Some Time in Brooklyn

No Passport Needed:
A Trip to Brooklyn

On a crisp, fall day in September, I took the F train to Bergen Street to meet my friend, Elke, for a lunch date at a cafe called Bien Cuit, or in English, well baked. From my time in Paris, I remember that at la boulangerie you can ask for une baquette bien cuite if that is your preference.

Elke and I ordered a turkey and Swiss sandwich on a croissant, coffees and desserts. It was all delicious.

 At Bien Cuit, I tuck in to a chocolate gateau while

a grapefruit treat awaits.

My blouse is by the French label, A.P.C.

 After lunch we walked to a charming store

called Salter House.

The owner, Sandeep Salter, discovered a

trove of little-girl dresses

from a label called Pom' Flore in a

barn in Normandy.

 The company was founded by three French sisters in 1988.

One was a ballet dancer, one was a classical singer

 and one was a business woman.

 The fabrics are all from Liberty of London.

 Elke and Sandeep in the shop.

Elke is wearing a necklace that I designed

and made.

 Salter House carries a selection of items for the home.

 There are dolls.

 Elke and I enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey at 

Salter House.

 A view across Atlantic Avenue

looking toward the Long Island Restaurant.

A Bientot!

Some Hand-Painted Dresses by Carol

I designed some dresses
and here they are.
A few years ago, I got the idea that I wanted to design and hand-paint some dresses. I chose a simple a-line style and decided to airbrush geometric designs on the fabric.

My fabrics were cotton which I purchased from B & J in the garment district. B & J is a well-organized fabric store that makes choosing fabric easy because it's all displayed on large, hanging samples, and you do not have to sort through jumbled rolls of cloth like you do at Mood.

I did a lot of airbrushing in the 70's when I was making geometric, abstract paintings so I knew my way around an airbrush. For these dresses I had to set up a table, lay the fabric down, which had already been cut in to the a-line pattern, and tape off the shapes, being careful to cover the areas that I did not want to paint.

Grasshopper Green Dress with

beads and hat of my own design.

The hat is covered in vintage fabric and

hand-painted cotton.

A friend of mine asked me to supply some photos of my dresses for a book that she was writing on wearable art. I engaged a professional photographer to take photos of me in the dresses. The book never did get made, but I now have a record of my dresses.

Pappillon Dress with beads and hat

of my own design. The fedora is covered with

hand-painted cotton.

Cornflower Blue dress with beads

of my own design. The hat is store-bought 

and trimmed with a flower from La Sirena,

a Mexican folk-art store in the East Village.

Framboise Pink dress with beads and hat

of my own design. The hat is one of my

signature patchwork cloches.

 Beads ready to be paired with dresses.

 In the studio.

I was invited to pose in the Museum of Modern Art

garden for sketchers of all ages.

This is a drawing by a young girl of me

in one of my dresses.

The dresses are a size six and available for purchase.

Thank you to Paul Levitt who helped me for

the photo shoot.

A Bientot.