Refusal Corset
Velvet corset hand painted and homesewn. This piece was inspired by the Fatima Ronquillo painting “Refusal: Hand with Maya Angelou” (2020)
“Refusal”
Beloved,
In what other lives or lands
Have I known your lips
Your Hands
Your Laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.W
ithout the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
—Maya Angelou
i wanted to explore the depth of this poem through this garment. death, unrequited love, and loneliness wrapped into one corset for this splendid occasion (valentine’s day)! as i am newly single, i really liked ruminating on the idea that romance still exists within grief, it is nestled in the pain of having lost love. in this yearning for the essence of a dead love, might we also think about our past and future lifetimes and the romances we are destined to experience? this is my refusal to let death destroy memory, and in this the love felt through lifetimes—teardrop by teardrop.
this piece is also inspired by 18th c. stays designs, romantic western wear of the victorian persuasion, death/rebirth, and baroque style paintings. the lover’s eye portrait is hand painted by me with acrylic medium body fabric paint, and hand beaded with pearly tear drops.
constructed with: velvet fabric sourced from secondhand upholstery scraps, cotton blend fabric, spiral steel boning, brass eyelets, cotton embroidery thread, polyester & cotton thread, cotton ribbon, cotton duck fabric, fabric paint (acrylic), polyester lace, cotton eyelet lace, plastic and fresh water pearl beads, czech glass tear drop beads, nylon thread
measurements at tightest lacing:
bust: 32”, waist: 29”
**i recommend a maximum lacing of +3” added onto these measurements (but it’s really up to your discretion)
Velvet corset hand painted and homesewn. This piece was inspired by the Fatima Ronquillo painting “Refusal: Hand with Maya Angelou” (2020)
“Refusal”
Beloved,
In what other lives or lands
Have I known your lips
Your Hands
Your Laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.W
ithout the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
—Maya Angelou
i wanted to explore the depth of this poem through this garment. death, unrequited love, and loneliness wrapped into one corset for this splendid occasion (valentine’s day)! as i am newly single, i really liked ruminating on the idea that romance still exists within grief, it is nestled in the pain of having lost love. in this yearning for the essence of a dead love, might we also think about our past and future lifetimes and the romances we are destined to experience? this is my refusal to let death destroy memory, and in this the love felt through lifetimes—teardrop by teardrop.
this piece is also inspired by 18th c. stays designs, romantic western wear of the victorian persuasion, death/rebirth, and baroque style paintings. the lover’s eye portrait is hand painted by me with acrylic medium body fabric paint, and hand beaded with pearly tear drops.
constructed with: velvet fabric sourced from secondhand upholstery scraps, cotton blend fabric, spiral steel boning, brass eyelets, cotton embroidery thread, polyester & cotton thread, cotton ribbon, cotton duck fabric, fabric paint (acrylic), polyester lace, cotton eyelet lace, plastic and fresh water pearl beads, czech glass tear drop beads, nylon thread
measurements at tightest lacing:
bust: 32”, waist: 29”
**i recommend a maximum lacing of +3” added onto these measurements (but it’s really up to your discretion)
Velvet corset hand painted and homesewn. This piece was inspired by the Fatima Ronquillo painting “Refusal: Hand with Maya Angelou” (2020)
“Refusal”
Beloved,
In what other lives or lands
Have I known your lips
Your Hands
Your Laughter brave
Irreverent.
Those sweet excesses that
I do adore.
What surety is there
That we will meet again,
On other worlds some
Future time undated.
I defy my body's haste.W
ithout the promise
Of one more sweet encounter
I will not deign to die.
—Maya Angelou
i wanted to explore the depth of this poem through this garment. death, unrequited love, and loneliness wrapped into one corset for this splendid occasion (valentine’s day)! as i am newly single, i really liked ruminating on the idea that romance still exists within grief, it is nestled in the pain of having lost love. in this yearning for the essence of a dead love, might we also think about our past and future lifetimes and the romances we are destined to experience? this is my refusal to let death destroy memory, and in this the love felt through lifetimes—teardrop by teardrop.
this piece is also inspired by 18th c. stays designs, romantic western wear of the victorian persuasion, death/rebirth, and baroque style paintings. the lover’s eye portrait is hand painted by me with acrylic medium body fabric paint, and hand beaded with pearly tear drops.
constructed with: velvet fabric sourced from secondhand upholstery scraps, cotton blend fabric, spiral steel boning, brass eyelets, cotton embroidery thread, polyester & cotton thread, cotton ribbon, cotton duck fabric, fabric paint (acrylic), polyester lace, cotton eyelet lace, plastic and fresh water pearl beads, czech glass tear drop beads, nylon thread
measurements at tightest lacing:
bust: 32”, waist: 29”
**i recommend a maximum lacing of +3” added onto these measurements (but it’s really up to your discretion)