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Monday, October 14, 2013

Monday Morning Inspiration

Quite a few years ago, I had to go to a conference in Omaha, Nebraska....in the middle of winter!!! I was not happy. The conference was boring beyond belief, but to my surprise and delight, I loved Omaha. Really, I did! The downtown area was delightful, great restaurants and fun shops. There is an old train depot that has been converted into a museum and as luck would have it, the current exhibit was the dresses of Princess Diana. I was soooo happy. The book that I bought was an autobiography by Catherine Walker, the private couturier to Diana.
The book chronicles the life of Catherine Walker, her early years, her struggle with breast cancer and how she became the couturier to Diana. It's a very interesting read. You can find it here.
 There are the early pictures of Diana in basic suits.
 Quite often, the sketches are provided. I always enjoy seeing those.


I feel, and I may be completely wrong, but I feel that the early years is when Diana was trying to figure out not only her role, but her style.

 As time went on, and Diana became more confident, I think the clothes depict this as well.

 The styles are always simple, but still extraordinary.
 This dress was completely embroidered in glass beads.


Catherine Walker is known for her exquisite beading and embroideries.






 The tailoring is also quite remarkable. Take a close look at the collar below. Not only is it pintucked, but you can see that the collar is hand stitched.
Below are a few pieces that were not done for Princess Diana, but I love them. The first one is embroidered sea gulls. Wouldn't this be a lovely design to do in an Alabama Chanin stitch style on a t-shirt?


This is the team of people it takes to create these dresses. Catherine talks about how Diana was able to always put everyone at ease.
And finally, the designer. As I said, this is an autobiography of Catherine Walker, not the normal exhibit book, but I find it so very interesting as it really chronicles the life of two women and the influence they had on each other.    
Wishing you all a wonderful week and I hope that we can all be a positive influence in someone's life. You never know where a kind gesture may take you.
Rhonda



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7 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing
    -Sewingelle

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  2. A lovely feast for the eyes! Thank you Rhonda.

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    1. I always feel that I benefit the most as I always see something I've never seen before when I go through my books for this post. So glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. Diana, like Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn has wonderfully classical taste. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  4. Interesting. There are some outfits here that I haven't seen before. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. The black and cream embroidered gown is stunning

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