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Nouveau Snow White
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Outline the story …
To me the phrase "Once upon a time" instantly brings me to the classic Grimm fairy tales I grew up with. One of my favorites has always been "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." It is a classic tale of a kind and beautiful princess that escapes from her jealous stepmother. She is cared for by seven dwarves until the evil queen poisons her with an apple. Through the magic of true love's kiss she is revived and marries prince charming.
My version is mostly inspired by the original Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales. The only physical description of snow white is her pale skin and red lips.
One of her most prevalent qualities is being kind to the point of being naive. I kept the shape of the dress loose and flowing to reflect that innocence.
The Evil Queen disguises herself as an old woman selling "laces of all colors" and Snow white is strangled with one made of silk. This part of the story inspired me to make the dress out of hand dyed silk.
I also wanted to incorporate one of the most iconic items from the story, the apple. Rather than just painting an apple onto the dress I decided to use apple blossoms because they flowed more naturally with the design. Using apple blossoms also allowed to incorporate a silk flower crown to show her royal aspect as well.
Here is a link to the story: https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html
Having picked my character I started looking for a style. While I enjoyed many of the historically accurate Disney princesses, I wanted something a little more rooted in fantasy. I found my copy of Alphonse Mucha’s Masterworks and I set off on my Art Nouveau Snow White journey.
Outline the construction…
For the construction I started with McCall's pattern 8108 for the skirt then decided to use Simplicity 8292 for the bodice and sleeves. I modified the bodice pattern to have more open neckline. The main body of the dress is silk Habotai and the sheer overlay of the skirt is silk chiffon. I started by making a few mock-ups of the bodice because I wanted to alter the neckline and still have a nice fit. Once I had the right size I hand dyed the bodice and the skirt using Dharma acid dyes.
The sleeves were the most rewarding and most challenging. I decided to try silk painting for the first time and went through drawing several different flower patterns on tissue paper before stretching out my silk and outlining it on the actual fabric. Several times the silk paint bled where I didn’t want it too and had to use that piece for practice. I used a black gutta for the outline and mixed water with silk paints to reflect the apple blossoms in nature.
I challenged myself to finish all my seams and hemmed chiffon in a straight line for the first time.
I made a silk flower crown of apple blossoms with wire and floral tape. I also made a brass necklace with glass flower and leaf beads to complete the art nouveau in nature aesthetic.
Love your apple blossom design. Beautiful job and a great idea. Love your reason for using silk.
Thank you! I went through I don’t remember how many drafts before I got to the final pattern.
This is so beautiful and eye catching, if it were mine I’d wear it everyday 🙂
Silk painting! The art nouveau style is gorgeous. This is a little bit of heaven. Well done!
Love the clear design. Wonderful colours, and the sleeves are marvellous.
You look lovely. I especially admire the sleeves and accessories you created. Using blossoms to represent apples is very creative.
That is beautiful. I love it its recognisable as snow white, whilst also being a beautiful dress in its own right.
I love this! It’s really very well done! Thank you!
The silk painting is so beautiful! What a creative risk! Love this take on Snow White. Elegant, simple, but so much happening in the design. Such a great nod to the past, while making it completely your own.
I love the idea to do an art nouveau Snow White, it makes the design unique, whilst the colours you chose are still instantly recognisable as belonging to the iconic character. The silk painting is gorgeous, as are the accessories! I love how the flower crown ties in with the apple blossoms on the sleeve, and looks both regal and innocent at the same time! Well done!