Truly Blue

Handkerchief Hem Dress – Pop Art Dress

I was drawn to the images of this print: oversized sunglasses, open-toed stilettos, make-up pots, hair strewn across faces. The words BEAUTY and CHIC in bold lettering inspire the wearer, and caption paragraph stories in French. It felt to me that a story was being told in fabric, against a background setting of deep blue denim. My thinking was how do I translate all of that imagery into a dress, and why a dress and not a top?

If I made this fabric into a top I would lose the story. However, in a dress the story is written both front and back. As for the style of dress, it is a design that moves beyond the ordinary; it’s not what you would expect. And, as with all my couture designs, the quality is first class.

I see the dress being worn whilst on holiday in a hot climate. I wanted it to be cool to wear, thus the cowl-neck front can be worn as a drop shoulder if you choose, continuing the interest to the back, with a v-neck and supporting strap held in place with a gilt buckle. (The buckle was originally on a shoe I found at an antique shop and was one of those purchases that whilst I didn’t know what I was going to do with it at the time, I knew it would make an interesting feature on a garment.)

The handkerchief hemline: I believe this style of hemline is so very sexy, the fabric gently cascades down your leg, it floats as you walk, drawing attention to sun-kissed legs whether worn with wedges or stiletto heels. I also thought this dress could be worn with white trousers and flat sandals, adding another dimension to its wearability. Oh, and as I type, skinny jeans, and a long waterfall hem cardigan for when the sun goes down and the evening is cooler.

I named this dress Truly Blue, because of the depth of the colouring; the printed story within its colouring has its own unique personality, and that’s what I wanted to express, the equally unique personality of the person wearing this dress. The only-one-of-a-kind.

Fabric: Cotton jersey
Size: 12/14
Loving care: Dry clean
Handmade in London, UK