Current Inspiration:Tasha Tudor's A Little Princess

I hate to say it, but I'm not inspired by runway shows and editorials. I find them intensely beautiful and fascinating, but I've never really looked at one and said "yes...I want that."

I get inspired by movies, music, and books more than anything else. And right now, I've been rereading one of my favorite books.

I read A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the first time when I was about six or seven. I adored Sara Crewe- she was and is one of my particular childhood heroines. My parents gave me a beautiful copy of the book for my birthday...the inscription is dated 1998, so I must have been turning eleven.

My mother insisted on finding me the version illustrated by Tasha Tudor. She illustrated many classic children's books, and her version of A Little Princess is just gorgeous. Her illustrations are very pretty, very sweet renderings in colored pencil that make me want to sit in an English garden and drink up the sunshine.


One of her illustrations has really caught my eye. I've loved the cover of A Little Princess for years, and lately it's inspired me to sketch out a couple of dress designs.

There's a full version of the illustration inside the book, and it's really gotten my attention.

Things that I've noticed:

-gray, soft blue, and rose pink

-soft pleats and gathering

-open necklines or a shirtwaist front

-stripes

-ankle boots

-rosettes

What has inspired you today?