FLUFFIE RUFFLIE PATTERN PRE-SALE!!!!

FLUFFIE RUFFLIE PATTERN PRE-SALE!!!!
It is getting to be time to focus on getting more Fluffie Rufflie patterns printed up! Ive had requests for them, and I have a Want List. Consider this a Pre-Sale - and you get your patterns first before I start selling them on Etsy! As soon as I have enough names and email addresses, I'll invoice you via Paypal and get these printed up again. Please send me your name, email address and which style you prefer: A) the Fluffie Rufflie Pantaloons (wide leg) or B) the Form fitting Fluffie Rufflie Dance Pants.
  Send your info here: kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

They are both $20.00 plus flat rate postage. I send them to you very old school - in a plain envelope - nothing fancy. These are a very basic pattern - no pretty, fancy illustrations or pictures, and you have to understand how to use a pattern without a lot of explanations and details (although I have a link to a tutorial and Ive written out instructions, yardage, etc.) They are not hard to make, just require patience and a lot of fabric! The Dance Pant style requires cotton lycra or spandex/stretchy fabric for the upper body. The Pantaloon should be made out of wovens.

Thanks! X

This is Dance Tribe in South Africa! Tarah Van Wyk made the Fluffie Rufflie pants for their costumes using my pattern!! She made their belts and bras, Her mother made their Gawahzee coats!!
This style is the form-fitting Fluffie Rufflie Dance Pant - stretchy fabric upper body!

Sulamith Wulfing

Back in the 90's when I used to hang out up in Marin County a lot,  I scoured the thrift stores religiously. A friend of mine and I found an old polyester housecoat from the 70's that had been made from fabric screened with Sulamith Wulfing  images. I don't know the term for that type of printing, but it was very popular back then. I made something for my friend out of this coat and then kept the scraps for myself. I made a corset from the bits I kept. This corset is one of the things I have made that I cant part with. This fabric has been one of my favorite scores because when I discovered Sulamith Wulfing in the 70's, her art pierced my heart and stayed there til this day. How powerful to be able to do that to someone through one's art.
Tonight I googled "Sulamith Wulfing" and my corset popped up in the images!

 And here is a front view. Kristine Adams is the lovely model. Her tattoos blended in so beautifully with the corset - the upper image is one of my very favorites!

So here are some images of Ms. Wulfing's that I hope bring you as much inspiration as they did me. Romance and sadness of spirit, medievalism, intricate embroideries and jewels, crowns and magic, nature and the mystic...............I read somewhere once that she fled Nazi Germany because Hitler wanted her to paint for him. That's what I remember and cant find any of that info now. She did leave Germany and was separated from her husband, but they were reunited.

Here is a picture of Sulamith......

Ethereally Floored

The lighting was really too bad to get any good shots of the Salome's Suitcase fashion show last month, but
Sequoia Emmanuelle took amazing shots of some of our models back stage in the green  room.

This is Giselle Sibyl from Australia wearing my sheer silk voile gown and Foolproof jewelry. I first met her at the SF Mecca bazaar last year where she was radiating Pre Raphaelite effervescence, and she obviously still is. Every now and then someone comes along who embodies all that elusive etherealness that we try madly to attain - to no avail. You either got it or you don't!

I do not know if I will EVER get a full on shot of this gown before it is snagged to shreds, but you know, when it can help contribute to a fine composition such as this, I am a happy woman.

The dress was inspired by a slip from the 30's. The skirt is lightly gathered onto a bias cut bodice that laces up the back. The laces and loops are made of the same silk material. There is twice as much yardage in the back than in the front. It floats when you walk. It trails in a soft puddle of folds and swirls. She was just dreamy walking through the crowd!

kc.costtumecouture@gmail.com

The Well Dressed Friar

Today as I was running around town, buying fabric, shipping packages, and putting out fires in general, I saw a friar waiting at the bus stop. I see them around sometimes. Brown robes. White belt with three knots - very medieval. And they are always wearing cheap cotton robes. Now, maybe that's their everyday about town friar street wear, but it kind of looks cheap. Like you could buy it at any Halloween Superstore. And their robes are always too short. Kind of undignified.

