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The Lupine Lady
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
Miss Rumphius has long been one of my favorite books, and the Lupine Lady herself one of my favorite characters. Miss Rumphius is taught by her grandfather that she should do three things: travel to faraway places, retire beside the sea, and, most importantly, do something to make the world more beautiful. She goes on grand adventures, meets royalty, and, finally, settles down on the coast. But, she realizes that she hasn’t done anything to make the world more beautiful. Looking out at the lupines growing on the cliff beside her house, she decides to buy pounds and pounds of lupine seed and scatter them all over her town. The people call her the Lupine Lady, and the book ends with her telling all the local children about her adventures. I found out about this year’s contest and theme just three days before my mom and I drove from our house in Massachusetts to coastal Maine to visit my grandmother. When I saw that the weather was going to be shockingly temperate for Maine in January, I knew that I needed to make a Miss Rumphius-inspired outfit to enter in the competition. Beyond the opportunity to take pretty pictures on my favorite ocean cliffside, this location had particular significance: my grandmother lives in the same town as the author of Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney. Unfortunately, Barbara Cooney passed away some years ago, but I thought it would be a fitting tribute to become an adventure-ready Miss Rumphius in her hometown.
Outline the construction…
I made my Miss Rumphius look in two days to be able to have a seaside photo-taking adventure with my mom in Barbara Cooney’s hometown, and I made it with a budget of zero dollars. All of my materials were either leftovers from previous projects or came from a bag of fabric I got for free from a neighbor. The bodice was made with my self-drafted 18th century stays pattern, which was informed by Mariah Pattie’s conical torso pattern drafting video on YouTube. I altered the stays pattern slightly by cutting off the tabs, and switching from back lacing to front lacing. The skirt was also self-drafted as a half-circle skirt. I borrowed the shirt I’m wearing from my mom. My main goal for my ensemble was to bring in as many colors from lupines as I could: shades of purple in the skirt corduroy, waistband, and buttons, white lacing and eyelets on the bodice, and pink binding and ribbons. Both the bodice and skirt were partially machine-sewn and partially hand-sewn, as I couldn’t bring my sewing machine with me to Maine. The binding and waistband of the skirt, as well as the eyelets and some finishing on the bodice, were hand-sewn while I was in the car. I am very proud of my pattern drafting and sewing, especially considering how short a time frame I had to complete the project.
How cute! Well done, achieving all of this in two days without any budget!
This is such a cute outfit. The stays are so pretty and well-fitted and I totally love your color palette! And all of this done within two days! Just wow!
Wow! This is so simple, yet so bright and cheery! It looks like you use the gross-grain ribbon for boning channels… That is definitely a trick I will keep in mind for future projects!
Great job Grace!
I love the story behind this outfit, and the photos are beautiful! Judging from your smile, you enjoyed wearing it too! It looks so lovely, I would never have guessed you could make it all in two days, I’m impressed!
I read this book as a kid and completely forgot about it until now! I love your outfit!