Crawly, but not creepy
Julie (at Damn Good Vintage) has this adorable snail-print dress up right now. It's only about $75 but it's teeeeeeny. Waist 24.
I love the little snails -- how could you not? And I wouldn't even mind the inevitable escargot jokes. (Although my favorite escargot reference is this one. [warning video link])
Don't the snails look as if they were drawn by Ian Falconer (who does the Olivia
books)?Here's Olivia:
And here's a closeup of the snails:
I think this similarity is deeply significant, but I don't know why. Or how. All I know is that if this dress were in my size (PETER PAN COLLAR, people, and POCKETS) I would own it.
This also reminds me that I have some really cute bug-print fabric that I bought to make my son a camp shirt, and since he has shown NO interest in me making him a shirt (or, in fact, me making him anything that isn't various complicated Star Wars costumes) I think the statute of limitations has run out and I can use it for a dress. Right? Right. (Besides, I think I bought six yards, so I probably have enough for both.)
Labels: novelty_prints, vintage
posted by Erin @ 7:41 AM
18 Comments:
At Jun 7, 2007 8:45:00 AM,
Theresa said…
I love this snail dress. I love the ruffly front. (It's sleeveless -isn't that on you *I don't* list? Doesn't it ease the pain of it being so teeny because it is not perfect?)
Yes, the statute of limitations has run out. Make your bug dress, so perfect for summer.
I love snails. I had a whole bunch of water snails as pets when I was younger -purple, blue, and gold shells. They were beautiful and so easy to care for!
I saw cute gold fish in plastic baggy fabric on line yesterday -- Fat Quarter Shop -*I think*
At Jun 7, 2007 8:50:00 AM,
Vyola said…
Oooooo, those are totally Olivia-esque snails! They will do ballet across your skirt and sulk when the cat does not applaud.
At Jun 7, 2007 8:57:00 AM,
Nora said…
I love Olivia and I love that dress. Pockets - AND pintucks!
We have quite a snail problem in our area - sometimes on a quiet evening you can actually HEAR them munching the garden - but I'm fond of them in a way. And they won't take an entire veggie in one swoop, like the gophers.
At Jun 7, 2007 9:08:00 AM,
damgoodvintage said…
You know I love my snail dress, but what I would love even more is a dress with little Olivia's dancing across it.
I love Olivia....
At Jun 7, 2007 9:33:00 AM,
dorotheasclosetvintage said…
MUCH love, and indeed so very Olivia like!!! I wish for a 24" waist more often than is healthy...not even so much for the "I want to be thin" reasons as much for the wanting to wear cute vintage more often reasons. Great dress, Julie!! Ang
At Jun 7, 2007 9:37:00 AM,
Erin said…
I'm okay with sleeveless; it's backless or spaghetti-strapish that I can't do. :-(
I want a 24" waist, for much the same reason! But not enough to stop eating to get it ...
At Jun 7, 2007 10:02:00 AM,
Theresa said…
Olivia Fabric
http://www.quiltbasket.com/s-101-olivia-dreams-big.aspx
At Jun 7, 2007 10:24:00 AM,
Wendy said…
One spring I had the pleasure of making smocked dresses for three little girls. One was a bug dress for the daughter of biologist parents, one was a manatee dress for my niece who had a passion for manatees and the last was a shark dress, with a pieced shark bodice and sharks teeth hemline.
No ruffles and lace for these girls.
Wendy in NM
At Jun 7, 2007 12:18:00 PM,
Laura said…
I saw that dress the other day, and I absolutely love it. Sadly, I know a 24" waist is not in my future...
At Jun 7, 2007 12:24:00 PM,
bonnie-ann black said…
wendy: i have a couple of nieces who would *love* those kinds of dresses -- the shark one in particular. did you just adapt a regular smock dress pattern and do pieces on the hem from white material? sounds wonderful.
At Jun 7, 2007 1:29:00 PM,
ambika said…
The pintucks along the front are lovely. The whole thing is just gorgeous.
But I don't think I even had a 24 inch waist at the age of 16.
At Jun 7, 2007 3:24:00 PM,
jessicajlee said…
I love this print and dress! It does look like Olivia... who I also love. If only I were a 24 waist.
At Jun 7, 2007 3:45:00 PM,
Alison said…
I have the waist, but not $75 dollars.
And god do I want this.
Such is youth.
At Jun 7, 2007 7:04:00 PM,
Danni said…
Reminds me of Ms Frizzle and the Magic School Bus, personally!
I think it's great. :)
At Jun 7, 2007 8:10:00 PM,
iKonic Vintage said…
I don't like snails (or bugs!) but novelty print snails and bugs are adorable. I think you should make the bug dress and make your son the shirt and then force him to wear it when you wear the dress.
Every kid needs something to be traumatized about! lol
At Jun 8, 2007 7:02:00 AM,
Carol said…
More Olivia
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/OurDesigners/SingleDesigner.asp?Designer=Ian%20Falconer
At Jun 8, 2007 12:49:00 PM,
Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said…
Whoa...I just took pictures of snail print fabric that I saw in Switzerland. Maybe the motif trend will crawl over here! Cute as a bug, I say.
At Jun 8, 2007 1:13:00 PM,
tarna said…
Well - the pattern is on it's way. With the cooperation of the postal service, you should have it early to middle of next week. I love this blog. And I cannot wait to see how the dress turns out. Happy sewing!
Post a Comment
<< Home