One of the first pair of tights I hand painted was for myself & had lizards on them. I'd always get compliments when I wore them, & several years later when I started my label, I continued with the lizard theme & introduced other animals into my collections.
These flocked Lizards on woolly tights are very similar to the first pair I did for myself & are currently available at urban cow studio in Adelaide, South Australia.
Photographer, Josie Richardson
The logo for my label is a poodle, & people may have noticed I'm a little poodle crazy. I've done various poodle designs but the most recent one I did is very sparkly, elaborate & made up of lots of little dots, a painting method I've used quite a bit on different things, it's time consuming but I think the final look is worth it. What do you think?
This shot by Steph Doran
People love all sorts of animals, I've done several different horse designs, pictured below are the Sparkle Star Pony on 50 denier leggings.
Photog. Josie Richardson
There is also the Gemstar Owl hand painted on 50 denier leggings & has a little sparkle to it & these are currently available in my web store. They are the ones on the left.
Photog. Josie Richardson
I've done custom orders of spiders, I've done a Monarch butterfly design, the Louis Louis design which is a little woodland scene with rabbits & squirrels & flowers plus others, too many to go into here.
Recently I've been inspired by our native flowers & plants such as Wattle & Sturt Desert Pea & the pretty but simple varieties of Daisies in Spring.
Below is the Louis Louis design on 70 denier tights. It's a design I love & will always do. I've also done it on leggings, dresses & tops.
Photog. Rueben Warburton
Above are 50 denier leggings currently in the web store.
I hope you've enjoyed this peek into the flora & fauna inspired designs of Shirley Fracture Couture & I hope it shows you the quality, uniqueness & endless possibilities of hand painted hosiery by Shirley Fracture. Let your imagine free. How would you wear these tights. To brighten up a black outfit or with other colours & designs. I've styled them both ways, you are not limited with fashion. Show your unique personality & celebrate it.
Shirley has always loved a man in tights. Of course there is a long history of men wearing tights throughout history as was the fashion of the times. And of course dancers wear them all the time.
Today, a lot of men like to layer them under shorts, others like to wear a high denier/thicker or woolly pair of tights instead of pants & layer with a shirt & jacket as a fashion statement. Then there are men who like to wear them with skirts or dresses & as far as Shirley Fracture is concerned, as long as you are comfortable, wear them however you want.
Shirley Fracture has always catered to male customers & as long as the size is right, anyone can wear them. I once asked a friend to model some 70 denier leggings for me for a photo shoot & he was reluctant but agreed. I teamed them with a top & jacket & he looked great. In the end it was difficult to get them off him as he wore them all day he was so comfortable.
Model wears 70 denier hand painted bondage Johnnie leggings.
I'm happy to do custom orders if your size or the design you want isn't in the web store. I can do the men's 'pouch' leg wear but these tend to be more expensive & are of a different material. Also men's hosiery in general is more expensive but I will always do my best to make you what you want.
I've always thought of my hosiery as unisex but as I said earlier, it is just important to get the size right but that goes for everyone.
Junius Paul of Junius Paul Quartet wearing 100 denier hand painted 'Shattered' tights hand painted by Shirley Fracture Couture.
I love this shot of Junius Paul wearing Shirley Fracture hand painted 'Stuck On You' 50 denier leggings he has layered over some black tights.
So guys out there, tights are for you to, have fun with them, make them a fashion statement & enjoy. XX
Welcome to my first little blog spot for the new on-line magazine tights.fun. I wanted to focus on the colour & fun we can have with our hosiery. How it can be an integral part of our outfit & not just utilitarian.
Myself, I have a small fashion label, Shirley Fracture Couture which began with my hand painted leg wear then expanded from there, but hand painting tights is something I specialise in. There are many 'fashion' tights options out there but mine are individually hand painted so are limited edition, unique & suit the fashion forward individual not afraid to express themselves by what they wear. I don't want to sound big headed, but by their nature of how they are designed & created, my hosiery is wearable art. Quality is important at Shirley Fracture & my tights can be worn for many seasons.
But right now it is the holiday season whichever hemisphere you live in, so maybe that means parties, get togethers, travels or just hanging at home. You may just want to cheer yourself up & say to the rest of the world, 'I'm going to wear what I want' & let your legs do the talking. Let's be brave & have some fun with our leg wear.
