Sunday 17 March 2013

The tunic that never was (or sometimes I dress like a goth, shock!)

This is a sad story with a happy ending (ish)
One lovely day in November 2011, I bought this 60s dress from Clever Nettle's vintage shop on etsy:

It managed to be both gothic and 60s, Courtney-Love-little girlish and marianne faithfullesque, what was I to do but yelp and press the Purchase button?
I wore this dress, who fitted me perfectly a few times, the first time for a date with my sweetie husband at the bar of the Hard Days Night's hotel in Liverpool, the place where we got married in 2009.
I loved it as it was really unusual and vintage looking, plus I absolutely adore anything with old looking cream lace, oh and A FRILLY YOKE on a mini dress always makes me swoon.

Then I decided to wash it. 
And I put it in the washing machine. 
EEEEEEK. 
The dress shrunk by about a THIRD of its original size. 
When it originally finished above the knee, it now ended just under the crotch. It had also shrunk in width so I couldnt fit into it any more. I know, Fashion crime, its all my fault, ect, I need to be shot, i know, I know. This is a blurry pic of what it looked like after being washed: yep, disaster.  
The dress turned shruk tunic ended up in my wardrobe, as I couldnt bear to throw it away and thought one day i could re use the lace for a sewing project.
Two years later, i started thinking of the outfit I was gonna wear at the Bloody Valentine gig in London on the 12th of march. I went through different ideas, like incorporating a mbv t shirt into the design of a crazy, electric blue and black dress with velvet and black lace. then I remembered my disaster dress.
Yeeeeahhh! could be perfect. I bought some black crepe on ebay, some cream lace and black lace and started making the ex dress wearable again as a long gothic tunic.
But being a busy mum and working full time meant I had very little energy and time to achieve my dream dress so i rushed it a bit a few days before I was due to travel to London.
Then I fell down the stairs in my house and sprained my ankle THE DAY BEFORE the gig!
yep that was monday evening.oh and after the fall I realised I had lost the beautiful tiny pale blue aquamarine stone from my wedding ring. AAARgh.
Was the tunic unlucky? I was too shaken and in pain to finish the tunic for the gig.

The morning I was due to take my train to London, my best friends, wo live in France and were supposed to meet me in London, and who used to WORSHIP My bloody Valentine with me years ago, called to say they couldnt get to London as the snowfalls meant the eurostar wasnt working.!!! I went to the gig on my own , limping like an old granny and with a heavy heart.

but theres an ok ending. The gig was AMAZING and My lovely friend alice who was to put me up for the night bought the spare tickets off me along with a girlfriend of hers. I wasnt to go to the gig on my own.


My french friends would have loved it though, so many memories shared of being into that band and seeing them together in a small venue in Lille where I come from. I finished the gothic tunic a few days ago. I quite like it, all that distressed looking lace...maybe to be worn for a Cure concert one day? or just down the pub over leggings, why wait for a Cure concert!
Oh and we found the stone from my wedding ring 2 days ago. I still have a torn ligament in my foot but I'm so happy i went to the gig of one of my favorite bands... and made a rather pretty tunic out of a killed darling dress.

vintage collar: in my Etsy shop; boots:asos, tights: Primark

I added long rectangular crepe panels to the sides to add width, made some sleeves and moved the lacy cuffs to the hem of the new long sleeves. I sewed glittery trims and velvet ribbons over the lace.
Also added a brooch I made years ago and put a blue mbv pin on it.

5 comments:

  1. Oh the dress is absolutely beautiful. Goth babydoll perfection! I'm so glad you managed to turn it into something equally beautiful and wearable again. Glad you got to the concert too xxx

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  2. wow darling i love it much more after your refashioning! it looks so fabulous and unique!
    love and kiss,mary

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  3. I love that you say this is Courtney Love and Marianne Faithfull-esque--its too true and a fabulous combination, if I may say so :) Plus I am crazy jealous you got to see MBV live!!!

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