Friendship Love and Truth Opera Duster (Full Length)

This piece was meant to be worn with attitude and heart! There are so many rich colours to play with — layer it over reds and mustards, or blues and greens. We love to wear this one over a simple black tee and jeans with the belt tied at the back for a cool arthouse vibe! But it also looks incredibly romantic and beautiful just slipped overtop of a dress with a pair of heels, or tied at the waist with a jumpsuit. And before you leave the house, prepare yourself for compliments ;)

The romantic, the icon. Women who live boldly in colour, who refuse to stop fighting for love. Women who wear their hearts on their sleeves.

The project of creating a longer version of our classic FLT kimono was no easy task! In order to adjust the pattern to fit and flatter a longer silhouette, we had to deconstruct the original antique lithograph, and essentially recreate it using the individual pieces. Since the artwork was hand coloured in the 1800s — resulting in a unique shaded texture — it was difficult to blend the pieces together to make a seamless pattern. Luckily, our graphic artist Jonathan was up to the challenge, and worked carefully with us over several drafts and many weeks to get it just right! We’re so proud of the results.

In the era before social media and texting, the Victorians were great lovers of using pictures and symbols in their letters, artwork, and communications (kind of like we use emojis today ;)). Symbols like the ones in our FLT design often appeared on greeting cards, postcards, and jewellery to communicate messages of love. Specific flowers even symbolized different things — for example, a camellia was symbol of longing, and the iris represented faith & hope. Back then, just like today, a picture was worth a throusand words :)

Her teenage dream: just pictures
of freedom. The back of a shiny truck,
sun rising over the city, purse full 
of lipgloss and tickets and kisses. 
Polaroid light on a strong jaw, 
yellow heartache, red heels, the soft shoulder
of her best friend, soft shoulder
of paved roads.

Now, she looks back and smiles, how nothing 
is like she pictured. Bare toes,
windy hair, green grass — her sun rises 
on simple things. Snapshots 
of morning light in the kitchen, flowers
on the table, wine in the fridge, lists 
and keys and kisses. Phone calls 
to her best friend, calls
of bright birds outside the window.

Her heart is the same. Red
as heels, shiny as fresh paint. 
Yellow ache, green grass,
full of kisses.