The Urban Herbarium - Cotton Skater Dress

An Urban Fantasy Dress

A field journal, gathered from the city and made wearable.

There is wilderness everywhere, if you remember to look for it.

The Urban Herbarium began with quiet walks through Melbourne and a camera in hand — noticing the small, easily overlooked things growing and weathering at the edges of the city. Fern fronds unfurling in shadow. Fallen gum nuts and seed pods. Pale plum blossom. Lichen-softened rock faces. The silvery grain of old timber palings.

These original photographs were gathered, layered and transformed in the AngelusNoir studio into an ethereal monochrome print — part botanical study, part faded photograph, part page discovered inside an old naturalist's notebook.

Printed across a beautifully simple cotton skater dress, the ghostly greys and soft charcoal tones allow the details to emerge gradually: leaves, blossoms and fragments of the built landscape appearing and disappearing amongst the folds as you move.

The fitted sleeveless bodice falls into an easy flared skirt with just enough swish for wandering bookshops, museum afternoons, university libraries, windswept beaches and solitary picnics with a good novel tucked beneath your arm.

Wear it alone on warm days, or take it into cooler weather with a fine knit, Victorian blouse or long-sleeved tee underneath, woollen tights and well-loved boots.

For botanists without gardens, collectors of small things, readers of strange books, and anyone who has ever discovered a little wildness growing between the cracks...

The details

• Original AngelusNoir Studio photographic artwork
• Created from photographs of Melbourne flora and found urban textures
• 95% cotton, 5% elastane
• Substantial 300 g/m² cotton-elastane fabric
• Soft, comfortable feel with gentle stretch
• Fitted sleeveless bodice with scoop neckline
• Flared, mid-thigh skater skirt
• Overlock seams and cover-stitched hem
• Printed, cut and sewn especially for you

Take a book. Find a forgotten garden. Stay until the light begins to fade


Size guide