Have I mentioned before how much I love the artist Cat Chow? This is her Zipper Dress, fashioned from ONE hundred-yard-long zipper. To get into (or out of) it, you have to unzip it down to the hips.
Click on the image to read a wonderful article about her, and see the Zipper Dress in red, as well as the dollar bill dress and the artist wearing a dress that I think is made from woven tape measures (and is gorgeous).
The closest I've ever gotten to making an art dress is making my friend Vanessa a Halloween costume out of bubble wrap. But I really enjoy looking at Cat Chow's work …
By the way, A Dress A Day is taking Christmas off, and possibly the day after Christmas (I refuse to call it Boxing Day, I am also not eating any "figgy pudding," so there) too, depending on whether or not I can get internet access. (I've TRIED updating my blog by concentrating really, really hard, honest I have, but so far, no success.) However, check back in on Tuesday for a new and exciting variation on the A Dress A Day format, if I can get around to it. Otherwise it will the usual exciting format.
A Dress A Day 
I too have always admired Cat Chow’s work and complete confidence (!!?) that her unorthodox designs will sustain her financially. I too can be obsessive (you’ve got to be when you’re creating your own fabric from yarn) but I don’t really ever want to make a dress out of dollar bills…I rather spend those buckaroos than cut them out!
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I love her work.I once lived with an art student majoring in textiles. For a fashion show she made a flapper dress out of 16 mm film (she pieced it together in the sprocket holes, so it had a lot of movement), another dress from 2 in magnetic tape seamed together, and a knitted dress made from audio cassettes. I would have been totally thrilled with them if that knit dress didn’t include my copy of Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of the Canyon.
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Hello from the Cincinnati Art Museum! As a fan of Cat Chow’s work, you might be interested to know we recently opened an exhibition of her dresses at our Museum. It is running until March 5th, 2006. We hope you can make it out here sometime to see it – check out our website at http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/greatart/exhibitions_catchow.shtmlfor more information.
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I’d love to see this show! However, I don’t think I’m svelt enough for this lovely zipper dress—I just keep imagining the “Ow!” and “Yipes!” words flowing from my mouth as I keep zipping my own skin into it. You’d definitely need a “zipper helper” to get ’round the back. (Actually, that’s a very funny image: a friend holding the end of your zipper, running around and around you in circles…) And I’m too much a sucker for comfort: cotton = bliss; 16 mm film = a lotta paper cuts & some very unladylike perspiring.
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I love her dresses!! They are so ingenious and creative. I love how she takes the ordainary and makes it extraodainary.
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hi!i was searching for my friend cat’s website and found your blog! how fun!we used to show together in chicago and i am a big cat fan!if you have a chance, please check out my site-specific dress sculptures at http://www.robinbarcus.com:o)robin
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I too can be obsessive but I don’t really ever want to make a dress out of dollar bills.
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