My own little tribute to Jani Lane (RIP)

As I waited for Puffing Billy to arrive at Emerald Station to pick up my little family and I to take us back to Belgrave Station, [the train station that takes you back to Melbourne], I had a quick look at my Facebook wall and rolled past a post by my friend Lea.

It was a Warrant clip and some words about leaving us too soon. I instantly knew it that Jani Lane had passed away.

A text message to my friend Peter of I Heart Guitar and his death was confirmed.

My heart filled with sadness and my head was confused as I was having a wonderful day out of Melbourne with my family as I mourned the passing of a fragment of my teenage years.

Now, I have to be honest, aside from 'Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich' and 'Cherry Pie', I did'nt follow the band until present day. I was one of the many people that was part of the mass migration from hard rock/glam/heavy metal to Grunge upon listening to Nirvana and Soundgarden

In 1988, I saw 'Down Boys' on MTV Australia and immediately loved the song, I telephoned my friend Jodii and we planned a trip to Metal For Melbourne to buy their album.

My friends and I went to see Warrant play when they toured and we hung out infront their hotel in hope of meeting them. From memory, I did'nt meet Warrant, but I snapped photos of them as they rushed in and out of taxi's as some of us screamed "Jerry!", "Erik!" and "Jani!".

I still listen to the two aforementioned records to this day and everytime I do, I remember a life that was innocent and carefree. We live in a society that is obsessed with looking young, but as I reflect on my wonderful teenage years, no amount of Botox can ever make you BE young.

For me personally, Jani's tragic passing is sad firstly because his children, loved ones and family will live with the pain of losing him for the rest of their lives and for me, one of the voices of my youth went before I could Tweet him and say, "hey, you're awesome and we still love your music, regardless of the fact you're no longer Warrant's front man".

If you're troubled and feel like you don't have anyone to talk to, contact your GP or Beyond Blue.

And to my old friends that are reading this blog post, remember how many times we quoted this? "Call me crazy, call me insane, call me Jani, fuckin' Lane!".

Zebra print 'Lula' skirt looks like the first skirt I made...

The very skirt I made was in year 9 in high school. The year was 1987 and my friend Kendra and I needed something to wear to the Bon Jovi concert (Slippery When Wet tour).

We made zebra print skirts out of poly/cotton jersey that I think we bought from the fabric department at Coles in the Melbourne CBD, which is now a Target store.

The skirts were basically a hemmed tube with elastic in the top to hold them up. We wore fishnet stockings, matching pointy toed ankle boots and I think matching Bon Jovi tees on top.

Fast forward to 2010 and my urge to make clothing inspired by my formative sewing years keeps getting greater and greater.

The 'Lula' mini skirt is a new style. It is generally 42cm long from waist to hem and is sometimes lined and sometimes unlined depending in the fabric.

This one is lined in 100% viscose and made from 100% cotton corduroy. The wales are very fine, giving the skirt are nice texture. It has darts in the front and back and an invisible zip closure in the centre back.

If you would like a bit of metal influence in your life, you can buy this limited edition 'Lula' from here.

Oh and if you want to see where Kendra & I got the inspiration to wear matching outfits, watch the Cinderella video for their song 'Shake Me' below:

It's a DRESS, not a top!

Your backstage pass and black sunglasses
Make you look just like a queen
Even the fans, they know your face
From all of the magazines, but
Do you love me?
Kiss - Do you Love Me

On the day of shooting this dress, I got a call from photographer, Paula Delley asking if I minded if model Ava wore black capri pants with the strapless leopard print top. "I did'nt give you a strapless leopard print top" I replied. After a little more chat, I realised that she meant this dress!

The 'Backstage Pass' dress will form part of a retrospective collection I am planning for 2009.

It is made from 95% Cotton and 5% Spandex, it has a whopping 50cm invisible zip in the centre back to allow easy, um, removal. Unlike most of my dresses, I have left this dress unlined as it's more of a metal gig dress than an afternoon tea dress. *wink*

2009 will mark 20 years since I started 'sewing school' (I left high school in 1988 to do the Clothing & Craft course that Melbourne College of Textiles was offering at the time). I was mad about hard rock and heavy metal and wished with all my heart to be as cool as the girls in all of the music videos.

Now, I know some people will scold me for the name of this dress and perhaps find my inspiration a little distastful, but I feel that I must add, that while my best friend and I sat in our seats waiting for the band to come on, women wearing tiny skirts and dresses, killer high heels and sky scraper hair queued up to meet these bands, I never saw a woman being dragged backstage.

So, in the upcoming months, I am going to make pieces inspired by the very thing that made me want to start sewing, rock n' roll.

*Noteworthy people who did this course with me are Jodii Ruggero (who runs successful Pattern and Dressmaking company Thursday's Child), Anthony Pitturino and Jacob Luppino (who collectively run couture house J'Aton).