Tunique Nuit Noire
Strolling along La Rue Mouffetard in Paris in the late 1970's and early 1980's, I discovered several tiny tucked away little old antique shops on the windy, hilly side streets. One day, I was rummaging through haphazardly but diligently, a dusty box of miscellaneous articles in one of these shops. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted this delicate, fragile piece of antique lace. The shop owner, a wrinkled old Parisian man in a béret who looked as old as the lace itself, told me the piece dated back to the 1800's and sold it to me for a few francs. This piece which I used for the front and back yokes of my Tunique Nuit Noire is truly exquisite, rare & fragile! One is transported back in time by merely looking at it. I lined the yokes with an antique silk organza from the 1940's to give them some strength. The antique lace I used for the ruffle over the elbow I purchased in the same shop. The two floral motifs I placed on the shoulders were imported from Paris from the 1940's. I acquired a length of these flowers while working in a textile company when I was 17 years old, already attending FIT. I still have the original cardboard from Paris it was wrapped around. On each sleeve I encrusted a black tulip which I cut from the body of the tunic. The beaded trim I hand sewed to garnish the neckline is 'vintage' from the 1960's.