Art Doll ~ Naomi

Naomi was sooo excited to score a couple of passes to this year's Mercedes-Benz Fashion week. And she was so proud of the outfit she wore to the event because she practically made it herself! Inspiration struck when Naomi visited the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the MET last month. She was so taken by one particular outfit at the exhibit that she just had to re-create it for herself!

She made the skirt using some vintage ruffled lace curtains she found in her mother's attic years ago. Sewing the panels on an angle was quite a challenge but in the end it came out perfect! Then, using an inexpensive pair of comfy black boots (and some super strong fabric glue) she added clusters of leather flowers purchased on Etsy. It ended up being way too hot to wear a leather vest (which she's had since 7 years ago!) so she wore a simple black 3/4 sleeve light cotton turtle neck with a black belt. She finished off her outfit with gold circle themed accessories including a gold leather hobo - her only splurge!

Naomi stands 12 14" tall and is made almost completely of paper including her body, clothing, hair and accessories. Her hair is made from dozens of individually painted strands of paper twists. Visit my Art Dolls page for more information on construction.

If you would like to dress in an outfit similar to Naomi's, almost everything can be purchased on ETSY through the following links to 6 different shops.

Leather Flowers on boots , Lace Skirt, 3/4 Sleeve Length Turtle neck, Gold Purse, Gold Bracelets and Gold Earrings. I support handmade!

Naomi is available on ETSY for purchase.

(Background photos from http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/WKummzGaUSp/Lincoln+Center+Prepares+Mercedes+Benz+Fashion/TEmKOCwLYiE and http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/WKummzGaUSp/Lincoln+Center+Prepares+Mercedes+Benz+Fashion/TEmKOCwLYiE)

Alexander McQueen Inspired Art Doll (in the works)

Several days before it ended, I was able to visit the Met to see the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit. The free line was two hours long but worth it (it helped that I went with friends so I was able to get off the line and come back after a while).

Funny story: The guards had the line sectioned off by every 100 people or so. The line moved fairly quickly but with so many people it still took sooooo long. So after anxiously waiting in line for an hour and forty five minutes I was getting excited that the line ahead was so much shorter and that we only had about 15 more minutes to go. The guards moved more people ahead so that we ended up the last in line of the "100-people-group". Since we were last I was confused to suddenly overhear two women behind us complain that "this line is so long!", "I can't even see the end of it!" "How long do you think we'll be here!!!". I turned around and answered their rhetorical question, "The line started way back there!" "It is 2 hours long and you skipped the line!" They looked shocked and embarrassed but didn't move an inch to get back where they belong.

Oh well, I figured the people they skipped could deal with them. Besides, if someone could have saved ME two hours of waiting in line by not ratting on me, I would have greatly appreciated it too. Anyway, the exhibit was truly amazing. And the artists responsible for the props, gallery design and masks did a fantastic job in tying everything together with McQueen's outfits. These three images are pieces that stood out to me most and are inspiration for my next art doll. I will post work-in-progress photos by next month.

Lace layered skirt with wooden prosthetic boots.

This pink dress is scattered with real dried flowers between the layers of fabric and within it's caging. Upon entering this part of the gallery, a scent of fresh flowers greeted you through a ceiling vent.

A silk (?) butterfly hat.