Let's Talk About..... Florrie
Florrie is one of my personal favourites. She has 2 different fabrics appliquéd on her, both from dresses that I wore back in the 1980’s and 90’s. After fashions changed, and I no longer fitted into them, they sat in my wardrobe hoping for a revival, but I decided cutting them up and adding them to the stash would be a better use of material.
The larger flower designed fabric is a dress I made for a family wedding in 1988. It’s made from a Laura Ashley cotton lawn, oozing quality. The dress was a design typical of the time, with a scoop neck and lace collar, puff sleeves to the elbow, a lowered waist with a fitted yolk around the hips, and a gathered skirt finishing mid calf. I thought it looked fab.
The second fabric with a smaller flower print of pink and burnt orange, was a dress I bought on a family holiday in 1995, but a very different shape and design. It had spaghetti straps and a fitted bodice with buttons down the front, and was long and slender. It was a little too long for my average height, as I shortened it a bit to come mid calf.
The holiday in question was a camping trip to the South Hams in Devon near Salcombe, with 2 small girls and a metal framed tent. I bought the dress from a small clothes shop in Kingsbridge as we were out exploring one day. An impromptu buy. I think hubby thought it would make a good birthday present for me.
The main memory of that holiday was the tremendous thunder and lightening storm we had one night. It felt like the end of the world, in our metal tent, perched on the top of Bolberry Down, not knowing if we should stay put or try to get into the car. Eventually it passed over and we managed a few hours sleep. The next morning, with our nerves shattered, we went down into the centre of Salcombe for strong coffee and sustenance, and found a lot of the shops were slopping out the flash floods.
I’m loving the fact that some of my favourite material are being reimagined for others to enjoy as well.