Tooth Fairy Photoshoot

Yet another Fairy has come to flourish. Last night completed the Tooth Fairy chapter in my fairies collection. Because the dress had so many details to it, in the end the whole look really spoke for itself without the need of a massive set. I found some small lavender satchels to serve as ‘pillows’ for her to leave the money underneath.  Another touch was the scattered coins at her feet. Sadly, my mother refused to cough up the teeth she’s kept all these years (seriously, what else is she gonna do with them?!) so I substituted teeth with small pearl beads in her small pouch. Hopefully to the viewer will see the similarities and recognize the theme.

For the final touches to her look, I decided less was more. Instead of an elaborate headdress I made a cowl/mask that covered her face up to her eyes, still making her look ready for surgery with an air of mystery. For the wings I wrapped some cotton around wire to make a structure that suggested the skeletal framework of wings. All together it looking cutting edge (literally), eerie and constricted-everything I had envisioned for this character.

I’ll be putting the Fairies collection on hold briefly, for as you may have noticed, October starts next week, which means the dawning of the most fabulous festival for any costumer....HALLOWEEN! Yes, I’ll putting all my efforts into the creation of my yearly Halloween tribute collection. Details to come!

Tooth Fairy (so far...)

My pattern making skills must be pretty sharp these days, because this was the first time I didn’t need to make a template! Not to mention finally dipping into my satin fabric stash with confidence now that my overlocker and me are on terms most amiable.

Reflecting on the look as it stands right now, it’s leaning more towards ‘surgical’ than ‘skeleton’, but I’m OK with that. The gathered bodice centre, my own pattern came out great. As to the skirt, the crossings really do look quite boney like-in fact, I’ve gone into the skirt panels and added more miscellaneous slashes.

The biggest question right now is a head piece. Unfortunately what first comes to mind is some kind of ‘ninja’ mask, since I want her entire face covered except her eyes peering through, keeping with the lashed theme and have it seemingly clumsily stitched together-think Michelle Pfeiffer’s handmade Catwoman costume. A part of me is a little worried this could come out a little too Hannibal Lector. Hopefully with a more romantic approach, maybe some kind of bandaging forming a cool hair accessory or mask, this could stay true to the theme of the mystery behind Tooth’s existence in our childhood memories.

As the icing on the cake, I’ve found out my Mom has actually held onto all the teeth me and my sisters lost when we were little, and plan to make a small organza sack to hang from her side, so you can see the actual teeth. Or I may make some teeth myself-I’m been really into into mould making lately. The look could have some ‘tooth’ accessories, but without going too Wilma Flintstone. 

Tooth Fairy: Mood Board and Inspiration

After a couple of weeks of traveling, not to mention celebrating my older sister’s engagement, it’s back to work. And while Titania is still undergoing construction, I’m presenting the mood board for my next fabulous fairy; Tooth.

The Tooth Fairy-probably the one sprite we’ve connected with the most as kids and are therefor the most connected to. Yet despite all the publicity she receives, it’s funny that there’s no corporate set image of her! In Dreamworks’s Rise of the Guardians, she’s a militant humanoid hummingbird, but in Hellboy 2: the Golden Army, tooth fairies are savage flying piranhas who devour bones (always going for the teeth, the most visible bones, earning them the title ‘Tooth Fairy’.) Either way, the tooth fairy remains illusive visually.

Not to mention that despite the hype she causes, there’s one thing that’s never answered; what DOES she collect the teeth for? Some kids believe she uses the teeth as construction materials for her Tooth Castle. Personally I prefer the answer in a children’s book my little sister used to read, explaining that actually the teeth are processed and used as pixie dust.

Either way, with a clean slate to worth with, I’ve decided to go with a more grotesque vision of the Tooth Fairy, centered on her obsession with bone marrow. 

Ever since seeing the Oscars footage, I have been in love with the Dior gown worn by Jennifer Lawrence! I mean, if there was a more exquisite dress to fall in, that was it-she floated on the steps in it, and despite her embarrassment I felt that moment on the steps was stunning! Seriously, Jen-that was the ‘Grace Kelley’ of falls, you looked amazing. That profile is what I want to work on as a base.