Cat Mad Crochet

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

This week’s inspiration book is Fairy Tale Fashion by Colleen Hill. I think some people would refer to this as a coffee table book because it meets the definition by being large and well-illustrated. What people forget in classing such things, though, is that many good works of art/fashion/architectural history are going to meet this part of the definition just because of their subject matter. The book has to be large to show off the pictures in a way that is meaningful without a magnifying glass. It’s going to be well-illustrated because the subject matter demands it, not just for the sake of the illustrations. Where this book fails to meet the definition of coffee table book is in its content. Coffee table books are largely fluff meant for casual reading. Fairy Tale Fashion is a serious academic text that examines the influence of fairy tales on modern fashion house collections and fashion magazines. I really wish I had read this sort of thing before I trotted off to study the Etruscans. Now I love an Etruscan, but I think I would have been happier as a fashion historian than as an art historian.

So let’s look at some of these photographic illustrations, shall we?

First is a dress by Dolce and Gabbana. It features in the general chapter on fairy tales and fashion and how the two come together. It is stunning. So many fairy tales focus on roses that this could be worn by numerous fairy tale maidens. It is perfect from its skirt to its bow to its bodice. You know what though? The wearer is going to need a shawl. Those fairy tale castles and cottages all lack central heating, so a shawl is going to be essential for warding off chills in a time before antibiotics. I think if I were the official shawl maker, I would use a very fine black silk and a stitch pattern that danced with lace. It would be long enough to float when it needed to and wrap around oneself when one was cold. It would be dramatic and soft. It would have gorgeous, liquid drape. I’m thinking of a triangle with long sides of the sort Hannah favors for its shape.  

Second, we have an ethereal gown from the chapter about Sleeping Beauty. It is from Marchesa’s spring 2012 collection. Just look at it! With the right lighting, as seen in the photograph, the bottom of the dress dissolves into mist. The top has the look of either briars or crenellated castle walls and moorish gates. Is it a nightgown meant for a goddess or a gown meant for an enchanted princess? Do these have to be different things? Again, it needs a shawl.

I think this time it needs something a little more substantial, but still thin and sharpish. I’m thinking filet crochet flowers on a trellis done in a thin merino single ply with a tight spin. Hannah used to make such yarns for me. They make alluring lace that is sharp and clear while lending the garment good drape from their thin wooliness. This time, perhaps, the shawl is a large right triangle with an architectural border and a few beads right at the edge. 

Last, we have these shoes! There in the chapter about the Wizard of Oz and they are Noritaka Tatehana’s Crystal Rose shoes from 2010. Are they beautiful? In their way. Are they my style? No. Are they visually stunning while simultaneously telling you a ton about the wearer, the very least being that they can balance better than a top? Oh, yes! This is Dorothy in a black bodysuit with hair down who is taking no shit and will find her own way through Oz, thank you very much. 

What crochet is she wearing? Long, thin, fingerless gloves with a lacy, open design that curls up her arms. They need a lace weight yarn with a little shine, perhaps a silk blend. The gloves start a little above her middle knuckle and wend their way up her arms and past her elbows. They fit her to perfection, just like everything else she wears. They could be red or black. Those colors would make sense. Or they could be blue and white, you know, for the bit.

Or perhaps these boots don’t say a thing about Dorothy at all. Perhaps they speak of a witch who is solidly in control until the weather gets the best of her, as it gets the best of all of us sometimes. This is a witch who knows her business. She wears a long black dress, these boots, and her pointy hat. She would have a shawl because riding a broomstick can be a cold business. (Can you tell I think nearly every outfit can be made better with a shawl? I love making shawls.) Her shawl could be black or red, depending on the vibe she’s going for. It would be a little thicker for actual warmth when flying, but it would also be fabulous. The stitch pattern would almost seem to morph as you look at it like some quilt block patterns. It would be a hypnotic sort of heavy lace, drawing you in as you look, until it is too late.

This book is out of print. I couldn’t even find it at the library. If you find one in an out of the way, used book store, grab it. Even if you never read the text, which is interesting and worth the read, the pictures are enough to inspire you in myriad ways.