Pictured below, friends hanging out in Sparkle Star Owl 50 denier leggings & Stuck On You leggings in orange.
Photographer Josie Richardson.
Your milkshakes will bring all the boys to the yard with these legs. Model on the left in 'Shattered' tights, all other clothing also by Shirley Fracture
Time to kick up our legs, let them talk not just walk & be fashion fearless in the coming year.
Pictured below are Sparkle Star Pony 50 denier leggings by Shirley Fracture. Photog. Josie Richardson.
Also a selection in store at https://www.facebook.com/urbancowstudio
Any enquiries you can email me contact@shirleyfracture.com.au
You will also find Shirley Fracture on instagram, facebook, twitter & tumblr where you will see much more. I will also do custom orders for you, & that includes for men as well.
PS Until the end of January I'm running a promotion in the webstore. Just use the code HOLIDAYDISCOUNT at check out to get 20% off your order. You're welcome.
The magazine https://www.tights.fun is where you will find out all sorts of wondrous things about tights. Congratulations to tights.fun fabulous new on-line mag & I hope you enjoyed my first little article for them which will become a regular spot where we discuss many issues & stories about hosiery.
Looking back over past blogs I often start by saying 'it's been so long since I blogged'. Well I have to say it again, it's been two years......
I've been quietly working away here in Melbourne, quietly waiting to 'crack' it........I've decided at the moment not to try & put out seasonal collections but to just concentrate on doing really good work that people will like or dare I say.... love (hence the relevance of the video selection).
So I thought it's about time to show you what I've been up to lately. These are (low res.) images of some of my latest work.
Assistant to Shirley Fracture Couture & mother of Scout, is Debra Nicholl.
Also worth mentioning, my label has a split personality, there's the leg wear, the couture & the up-cycled (also recently dabbled in some baby fashion which I've called sfc smalls)so I'll let you know what you are looking at. The couture is Shirley Fracture Couture, the leg wear Shirley Fracture & the up-cycled I refer to as SFC but it's all under the umbrella of Shirley Fracture Couture so....confusing?..Hopefully not too much so.
In this first image you will see pants & top by Shirley Fracture Couture. These shoes from Preston Zly of Melbourne were so delicious I wanted to eat them.
Next we have the Flower Power Love suit by Shirley Fracture Couture.
The fabric is hand painted Italian Crepe. There are no seams at the front of these high waisted, wide legged pants, & they are lined with creamy cool satin as is the jacket which has covered buttons & little tulle tutus in the top of the sleeve. 'Shirley' is down with details & quality.
Here is the Flower Power Love top, hand painted Italian Crepe, covered buttons, sleeve tutus, paired with hand painted, up-cycled, SFC denim long shorts. Scouts lead & collar also by Shirley Fracture Couture. Scout is a rescued dog that now has a wonderful forever home & this is close to my heart as I spent a year as a foster carer in Brisbane & it was one of the best things I have ever done, if you love dogs & your living situation is suitable, I would recommend doing it.
Here we have an up-cycled denim Wish jacket I call the Sex & Candy jacket. It has hand painted sparkly roses with black metal studs for thorns. I love a good bomber. On the legs are hand painted tights by Shirley Fracture of course.
Full frontal view of the Sex & Candy jacket, The Fractured Pop tights & one of the hand painted 'Do What Though Wilt' vintage cotton 'beater'. There is a series of these .
Next is these hand painted Sparkle Poodle Love leggings by Shirley Fracture & the Swirly Love chiffon top by Shirley Fracture Couture.
The Shirley Fracture Couture Swirly Love top has a hand painted panel, the front of this has double panels & it has covered buttons of course. The Big Love skirt is hand dyed, & hand painted cotton.
Another fabulous shot of the Big Love skirt & Swirly Love top by Shirley Fracture Couture. The 'spider web' shoes are so gorgeous & intricate, I just fell in love with them.
Up-cycled vintage Lee denim jacket, Peace & Love is hand painted & studded by SFC. The Pinkie Love leggings are hand dyed & feature hand sewn sequin flamingos by Shirley Fracture Couture.
And lastly but not least, a shot featuring two of the best models, so professional & wonderful to work with (as was the whole team). Scout is snuggling in the Peace & Love jacket & Sam is rocking the Louis Louis Love leggings that are hand dyed, hand painted by Shirley Fracture Couture (shoes here are models own) Some of you may recognise the Louis Louis design, I've used it before but it's a great design that I love & is dedicated to my first black toy boy, my first poodle Louis.
