Who is The Outlaw Dame?
My name is Elin Smith, and I have dreamed up The Outlaw Dame.
My relationship with clothes began when I was a child. I can remember stitching and pinning embellishments on to skirts and dresses, and drawing with permanent marker over t-shirts from a very young age. I have always had an individual, and fairly obstinate sense of style. At about 10 my Mum taught me to sew ‘properly’ on her tiny little Elna Lotus sewing machine. I still have this machine, and it still gets much regular use.
In the 90's, as a teenager I discovered the world of op shops, I began collecting vintage dresses, and I still own, and wear dresses that I bought secondhand in my late teens. Yes! That is how clothing used to be made…..they have been washed and worn over and over for 30, 40, 50+ years, and they remain relevant, timeless and beautiful, albeit a little threadbare.
Throughout my 20’s, living on the road and picking fruit in rural Australia I had access to all the outback op shops and garage sales. I would return home to my Mum in QLD for visits with swollen suitcases of vintage dresses, stashing them high in cupboards all over her house, and packed neatly into friends garages. I would head off for extended periods of time travelling in foreign countries, and my nose for nostalgia always found me in markets and bazaars from Athens to Phnom Penh, Mexican street stalls and Californian thrift shops, Fijian charity stores and Thai rummage piles. You will always find me digging right down the back into the cobwebby corners, unearthing the treasures. Each time I would return to Brisbane with piles of exquisite beauties.
After having children, My husband and I bought a double-decker bus, our beloved Charlotte, a fully decked out, custom interior, 1974 Leyland Atlantean and moved in. We spent the next 13 years travelling Australia, and the world, working at outdoor, multi-day music festivals. Here, I was faced with an abundance of visual inspiration for the creative from the art, the music, the scenery, the travel, the costumery. So after semi-retiring from festival life, it seemed like the most natural progression….dreaming up, and making clothes.
My dream is to produce clothing for women, like the vintage clothes in my wardrobe, that will still be worn in 50 years time. Hand made, slowly and properly. The way garments used to be made.
Using my extensive collection of one-off vintage pieces as inspiration, my vision is to re-imagine these beautiful items in glorious fabrics, cotton velvets, silk velvets, linen, cotton, muslin, silk crepe, wool, cashmere, tassels, embroidery, leather and suede. Always with the greatest care to work with only the most ethical manufacturing, at every stage.
I dream of a customer base who aren't interested in trends, who have a unique sense of style and a creative dress sense. Customers who are willing to invest in gorgeous statement pieces that will be treasured for years and years. Women who feel proud to stand out, women who are slightly outlaw, a law unto themselves.
