We're on to you, Oilily

The whole thing - boiled wool jacket, skirt fabric has silver threads - eat your heart out,
Bergamo!


Can you stand these shoes!? Sequins.
Early 20th Century Ukraine.


Love. Just love. Buttons, fluffy things. Little embroidered flowers. It must have been a sewing fest.


Wedding hat. It actually has little paper pom-poms on the top!


Yum.


This is the cutest.

I have a new project, which is taking me in a whole new direction. A lovely couple from Minneapolis has hired me to write a book on Ukrainian style - especially the village life and the folk arts. Long story how this came about, but suffice it to say, it is a happy accident that we met.

Here in New York, where I will do most of the writing, I have discovered the Ukrainian Museum (www.ukrainianmuseum.org) down on the Lower East Side -and decided to go yesterday to begin some of my research. The kinds of things I will be writing about include the beautiful embroideries, linens, pottery, painted eggs, block prints, textiles, food and holiday rituals.

The museum was a lovely surprise - as a Textiles and Design major in college, I was mesmerized by the delicate stitches, pleats and embroidery on the white linen shirts! And, my friend Anna (my Design Day compatriot) noticed, especially, the playful way the wedding costumes were decorated.

And...what do you know...we are pretty sure Oilily (www.oilily.com) must have been hanging around Ukrainian wedding costumes when they started their look many years ago. See what you think!