More Painterly I say!
Why I have Diana Ross-esque big poofy hair will be explained in the next post but for now I just wanted to share with you a bit of advice from my dear GCSE art teacher (whose name has slipped off me.... any Henrietta Barnett girls circa 1995-2000 remember?!) who kept on urging me to be more 'Painterly'. I never excelled in precise realistic paintwork but instead I went mental with the paintbrush and just kept on dabbing thick blobs on the paper hoping it would resemble something good by the end of it (even back then, the concept of 'less is more' was lost on me....).
Anyway, the advice wasn't forgotten when I bought another white dress from The East End Thrift Store yesterday and lopped off a unnecessary ruffle at the bottom and just went drybrush mad with some blue, pink and purple fabric paint. Of course, smudges happened and the sink has a bit of a purple tinge going on at the moment but with the right tights, the dress is not looking a complete wreck...
Still me thinks I need to get back to HBS to practise the 'painterly' techniques but also procuring more blank canvas dresses will be key too...
Oh, I love it! It's like the Teen Vogue spread on DIY dresses...but I like yours better. the last combo is my favorite.
Posted by: belle | 20 April 2008 at 22:22
oh my, is your hair crimped? I love the DIY dress!
Posted by: Winnie | 20 April 2008 at 22:25
the dress looks fantastic, i agree with belle - the last combo is my fave
Posted by: lula | 20 April 2008 at 22:33
i love the big smudges and lines, i was trying to think of a way to get round doing paint splashes without wrecking my walls but the dabbed paint looks super effective!
Posted by: selina | 20 April 2008 at 23:35
OMG you look so cute! I love it all, the big hair is awesome :)
Posted by: Jill | 21 April 2008 at 00:28
love your DIY dress!!!
K
Posted by: The Fashion Assistant and her Camera | 21 April 2008 at 00:35
Susie baby it's Christine here - hmm try Mrs Spiers or Mr Woolf? I'm sure they'd be hella proud..
Love you lots x
Posted by: Christine M | 21 April 2008 at 00:59
The romanticism of your dress is so apt for the SS08 season!
It's very style forward sans being a little too much on the eye.
Posted by: giancinephile | 21 April 2008 at 01:26
Gorgeous!!!! So unique and beautiful! I am totally impressed.
Posted by: anna | 21 April 2008 at 01:39
That's a cool pattern you did on the dress with the paint. I like the way you combined it with the jackets.
Posted by: enc | 21 April 2008 at 04:05
So cute... you're inspiring me to go digging out my paintbrushes too!
Posted by: Joyce | 21 April 2008 at 07:23
That dress is not a complete wreck, you've managed to salvage it, in my opinion!
Posted by: Leslie | 21 April 2008 at 08:03
seriously, your hair looks really cool like this. its not really 100% diana ross so its not all bad.
i dont know if you watched the old sitcom friends but there was an episode where monica's hair turns into crazy diana ross ball of fluff. now that was funny.
Posted by: a dreamer | 21 April 2008 at 09:51
the big poofy hair looks good on you =)
Posted by: clover | 21 April 2008 at 10:45
a dreamer: Yes, that image did crop up when I came home to the boyf...
I do like having curly hair though crimping is a little bit of a mission for me.... I have kept it in for today but it's gonna be a bitch to wash out...
Christine: Mrs Spiers - yes! You've got it...I was having a mental relapse....
How's things?!
Posted by: susie_bubble | 21 April 2008 at 10:50
I just realised...your hair gone poofy, looks weirdly like mine in its normal state! But on you it looks fantastic (I normally look like a yeti).
Posted by: Drusilla | 21 April 2008 at 13:02
can't believe it's the same dress!! well done!
Posted by: Guerreira | 21 April 2008 at 15:19
Very nice! I'm going to include this in my next blog roundup.
Posted by: Jael | 22 April 2008 at 00:30
I've def been wanting to try this since the teen vogue article and yours came out great!! Better than Jason Wus if i dare say!!
~Danielle
Posted by: Danielle | 22 April 2008 at 03:10
So cool! I really love the painterly painting at the bottom of the plain white dress! Beautiful! And I like the big hair :D
Posted by: the_kitten | 22 April 2008 at 09:55
I really like the smudges, I think it looks better for them in my opinion!
Posted by: Helen-LG | 22 April 2008 at 16:16
totaly cute tights. pink and purple! where do u get them?? ^__^
Posted by: Emma | 22 April 2008 at 22:17
Thanks guys... I did take some notes from the TV Jason Wu thingy...but alas, mine isn't as pristine looking....
Emma: The tights are from Tightsplease.com
Posted by: susie_bubble | 23 April 2008 at 10:29
Wow, I love what you've done with your dress. You've inspired me!
What are your paints and where did you get them?
Posted by: Issie | 23 April 2008 at 15:23
My paints are by Pebeo and I got them from Paperchase
Posted by: susie_bubble | 23 April 2008 at 15:24
I love it - it looks vaguely floral, but not too much so. More of walk in the garden than in-your-face florals. please, please visit the blog.
Posted by: KD | 12 June 2008 at 21:56
wait a sec . . . my blog is notsowildstylechild.blogspot.com
Posted by: KD | 12 June 2008 at 21:56
lovin ure style. first time on this website and thinkin i may be returning, love ure variety of colours of tights, i often get mine from tightsplease.co.uk do u get ures from here? XX
Posted by: sophie brittain | 06 August 2008 at 10:06