So that's some of what I've been up to. There is still so much to do, to achieve. I have so many designs to bring to life, so much to learn still. I've been working on new hosiery designs for the winter. I really hope y'all like what you see here though & I'd love to read your thoughts/comments.
You can go check out my webatorium to get yourself some 'Shirley' at http://www.shirleyfracture.com.au & you can get your hands on a selection of my leg wear at in.cube8r gallery at 321 Smith St., Fitzroy http://www.incube8r.com.au/ & for any inquiries you can email contact@shirleyfracture.com.au
I'm sure a lot of folks will echo those sentiments. I've been pondering what to say if anything about this year coming to an end & how to say it then I thought, blog, I don't think I've blogged all year.
I feel so trashed by the events of 2014 that I can hardly type.....so must be time for a musical interlude. I couldn't think of a song so just typed lalala & this is what I got...
This year of 2014 I moved interstate to live with & look after my ailing Ma, fuck it's been hard & it's taken it's toll. I have however done loads of designing as per usual, put out a mini collection that included some screen printed goodies as well as the hand painted, shot said collection & sent it down the runway. Some folks may say that's not bad & they'd be right, it's not bad but it's not good enough either, but then I am always seeing what I could do better.
I do love these designs so very much, I've put everything into them & I hear everyone say that but I hope you like them, especially the dresses. I'm pretty confident with my leg wear, it's my thing but I certainly am looking to expand what I do.
This year I was invited to exhibit with RAW London, which I do want to do, & the Art Gallery of Ballarat bought several pieces to sell in their shop. So that also happened. I won't list my goals for 2015, I'd rather just do them tell you about it when they happen.
I guess we all say the same things at this time of year & how we are so excited for the coming year........I can say I feel tired but am looking forward to getting into new projects & making more wearable art & artisanal fashion for you. I really enjoy creating, it makes me happy, it's soothing & that won't change in 2015. I can sincerely say I wish everyone all the very best, I hope you are happy & successful in 2015.
It's been a while since my last blog so time for an update. I made it through my RAW Generation showcase. It was a fantastic night & the most tickets were sold for any RAW event anywhere so we broke a record.
Leading up to the night I'd had bugger all sleep & worked hard to get it all done. So on the night I turned up with wet hair, no make up looking like a wreck so not the ideal time to be photographed or videoed but meh, I'm over it, the clothes looked awesome on the runway & once again I was blessed with a fantastic team of models & helpers including Leigh Auld Hair & Nikita Pere MUA also featured RAW artists. .
These photos by Josie Richardson Photography.
So post RAW I had to shut down my web store (not ideal after doing such a big promotion) & head off to Adelaide to help my mum pack up her house & get it ready to be upgraded . I knew it would be a big job but man o man, it was a big job, it nearly killed me but I got it done. Needless to say, as much as I hated to leave my mum there on her own, it is great to be back at home in my lovely tree house & with the mild winter weather(it was freezeballs in the Adelaide hills). Two months away is a long time. And with so much work to catch up on I've dived in to try & make up for lost time.
In an effort to consolidate & focus & pay the rent, I'm currently having an EOFY Sale in my web store. Most things are ridiculously discounted, so check it out & buy up as this won't happen very often. Just go to this link. http://www.shirleyfracture.com.au
Then at the end of the month I'm having a Pop Up Fashion Store to finish off the big sale. There will be other designers including the fab Good Golly Its Molly http://www.ggim.com.au taking part & including a men's label nakedinthenight.com.au so the guys are not forgotten plus more. It will be a unique opportunity to nab yourself a designer bargain, something special for your collection. And it's being held at Kobblers in Bardon which is a great venue & has the best coffee & fruit toast going. All in all it will be a pleasurable way to spend part of your Saturday.
That's pretty much all the news I think. You can always contact me by email to contact@shirleyfracture.com.au if you have any queries.
I'm planning on going into the new financial year with a much more streamlined operation. An exciting new collection, the best photo shoot ever, more magazine articles & trying not to be frustrated that I can't do what I want quick enough. I'm trying to be sensible about everything & realise I can only do what I can do & it's no point stressing right? right. XX
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