Barbara Tfank & Reimagined Antique Print Dresses!

Its no secret.  I'm a huge sucker for print dresses.  I LOVE them.  I don't know why.  Clothes shouldn't be boring; flowers make me happy.  One of the designers who constantly delivers some of the coolest print dresses is Barbara Tfank.

Barbara Tfank is a Los Angeles-based designer.  She got her start in fashion as a costume designer in Hollywood and then started her own line in 2001.  And, I think she does amazing stuff with print fabric!

One of my favorite pieces from her Spring Summer 2011 collection is the floral dress on the right.  The cut is absolutely classic--all at once femme fatale Art Deco but also somehow 1960s flower child.  What makes it really modern is the pleating at the neck that's so hot right now.  Also, the cute little cap sleeves are ADORABLE!

The print of the fabric looks like redone antique flower lithographs--classic and beautiful but unique.  You don't see it every day, probably because its easy to make that kind of print look like you stole your grandmother's curtains and made a toga.  What makes this print work is that the dress cut is so modern and wearable that it balances out the possible stuffy-ness of the print.

Sure, its the height of winter but I can't stop thinking about how nice it would be to sit in a garden full of tulips and wear this dress!

Dress picture from style.com, antique flower print from Collectors Prints

You may be interested in reading my prior post about Barbara Tfank