La Petite Trianon Couture Apron

Hello friends...if you are new here, welcome.  If you are a returning visitor..happy to have you back again.

Today I would like to introduce my latest couture apron.

My inspiration for my newest apron is the beautiful French estate of Marie Antoinette, La Petite Trianon.

Image courtesy of Castles Crowns and Cottages Blog

Have you seen Sophia Coppola's movie depicting the life of the teenage Queen...it is visual eye candy.

When Marie was at her beloved Petite Trianon, she enjoyed a much more informal lifestyle...privileged still and lavish, but more casual.

Marie hated the constant peering of the French court.

While away from the formality of Versailles, Marie favored softer country frock type dresses, minus all the boning and stiff fabrics.

I'm drooling over this floor!

Kirsten's pretty cute too.

The fabrics used at Petite Trianon were a nod to Marie's love of pinks, pale blues and striking florals.

Fabrics from the estate

Gorgeous wallpaper from Petite Trianon.

That was my inspiration.

I found this dress for only $4.75 at my local Salvation Macy's and immediately knew I wanted to transform it. This is a Clues Collection dress with a New York/Paris tag...coincidence, I think not.

The pink..the flowers and the thin mother of pearl buttons all reminded me of a sitting room a Petite Trianon.

And so it began......

I didn't want to lose any fabric, so instead of cutting, I removed all the stitching with a seam ripper. It took a very long time because this dress had double seams and surging. 

Anyone need some pink thread???

I carefully removed the back of the dress from the waist up and made a straight cut up the middle of the back skirt. 

After tailoring the bodice, I cut an antique embroidered doily in half and pinned it to either side.

Very reminiscent of the lowcut, flounced bodices of the more common dresses worn at Petite Trianon.

I found a long antique dresser scarf with some gorgeous embroidery on either end. I cut that in half and sewed both of them on each hip to mimic the first layer of my hip bustles. My apron would have a total of three layers of fabric to create the bustles

Very feminine

Introducing...

La Petite Trianon Couture Apron

Her skirt wraps all the way around and she has a soft challis rose floral bodice tie. I used fabric from another thrifted skirt for the neck tie.

Of course she has a very long waistband/tie in the prettiest robins egg blue/rose print.

Marie Antoinette loved her pale blues and pinks.

The hip bustles were fashioned from the fabric I salvaged from the sleeves and back of the dress.

As a little nod to the Queens love of detail in her wardrobe, I embellished the waistband with some very pretty stitching...in pink of course!

Beautiful stitching

This is a closeup of the beautiful floral embroidery on each hip.

So there she is...the final touch was a tiny pink satin bow at the bodice.

I think Marie Antoinette would say

"J'adore mon nouveau tablier"

The gardens of Petite Trianon are not the only gardens that are blooming.

My tall bearded German iris', knockout roses and creeping phlox are all getting very showy

Marie would have loved this Iris..one of her favorite colors and the aroma is heavenly!

I love these  flowers for their show stopping regal beauty

I will never be able to replicate this kind of beauty.

Mother nature at her best.

Until next time...be kind and stay creative.

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