Christmas Tree Gown 2022

Posted by Anyes K. Busby - Studio Vignette Fine Art December 09, 2022

Christmas Tree Gown 2022 - The Siren

Not my usual post - a three dimensional work this time.

The holiday season is a great opportunity to decorate the house.

For several years, I’ve been using my dressmaker mannequin to design gowns for an imaginary character I call the woodland sorceress. These gowns are made of natural elements found on my property.

For this gown, spruce is used on the bodice and cedar is used for the skirt as well as dried asters, creating the illusion of lace. Dried poppy pods painted red and dried iris pods painted gold placed in a way to accentuate the hourglass figure provide texture, reminiscent of embroidery and beadwork.

Below are shots I took while making the gown.

It all starts with a stable foundation, able to support the weight of the gown once it’s finished. I replaced the original stand of my mannequin with one that is actually used for Christmas trees. Chicken wire is then “draped” and shaped around the mannequin to create the style of the gown.

Starting from the bottom, I weave the branches through the wire, working my way upwards.

I wanted the skirt portion of my siren gown to have a lighter, more airy feel and the bodice to look thicker, more structural. So I used cedar for the skirt which has a light green underside and I used spruce which is uniformly deep green.

Once I reached the waist, I gradually switched direction so the branches point upwards along the top edge.

To make the spruce hug the body I wrap a thin wire around it, from under the bust to the knee area.

The poppy pods and the iris pods are affixed making sure to create volume around the bust, accentuating the heart shape. It was a very tight fit through the doorway, as the skirt portion of the dress was voluminous so I added the dried aster branches only after it was standing outside.