Exotic Summer Wedding Guest Dress Edit, Inspired By The Art of Embroidery

“Although the threads of my life have often seemed knotted, I know, by faith, that on the other side of the embroidery there is a crown.” -Corrie Ten Boom

“a world full of color, fabric, artistry, and stories told through stitches.”

Recently, while scrolling Instagram, I discovered the work of a group of (mostly) French textile and embroidery artists. Instantly, I was absorbed. What world was this? A world, as it turned out, full of color, fabric, artistry, and stories told through stitches. I discovered tapestries woven with intricate scenes, and dresses embroidered with artwork so beautiful, these pieces looked as though they belonged in a museum—not an ordinary wardrobe. There were also handmade ceramics and fascinating objects: a ceramic dish with a pearl in its center, assiettes hand-painted with flowers, tiles shimmering with patterns from Tunisia. But the textile and fiber art captivated me most, from the lovingly embroidered tapestries to the work of an artist who weaves sculptures on vintage fishing nets.

Hearts by Antomoon

Quickly, I became captivated by the art of embroidery, especially when the art form overlapped with other techniques— beautiful beadwork, weaving, crochet, and embellishment.

The perfect example came in the shape of a precious heart, the signature creation of Antomoon. Twenty years ago, the designer was asked to create handmade hearts for an enchanting Paris shop. “I made some with old, frayed fabrics… embellished with small thread stitches,” she muses, reflecting on the tender beginnings of what would become an enduring love affair: “since then I have not stopped making hearts.” These little hearts are so whimsical and sweet, crafted of silk velvet, and adorned with antique glass Venetian beads. Their imperfections are simply perfect: little frayed edges that reveal the hand of the artist, and make the hearts feel all the more delicate, fragile, and sweet. For something so small, each heart is nevertheless the product of great skill: hand-dying, embroidery, crocheting techniques, and embellishments overlap and intertwine to create each treasured heart. To me, they look “real” in The Velveteen Rabbit sense of the word. Something to keep in an antique chest, pressed between folds of cashmere or nestled alongside a strand of pearls. A beloved piece to pass onto a daughter or granddaughter.

by Antomoon

As I pursued the work of these embroiderers, I was overcome by the patience, diligence, and love each poured into her process. Reels and videos documented the unfolding, one patient stitch after another. The exactitude of it all— the precision— is quite moving.

Top left to bottom right: Liss Cooke Embroidery, Amber Cowan,“Le Jardin” by Pierre Bonnard (1936), Sophia Narrett, photograph of Prato, Italy by Catherine Legrand, Tomoyo, Antomoon, Nizhoni.

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Observing this process, my reflections turned metaphorical. For how much more surpassingly beautiful it is to contemplate the weaving and threading of the tapestry of our own lives by the hand of an all-knowing and all-loving God. So often, we cannot understand what we are doing or where we are going— we see no coherent vision. We long for God to give us a full and complete vision for the future, to reveal the masterpiece that will come of all this. If we could only see the outcome in advance, then, perhaps we could relax. Yet faith is the walk of one dependent step after another, or shall we say one stitch followed by the next; the continual turning to Christ for guidance. He sheds just enough light for us to make the next choice, and this withholding is gracious. For it deepens our dependence upon Him, and causes us to crave not only His direction but His sweet, consoling fellowship.

Top left to bottom right: Anne ten Donkelaar, Yumiko Higuchi, Anne ten Donkelaar, Antomoon, Yumiko Higuchi, Yumiko Higuchi, Mary Karantzou, Yumiko Higuchi.

One day we will see how these stitches combined and cohered to create a tapestry of inestimable intricacy and splendor. The hand of God on our lives is always loving. Can we trust that, even now? Can we trust that this way of suffering is indeed the way to glory? May we be resolute enough to proclaim, along with Corrie Ten Boom that, “[a]lthough the threads of my life have often been knotted, I know, by faith, that on the other side of the embroidery there is a crown.”

David even takes up the metaphor as He meditates on the Lord’s intimate knowledge of his life, the tenderness with which He created and formed that life: “For You created my inmost being; You knit me in my mother’s womb.” The action of knitting poignantly captures the patience and skillfulness, the attentiveness and steadfastness, even the sweetness and creativity, of the process. One can almost feel the breathlessness, the wonder that accompanies the unveiling of this truth as he continues, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14). If we marvel over the intricacy of a garment, and the love and patience of the process that produced it, how much more do we stand in awe of the pinnacle of God’s creation— a human life? With what overcoming tenderness and limitless love were we created, by the very hand of God.

What a wonder, that we who are in Christ were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Before God created the heavens and the earth, He chose to include us in the redemptive plan He already imagined and established through the atonement of Christ. Even the little circumstances that perplex us, the trials we endure, and the precious blessings of our lives— all these things have already been accomplished in old eternity past: “And in Your book they were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16). The creation of our lives, and the redemption of those lives, should stir our souls to praise and wonder at the lovingkindness of our Creator.

