art deco paper dress and something amazing

Told you I would be right back!

I'm so late for the April Dress Up challenge that it's already time for May! But I still wanted to make a dress, especially since the theme was Art Deco.

When I think of Art Deco I think of old Hollywood glamour and those classic black and white films from the 30's and early 40's. The iconic Art Deco gown silhouette was very tubular and barely skimmed over the body. Graphic design and surface embellishment were popular, particularly the use of beads and jewels.

Full length gowns, many with trains, were all the rage with the back usually bare. A big departure from the short Flapper dresses of the 20's which emphasized the legs.

This vintage dress isn't quite full lenght (love that handkerchief hemline) but the silhouette is very Art Deco. It was used in the PBS mini series "Upstairs Downstairs".

So, how to interpret this theme in a little paper dress?

I used a glittery black and white graphic paper which looked Art Deco-y to me and cut out a long skinny evening dress. I cut out trim from silver embossed paper to add embellishment around the hips and clipped on a vintage rhinestone earring.

Then I outlined the edges and added some detail with a metallic silver pen.

And that is my Art Deco paper dress!

I also wanted to share something amazing I discovered recently.....

The Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco is currently featuring works by artist Isabelle de Borchgrave in an exhibit called Pulp Fashion.

She creates unbelievably beautiful dresses with exquisite detail. Some are like costumes and others are haute couture.

What is absolutely mind boggling is that they are made entirely of paper! How's that for the ultimate paper dress? You can go to her website and see her many collections and trust me, you will be amazed.

Hope you liked the little collection of dresses I put together today. And don't forget you can still see lots of lovely paper dresses if you visit Angela at Sew Loquacious.