Coby Palmer is my esteemed client Miss Blossom
who is known on the bus and throughout the entire city as Queen Mother Blossom. You know she had to wear her crown with this year's gown. In honor of the Bag Ladies on the Half Shell 30th anniversary, she chose to wear a blend of creamy whites and plenty of pearls.
This gown was made from upcycling two dresses with additional fabrics added. One dress was a dress so old that it would be considered vintage. The only salvageable part was the section of the skirt covered in fringe and beaded corded lace. The center section of the vintage lace was in good condition and could be removed from the old dress bodice intact. A new dress bodice was spliced onto the reused skirt with overskirt attached.
The overskirt is two layers of identical shape but different volumes of glitter dotted tulle and chiffon. The tulle is gathered into the seam and the chiffon is pleated and gathered into the seam. The skirts were attached to the bodice with the consideration of the overall visual effect dictated by the vertical placement of the original lace. Luckily the lace was almost exactly long enough to extend up to the new neckline. We had some pretty vintage bead fringe on a satin ribbon that perfectly covered the gap. Judging from the overall appearance of the garment, assorted sizes of vintage pearl beads were added by hand to the bodice.
There was a little trickiness to the splice because the skirt was about six sizes smaller than the new bodice. The size difference was corrected by pleats and gathers on the bodice and enlarging the skirt with a gusset at the center back. The zipper already attached to the bodice was reused and extended down into the skirt. The overskirt system has an opening concealed by pleating at the center back. I was able to avoid putting a seam down the center back of the train.
Little bits of elastic helped finagle the dress splendidly together.
The first stop of the Indy Pride Bag Lady Bus Tour is Monument Circle, the heart of Indianapolis, for a photo opportun
ity on the steps of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. It was exciting to see three large tour coaches driving onto the Circle. I can remember the very old days when there was one chartered city bus with the destination sign reading BAG LADIES!
Just like the old days, the interior lights are on so the big hair and sparkling jewels can be seen by on-lookers. These girls like to make a spectacle of themselves!
Here's what $1 MILLION dollars of FUN raising looks like and the party has just begun. Queen Mother Blossom looks just stunning in her gown front and center where she likes it best. That's fine with me because there's nothing I love better than a great idea that makes tons of money and is tons of fun to do. It's also very cool to see Blossom style inspiring the younger Bag Ladies. They have all come a very long way from their shopping bags stuffed with thrift shop dresses. We all dream of a day when AIDS is curable and the Bag Ladies will retire from service but we praise and bless them for being here now.
Here is another view of the dress. I am just al
ways so relieved when the ones that have to fit properly do fit properly. It was also good to see that the actual three dimensional placement of everything was as good as it was in theory. While I was taking these photographs, someone in the crowd was just gushing positive comments about the dress. I couldn't resist and had to say, "I MADE that dress." I got an unexpected hug from a stranger and a sense that one of the attractions of the event IS the wild costumes. This supports my theory that when you know the contents of your psyche and express that through behaviors including dress, you become a more radiant and powerful version of whom you are completely!
THIS STORY HAS A POST SCRIPT!
Queen Mother Blossom was recently spotted at a high society party in Indianapolis and she was wearing this lovely dress! This picture was in the Indianapolis Star Talk of Our Town society news column on (Queen) Mother's Day 5/8/2011! Her loyal dressmaker is thrilled!
