On the most recent episode of Lifetime’s Project Runway, the designers were presented with new models for the challenge. The “models” were all divorced women who walked onto the runway wearing their wedding dresses. (I wish I could still fit into mine!)
The designers were to take the wedding dresses and transform them into new looks that would fit the women’s lifestyles. They had to use the wedding dress but could buy dye and a small amount of fabric to modify or enhance it. They also needed to take into account their divorcées’ wishes about a new outfit.
I was glad not to use a Mattel Top Model, because I had the perfect doll for this challenge. Discarded and tossed into a bin of tangled toys at a dusty resale shop, she just needed a second chance.I brought her home, cleaned her up, and named her Maud (I had a grandmother named Maude, but I named my doll after Irish poet W.B. Yeats’ muse, Maud Gonne).
My Maud needed something a little offbeat but still classy. Did I free her from bad wedding style?
Here’s Maud wearing one of Mattel’s current wedding dresses. Not hideous, but still…a wedding dress.
Every bride should feel pretty on her wedding day.
But the newly single shouldn’t need to hide themselves away!
I removed the existing bodice from the dress. I used fabric to make a separate blouse, but took pieces of Maud’s veil to give us a peek at her shoulders and back. I edged the neckline with purple embroidery thread.
Using a stain called Orchid Pearl, I recolored the skirt of the wedding dress, cut it short, and altered its gathered waist with several small darts for a snug waistline.
I love the way the new color maintained the sheen of the fabric and is a perfect match for the blouse.
Now Maud is off to her new life.
And I’ll see you next time on the runway!
To see my previous designs for this season:
6:7–The Sky’s the Limit
6:6–Lights, Camera, Sew!
6:5–Fashion Headliners
6:4–What a Woman Wants
6:3–Rumble on the Runway
6:2–We Expect Fashion
6:1–The Red Carpet
When the country was falling apart – Becky Cochrane got it all sewed up …
And then there’s Maud — RIGHT ON MAUD
Compromising, enterprising, anything but tranquilizing, right on, Maud.
Good choice of lyrics. =)
In other words… me likey
Thank you.
I love that colour. It really suits Maud too. I hope she enjoys her new life.
Thank you!
LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!
Congratulations, you are the winner of the challenge! You may leave the runway.
Thank you, Miss Head, inspiration for my fashion user pic.
Becky, I think this one is my favorite so far this season. I love the fabric you chose for the bodice. WOW!
Thanks, Gary. =)
Neat challenge! Sounds a little intimidating at first, but you really did nicely. And please make Marika’s comment quit playing that song in my head. It’s not even 11am for crying out loud.
You, too, with the song, huh?
I would SO wear that. Put it on the list.
This is awesome.
That would actually look really cute on you, I think.
Wouldn’t it be great if I really knew how to sew for people? I’d have a client of one!
No, two! I need that headdress from last season’s drag queen challenge!
Right.
What a beautiful dress. I love this look, but then I like purple. Does Maud have a nasty next-door neighbor named Archie?
Not in my gayborhood!
Thanks for the praise! Purple and green are my favorite colors, and I was determined to put them together because I haven’t used purple in a challenge yet this season.
no her cousin Edith is married to Archie … I don’t think they are neighbors. She showed up with suitcases whenever she went to visit Edith.
I really like what you’ve done. It’s fun, it’s versatile, and it matches the shoes!
Thank you, Your Orangeness. How I’ve missed your user pic.
Ah, Maud Gonne. And then there’s her brother, Ben.
Are you talking about the brother with the dog named Long?
No. The one with the dog named Git.
Oh! And the kitten named Goo.
Right. And other kitten, Hobe.
Very nice work — no opera allusions this week, Tosca wore rather stuffy 17th Century ball gowns.
Thank you. =)