Oh she’s a love, our Paulette dress! She came to us first as an original vintage dress just begging to be spread like love into the world! She has all the credentials of a war era dress, but we think she could lend herself very well to late 30s in style too.
We took Paulette and introduced her to Mary, so the fit is just like our bestseller Mary dress.
Paulette has the most awesome ruffle details that drift from the outside of one shoulder, across to the neck, all the way around and out the other side – quite enchanting! She offers that “big shoulder” look of war time but with a much softened flirtatious mood.
The fabric is a floaty viscose with lush fronds, flowers, buds and leaves. The colours are apricot, tan, rust, and lemon on a terracotta background. There are outlines of off-white around the foliage. I think she looks best with a colour pop - green, green or green! Haha. Well, lime, apple, bottle, emerald or dark green all seem to look great. Lemon or apricot, off white, and any shade of brown - from beige to chocolate would be an ideal base too.
Now for the best bit, we’ve updated her with pockets slipped in with the vintage styling of the skirt. Ohh we need more pockets in our lives.
Details to note
When washing viscose, the number one rule is STAY COOL. Wash at 30 degrees, and NEVER EVER use the dryer. Viscose shrinks up a little with washing but will iron out so long as the water was cool and you line dry. Dryers reach temperatures of up to 180 degrees and your viscose will not rebound with any amount of pressing! Mind your iron too and use a medium temperature to avoid shiny patches.
You could get a belt made using your tie belt as it should give you enough fabric once unpicked. Check out www.harlequin-uk.com. We recommend playing around with a belt of your own to know what suits you but bear in mind that narrow belts tended to rule this era (we prefer a 2cm width). You could even send them a vintage buckle to use!
We have a 5 year old Mademoiselle in the studio in charge of naming our dresses now. (Watch out for what is coming next)
Modelled by: Kitten-Von-Mew
Photographer: Charlotte Doran-Davies
Modelled by: Luna Nightingale
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