The Flowers of Worth and Callot Soeurs

Greetings!

This week there are three new releases and for some reason they all ended up with flower names, though it really wasn't on purpose. I think I may have a touch of spring fever! Two of the gowns are inspired by the House of Worth, and one is inspired by the House of Callot Soeurs.

By now you should know that the House of Worth was established by Charles F. Worth in the 1870's. The House of Callot Soeurs was established by four sisters in Paris and was considered a contemporary of the House of Worth. The Callot Soeurs were very popular for their lingerie first, then later they expanded into evening gowns of heavy satin, Chinese silks, rubberized gabardine, and exquisite workmanship. In the 1920's they made evening gowns that were revolutionary in materials and design. The House survived into 1948, but finally closed down then. Most surviving examples of their work resides in museums and considered works of art.

For this week, we first look at the Worth inspired gowns. Both are from House of Worth, run by Jean-Phillipe Worth after his father passed away. The first gown, Lillie Desired, is what I consider a cusp gown, as it is beginning to show signs of the Edwardian Age. The gown has a black on black cut velvet pattern and comes with undergarments. It is named in honor of Lillie Langtry. There is more about her in the note card that accompanies the gown. It is a fantastic gown that flows beautifully even in the worst of lags.



The next Worth inspired gown is 'Cupid's Rose'. Now this gown is Edwardian, and gorgeous. The color is simply stunning in person, and the skirt flows and ripples beautifully. It is the epitome of elegance, and I expect that it would delight any woman to own it. Especially if they love this particular color. The under bust corset comes in two versions, with and without camisole. This is one of my favorite gowns. I think as much for the color as the lines, and perfect for Valentine's Day!



The last gown is also Edwardian. This gown struck me as something I would love to wear the first time I saw it. I think the combination of gossamer fuchsia material and black satin was what caught my attention. The resulting evening gown is truly graceful and refined, perfect for dancing the night away in!





That is the offering for this week. I hope you enjoy these ensembles.

Cordially yours,
Kembri

Blue Moon Magic and other fun things

Greetings my friends!

It was a very busy weekend around the Curious Seamstress. Fabric was flying, sewing machines were humming, and the new boxes were being packed with the latest gowns! We have two new offerings, and both have a story.

First up is Blue Moon Magic. This beautiful gown is truly breathtaking. It's styled on a real 1929-1930 gown. It is what I would call 'on the cusp' because it shows a bit of styling from both eras. The cut of the gown, the flow of the skirt, and the fantastic color all make for an amazing evening gown. There are two layers, a top chiffon layer, and a lower, heavier layer. This gown was made for dancing! I know, I spent a couple of hours dancing in it. Just to test it out, you understand!




The undergarments come with it. It really is a gorgeous gown and I hope you'll drop by Blisswood and pick up yours!


The next gown has a bit of a special story. Miss Wilhemina McGillivary contacted me a while back. She is a lovely lady who works and lives in some magical sims. (Miss Willie role plays in the Harry Potter (tm) sims). She had visited Blisswood, purchased some gowns, spoken to me, and I had recommended a few other places to shop. Yes people, if you want to know other great designers, ask your favorite who she likes! I have a very short list of other designers whose gowns I love for one reason or another. But back to Miss Willie. She told me she had been wearing a hat from the Steam Punkin' outfit, and someone asked her what she fed it. I admit to nearly spitting my coffee at that statement! I thought it was extremely funny. You see my dear reader, I don't consider myself a great milliner at all. In fact, as much as I love hats, I don't consider that mine are the top of the hat scale. They're not my focus and passion, though I have studied them to make sure when I do make one it at least comes close to looking like it should. But back to Miss Willie and her hat. She has a family tartan, and she wished a gown based along the same lines as the New Babbage tartan gowns. After speaking with her for a bit, this gown came to mind, and so I made it. The hat is very special, and should you happen to purchase this gown, I would urge you to take a close look at the hat and jabot.




I'd also urge you to feed the hat at least every now and then.

So what's coming up? Well we have a few events in the works. I will be working on mostly Worth ballgowns and reception gowns. Also at least two that are court gowns. Why? Well, the RFL Clothing Fair is coming up in March, and The Curious Seamstress will be in the Paris sim! I'm so excited that I really did shout with joy when I found out! Paris, home of Charles Frederick Worth, the man many consider the Father of Haute Couture. His gowns are amazingly, stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful. His career spans decades, starting in the 1860's designing for Empress Eugenie of France. He was the first to do many things in the fashion industry, such as having live models. Yes I know I'm raving! If you ever had the chance to see a Worth gown and examine it in detail, you would be astonished at the workmanship and detail.

