Living in France definitely has an impact on my design sensibilities, especially when it comes to historical France. During my fashion studies I took two years of specialized courses in fashion history, and it goes without saying that historical France was given a lot of focus. I never slept during those courses - I loved, loved, LOVED them - and especially enjoyed the guided tours in museum collections and exhibitions.

One of my favorite periods is the mid to late 18th century. Right now I'm being inspired by the effects the French Revolution had on clothing trends. The French Revolution encouraged a clothing trend that did away with fancy fabrics, and simple cotton fabrics became the fashion. I'm sharing a bit of that with a few items I am making for sale online, and one of those is my "1789 Tote". I was inspired by an antique French skirt and jacket from that period (in the historical collections of the Kyoto Costume Institute) when I made the textile samples that I used in my design and construction of this bag. The jacket is red and white striped with large brown buttons worn with a fine cotton skirt in a cream color - pretty much like this bag :-)




I substituted fabrics for more modern and durable materials suitable for an elegantly sewn yet sturdy bag that makes for a portable piece of fashion history. Enjoy :-)

A big thank you to those who support my work and respect my creativity!