Having been brought up catholic,and having many miserable catholic school experiences, I have an aversion to brown robes, black robes, red and grey plaid, and unhappy women in wimples. But its such a novelty to see these guys in an every day setting, that for me anyway, its like watching a car wreck. You don't want to look, but you just cant help it.

Maybe they save their good robes for mass, special occasions, or for when family comes to visit. I just don't know. Ive been commissioned now and then to make several robes for various people, and I cannot make a plain cotton one. It has to have some weight. Some drape. It has to at least be 1" from the ground or the proportions feel wrong to me. It has to look like, well - like something someone would wear in the middle ages. Like something out of an ancient manuscript. Our new modern monk just isn't cutting it, in my opinion. But I will admit, I don't really pay attention to what the Catholics are doing anymore as I lost interest long ago.

But I kept thinking about this and I googled "monks" and all that goes with: I came across a website that seems to offer both cheap ass friar garb and the good wool stuff. The prices seem reasonable enough, so for all you folks who need a good Friars' robe, ecclesiastical wear or something medieval, and NOT something from the Halloween Super Store, I send you this link:
www.gothicgarments.com
I don't make em anymore.

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

A Day Of Rest

Yesterday I took a much needed day off and headed up north to visit my dear friend Moonalisa.

I love visiting Moona. Her home is always so inspiring to me - Sensual, mystical, warm, fun, happy and filled with light and laughter.

Victoriana, Gothic glamor, rich colors, glorious scents, eclectic mixes of ancient, mystic artifacts to hardcore heavy metal to 70's kitch - her home reflects her soul. She creates a rich environment that reflects her art. Or does her art reflect her home? It is all one and the same. To see the packaging on her amazing products is to see into Moona's life.....to see into her soul.


I was given the last drop of of Haunted - a scent that she created with me in mind. All sold out folks - and now I see why. This stuff is pure magic. Like perfumes of old, the scent morphs gradually until what you get is a wafting of what smells like rich, dark woodland earth. I am honored.


So when I can, and that is rare any more, I take a trip to Moona's house and sit under a canopy by her herb garden and sip tea, or go eat lunch at the Warehouse Cafe in Port Costa, or have a craftie afternoon concocting all sorts of trouble, or eat chili popcorn and watch horror movies.

And now she's expecting a sweet little baby boy.

It doesn't get much better than that!



kc.costumecouture@gamil.com

Tribal Splendor

One of the many things that I love about tribal belly dance in its many forms is the way costuming can be layered depending on the gig or the weather or even for modesty sake. Here I have a silk ghawazee coat layered over a cotton ghawazee coat and a skirt. Over that I have a dance bra and belt constucted of hundreds of tiny bells.

I just made a blood red silk ghawazee for Miss Stasha. Oh dear god, she is simply stunning in it! I cant wait to see the photos!

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

Medievalie Jacquardie Silverie Something

This costume is 34 years old and I just cant throw it away or get rid of it. I love the fabric, found it cheap somewhere, and I keep turning it into a new waifie fairie silver Jacquardie medievalie something-or-other. It was last worn at a fashion show benefit at Hairdoo Voodoo for youths with Aids. Perhaps it needs a new home. But at this point it has become one with me and we are joined forever.

Hair and headress: Hairdoo Voodoo International

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com

One of my most favorite things.......

This little number is a dress inspired by a dream I had of a medieval princess rising up through the mist. Yards and yards of unwashed muslin gauze were used to create this fantasy garment. Several gores were used to create the circular hem. The hem and sleeves were hand stamped in blue with an acrylic fabric paint. I can recreate this to your specifications. It would be perfect for a wedding in a shorter length in a silk velvet or silk gauze. It is still one of my favorite pieces in the simple cotton gauze.
Modeled by Samantha Hasthorpe of the BellyDance SuperStars. Check them out. They are stunning!!
Photo by Kristine Adams

kc.costumecouture@gmail.com