Every February Napier goes back in time to the 1930s and plays host to one of the worlds biggest vintage festivals: the Napier Art Deco Festival. This year the theme was fashion, and I am so proud to have put together my first ever runway collection. Local and national designers were asked to create ‘Art … Continue reading 2019 Runway
I’m sitting at home with a cold dreaming of spring, the daffodils know it isn’t far away but it still feels more appropriate to be sewing woolly coats than silk dresses. Napier has proper seasonal changes, snow on the mountains in winter and hot rainless summer days. We celebrate both extremes here with the Art … Continue reading Napier Art Deco Festivals 2019
I specialize in made to measure Art Deco reproduction fashion, keeping old designs and techniques alive. Even just having something custom made can be a vintage experience, as these days most of us are more likely to buy ready-to-wear. But if you have an original garment too delicate to wear which you want copied, or … Continue reading Custom orders: what’s involved?
I have been making 1920's reproduction dresses for the best part of 5 years now, but this is my first foray into headwear, starting simple; the bandeau or headband is a cliche of 1920s fashion. A modern 'flapper costume' would not be complete without a sequinned, feathered headband. But original pieces actually came in a … Continue reading A little Bandeau
In February I was asked to sew two 1920's slips for the Napier Art Deco Festival and launched into a frantic couple of days of research on fabrics, length, cut and finish details. Slips were generally made of silk or 'art silk' (rayon/viscose) and tended to be soft pastel colours with peachy tones … Continue reading A Tale of Two Slips
It's not every day that you are offered a gorgeous 1930's silk chiffon Dressing gown to borrow, and even rarer to be allowed to take a pattern. But in February I took the opportunity very gratefully, knowing a reproduction of it would be a striking addition to my newly launched Etsy Store! This is the … Continue reading 1930’s Lounging Robe
Taking a break from some design work, it is both a little strange to be writing up my travel experiences which now seem so long ago, and a lovely way of reliving them. Rather than being in New Zealand this afternoon I can imagine I am back in Paris! We landed in Paris on the … Continue reading A day (and night!) in Paris
Taking a break from the travel posts, here is the first garment finished in 2017; a men’s double-breasted waistcoat circa 1937. This has been made on a sewing machine of no fixed abode, from Auckland to Algies Bay to Napier - the trusty domestic sewing machine has come into its own while we holiday and … Continue reading The Prototype Men’s Waistcoat of 1937
There was no obvious sign marking the divide between England and Wales on the A55 from Chester, but the countryside grew greener, the flat fields grew curves and castles appeared on the hillsides; we were clearly in Wales. Wales has a quantity of imposing castles, but these are not a testament to Welsh power; instead … Continue reading Twinkletoes in Britain Part 7: A Week in Wales
After Orkney it was a comparatively hasty journey south, we headed first to Dunnet Head, the most Northerly point of Mainland Britain. It was strange to visit Dunnet Head after Orkney, as if we had stolen Dunnet Heads thunder by previously visiting a point further north. The day was bright and gusty and the heather was beginning … Continue reading Twinkletoes in Britain Part 6: South to Edinburgh
Tammy Twinkletoes 