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Top left to bottom right: Pascaline Rey, Pascaline Rey, Diana Orving, inspiration photo shared by Rime Arodaky, Amy Usdin, Antomoon, Loji, Bordado Dodia.

Stirred by the art form and all its rich, symbolic meaning, I continued to pore over these embroidered works. The artists I followed photographed their work—sketchbooks filled with watercolor flowers, garments embroidered with rosebuds—and their daily surroundings. And what attention they lavished on these seemingly ordinary scenes. Some passed by jade-colored shutters on rose pink façade, and others were charmed by a green potted plant growing against a rose-colored wall. One artist admired the bold, striped sheets of fabric hung in Venice doorways—lemon yellow, candy pink, and apricot fabric fluttering on the doorway of a lilac home—and stopped to photograph lines of laundry fluttering in plain sight. I fell in love with these bright scenes and most of all with the artists’ devotion to their craft.

Top left to bottom right: Sonal Nothwani, Pascaline Rey, From a Tokyo de Palais exhibit, shared by Valery-rose Pfeifer. Follwing four photos: Emanuelle Poncin Savignat. Ending photo: Annemeike Aerts Pascal.

It became a bit of a scavenger hunt just to follow who these artists followed on Instagram, and look at the artwork and makers they showcased on their stories. What a rich and revealing glimpse into the creative process, the creative outlook. While I admired the final products each artist created— those beautifully embroidered wall hangings, maps, dresses, and more— I was equally enthralled with their daily habit of observing the beauty around them. It was just as fascinating to watch their stories and see which flower they had gathered that day, or which exhibit they wanted to see. Some had a remarkable ability to praise and showcase the work of other artists. They seemingly didn’t keep their inspiration under lock and key, preferring to freely share that which had stirred and sparked them. What a gift, to see the world in such living color.

Top left to bottom right: Emanuelle Poncin Savignat, Sonal Nathwani, Emanuelle Poncin Savignat, Oh Cakes Winnie, Alex Katz, Daisies #2, 1992, Kapirarisu, This Little Street, Vincent Van Gogh, Girl In White, 1890.

“A return to slow and ancient practices, and a love of craft.”

What it all reminded me of is a kind of revival I see happening in fashion, especially high fashion—a return to slow and ancient practices, and a love of craft. There are the crocheted pieces of Chloé and from Gabriela Hearst’s own line. The hand- crocheted and hand-painted tie dyes of Anna Kosturova, who introduces one intentional collection per year and prides herself in taking two to three years to fully master each new technique. We see a return of intarsia and fair isle sweaters that make us all want to embrace grandma knits. Famous designer bags, like the Edith, are being reimagined with multicolored, recycled cashmere. And brands like Etro are giving bohemian such a glamorous moment, with the house’s signature paisley print and kaleidoscopic colors adorning everything from frothy summer dresses to (last season’s) pre-Fall, Nordic-style jackets, trimmed in shearling and fantastic embroidery (very bohemian ski bunny, bopping through the Alps). With their intricate detail and lavish embroidery, these pieces reminded me very much of the artists I found on Instagram, threading stories into something romantic, fantastical, and surreal. Fashion is having a slow moment, and at its best, it’s beautiful.

These embroidered and hand-knitted pieces inspire me to think of a late summer wedding somewhere exotic. Maybe it’s Mexico or the Mediterranean or Morocco, but regardless, the dress code is chic. Bohemian dresses and hand-knitted pieces bring with them visions of “miles of faraway deserts and a dark, starless sky, a longing she could feel in the back of her eyes,” to echo the words of a favorite author.

Intricate, cutwork embroidery adorns the charming dresses of Fillyboo, along with hand-crafted applique and hand-cut tassels. Embroidered birds, hearts, and flowers are scattered across the bodice and flutter down the skirts of these charming dusters and dresses, giving each dress a certain storybook feeling, a sweetness and enchantment. The kind of romantic and surreal dress that, when worn, gives the impression that a little family of birds assisted with that morning’s getting ready process, and a butterfly may, at any moment, alight upon one’s shoulder.

The sheer visceral beauty of these garments— the intricate embroidery, hand-cut tassels, and lace; the colors, the whimsy, the charm— make them a delight to behold. Wearing a dress like this feels closer to wearing a story or a work of art.

While I unabashedly love fashion, this purely fun form of artistry and expression, I’ll take with me the real treasure of this post. The parable of threading and stitching, and the resolute faith that from these tangled threads will come a tapestry of great majesty and mastery. When it’s He who holds the needle, I can trust in the unfolding.

Shop the Pinterest Board below for the best things to wear to a late summer wedding now—or to plan for next year, perhaps for your own languorous, summer welcome dinner or honeymoon. Dresses worthy of a great story, a moment that looks and feels like living art.