Madeline’s second time around – a story about a dress.
fashion, craft, vintage, design / madeline newport / Orange NSW / re-modelling / repurposing / slow fashion / sustainable design / weddings

Madeline’s second time around – a story about a dress.

Would you wear an old dress to your wedding? It’s not that unusual. Once upon a time, resourceful women kept their wedding dresses for future uses. They often shared them with their sisters, daughters and extended family for weddings or special occasions. This is the story of a dress that came out of the dark … Continue reading

What does it mean to be an accredited ethical clothing brand?
ethical clothing / fashion, craft, vintage, design / re-modelling / slow fashion / sustainable design / weddings

What does it mean to be an accredited ethical clothing brand?

last year I went through the process of becoming accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia. For a very small business like mine where all the manufacturing is done in-house, it was a relatively simple process. I had to provide information about my supply chain, receive representatives from the TCFUA  for a site visit, and sign stat declarations. During … Continue reading

Swanning around in the Central West
fashion, craft, vintage, design / madeline newport / Orange NSW / wedding fashions / weddings

Swanning around in the Central West

Mixing business with pleasure is easy in the wedding industry. I’m up and down to Sydney all the time so you’d expect I’d be sick of driving. But I love Orange and it doesn’t take much arm twisting to get me in my car and heading out west. After packing the car with dress bags, tool … Continue reading

design / dress detective / fashion, craft, vintage, design / madeline newport / re-modelling / sustainable design / wedding fashions

Ok let’s go!

The time for procrastination is over. You might remember I’ve been working on a project taking a beautiful 1957 wedding dress and re-modelling it for a contemporary wedding. So far the journey has included trips to Orange (one of my favourite places in Australia), trips to the National Library (online) another fave, and many hours … Continue reading

Bells, gloves and princesses…the weddings and the women who influenced bridal fashions of the 50’s
dress detective / fashion, craft, vintage, design / grace kelly / marilyn monroe / mysterydesigner / wedding fashions / weddings

Bells, gloves and princesses…the weddings and the women who influenced bridal fashions of the 50’s

The 1950’s, had not just one ‘look’, but the silhouettes from this period are instantly recognisable, think big skirts and tulle petticoats. Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars, were both married in the 1950’s. Grace Kelly’s dress and wedding was the stuff of fairytales. Not quite Cinderella, her magnificent dress reflected the importance of the … Continue reading

design / dress detective / fashion / fashion, craft, vintage, design / madeline newport / mysterydesigner / re-modelling / repurposing / weddings

Old photo, brings new clues….

and new threads to follow, (corny but I couldn’t resist). I’m excited to have the original photo of the dress worn by the bride on her wedding day in 1957.  I’m not going to show you the photo just yet because the bride-to-be and I feel that it would be a spoiler for the finished … Continue reading

The mystery in the dress
design / dress detective / fashion / fashion, craft, vintage, design / Orange NSW / re-modelling / weddings

The mystery in the dress

It all started with an intriguing form submission via my website http://www.pearlbutton.com.au asking me if I’d be interested in doing some work on a vintage dress. Following a few email conversations, we arranged to talk. The voice on the other end of the phone was excited and full of enthusiasm, I liked this person instantly. … Continue reading