alexander McQueen had committed suicide I thought it was another cruel online hoax.

Sadly though, it is not a hoax and very true. Although the fashion industry will acknowledge that it lost one it's heros, what breaks my heart the most is that there is a group of people out there who's lives changed forever today.

I lost two friends through suicide in the 1990's and not a day goes by that my heart doesn't break. It's a strange sort of pain, you can feel it coming from a distance and within seconds, the sadness washes over your whole body and grips at your heart and then after what feels like a long time, but may only be a few seconds, it passes and life goes on.

If you feel that you cannot go on, suicide is not the solution, there is help and there truly is light (and life) at the end of the tunnel. Australian residents have access to a service called Beyond Blue, if you are not an Australian resident and you feel depressed or that you are finding it hard to live, contact your GP and ask for help.

Valentine's Day sale...

Just a quick note to let you know that all love-themed items in my store are reduced until February the 15th.

Take a look here.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, check out Pilgrim Lee's blog for some cute Valentine's Day goodness here.