So, I fell in love with another dress!

This time it’s a Spanish number by Casita de Wendy. It not only captures some of the joy and mystery of the botanical world (on a flattering black background) but also makes a whimsical, fairylike nod and wink to the work of Hieronymous Bosch and the little hands and feet reaching out of the flowers remind me of the work I’ve been doing with broken doll parts lately.

Casa de Wendy dress details.

Details of Hieronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights.

Photographs of mine using unearthed remnants of early Frozen Charlotte dolls, flowers and shells.

The vintage needle point bag was a perfect match for this dress, though when I spotted it on ebay I imagined it to be big enough to hold only my phone and a credit card – turns out it’s big enough for my camera and a sandwich, even with a wallet. Tradition, beauty and function!

I found the T-shirt at a local thrift store and wondered if I could get away with wearing a giant skull and rosary and decided it was worth a shot. I love how the image is based on the Dutch vanitas tradition which points to our numbered blooming days. Here are some contemporary versions of this theme by what might be an early Dutch master (or a contemporary one), Vanitas by Titti Garelli and Gardenia by Kamei Toru.

I think I’ll pair this with some fun wedges and some skinny jeans and go and get some ink on! Just kidding – while I love it on other people, I’m only brave enough to put ink to paper (my ears are not even pierced)!

I’m not trying to over think how I dress – I’m just motivated by the same impulses that move me to create my Florilegia– the love of florals, botanicals, art history and curious objects with a history of their own.

Mature Elegance – Florilegia     Marie Cameron    2012   mixed media assemblage