Now I'll take a deep breath, step back, and tell you that from now until the RFL fair, I will be concentrating on doing Worth and House of Worth gowns. Charles died in 1895, but his sons continued the business into the 1950's. I'm looking at gowns, and have picked out 6-8 that will be coming out. I have been collecting examples for over a year and found some that are not commonly seen. I don't want to say which ones, but they are all stunning, beautiful gowns. No recolors, ladies. Any designer who recolors an existing Worth gown should be smacked and told why it's a BAD thing to do. That's really like recoloring the Mona Lisa because you prefer blonds. This clothing is artwork. But back to the gowns. I have tried to pick a range of colors so that there is at least one for every hair/skin type. Most of them can be worn by anyone. Because these gowns are very time intensive to do, and because I'm such a stickler for details and making them look their best, you'll probably just see one every 7 to 10 days. One never knows though, some may come more quickly.

So that is what is up in the Seamstress shops for this week. Do stop by Blisswood. We have a new winter freebie of hat, scarf, gloves AND mittens out. They're gray, what can I say? It's winter! But that hint of spring is in the air! Take care.

Cordially yours,
Kembri
--
The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea. ~Isak Dinesen

Golden Goddess, Golden Sands

Greetings!

The bright and lovely blue moon has come and gone, leaving a new year and a new decade in its wake. This last week I've had a few releases and now it's time to let you all know about them.

As the sunlight glitters off the icicles outside my office windows, I find myself longing for warm climes, sandy beaches, and sunshine. I grew up in California and am now far from those beautiful Pacific shores. Because the weather has been so frigid all across the country I think that January has us all longing for sun and sand, thus my newest releases! To get us into the mood, one of my favorite memory songs. I love the picture montage that was used for this song as well.

A couple of tidbits about Miss Monroe, who is shown in the video. She was a size 14 and considered very sexy, and started life as a brunette! The Glamwear dress would have been perfect for her. Now, onto the rest of the post!



First up we have the new Glamwear gown, "Goddess in Gold". I really love both the dress and the ad, which came out quite well!



The dress is based on a 1950's dress made in Hollywood. It's got just a very little bit of prim skirt in the front. This is a wiggle dress and perfect for either a night out dancing or a black tie event. I wore it with black bowtie pearls from the Ambrosia set by Alienbear Gupte, black Tuxedo pumps from Shiny Things, and a lovely updo from ETD. My undergarments consisted of ebony hose from 1-800 Bettie's, and one or two other things! The Glamwear line will not be priced quite as high as the Edwardian and Victorian lines. I have my reasons, and if anyone reaaaally wants to know, drop me a notecard and I'll explain!

Next up is my newest Sea Pearls Vintage Swimsuit, French Picnic. It's a fun little number that I enjoy wearing quite often.



The sunglasses do come with as well as the hat. The shoes are from 1-800 Bettie's again. Red 40's pumps. The sunglasses are not fancy many primed wonders. Since I'm going for low lag here for sailing, the sunglasses are all of one prim. You'll have to take a look at them when you get a chance!

Now, for the guys, I haven't forgotten you! This week is the release of the first men's bathing trunks, "Blue Hawaii". I know it's not the most original name in the world, but the trunks are fun! Circa 1950's and on two layers, they're great for going out and sailing or surfing, or just lounging with that lady you admire so.






I have several other things in the pipeline, no surfing pun intended! I've been revamping the look of our ads to go with the new year. My sister is helping me, and we just recently settled on the new background for some upcoming releases. I hope to have those out by the end of this week. I'm trying to clean out a lot of nearly finished projects in preperation for RFL in March. The Curious Seamstress and GreenWood Designs will be attending this year, and so I'm already looking at what to do for that very special week.

I haven't given up on Victorian or Edwardian gowns. I'm just bopping around in Eras right now. I hope that you'll find something appealing! All the items are at the Blisswood store. Some things, like the Sea Pearls, can only be found at Blisswood or at the store in Nantucket. Yes, we have a new store! Also, there is a vendor at the Starboard Yacht Club in Hollywood that sells the Sea Pearls.

That's it for this posting. I hope that wherever you are, you are warm and safe!

Cordially yours,
Kembri