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Fraya Murdock - Painted LADY Clothiers, Queen Creek, AZ

Lady Faie -- 50 Years In The Making

I have always been inspired by color and freedom of individual creative expression.   This drives me to create fashions that nurture your inner alter ego through color and texture to enhance and define your unique and vibrant identity.   As a premiere Tribal Style Belly Dance and historical clothier, I have created fashions for stage, re-enactment, SCA, Ren Faire, LARPing, COSPLAY and theme weddings since 1990.   I now specialize in creating colorful ensembles that will offer multiple wearing options to expand your wardrobe even farther for everyday Bohemian fashions as well as historically themed Belly Dance and Orientale clothing for nearly any venue. So here's my story of how I got here: Painted Lady's roots took hold way back in the 70s when I, Lady Faie, was just a tot performing tap, ballet, acrobats and gymnastics.   My mother diligently made my costumes for stage as well as Halloween, and my grandmother made hundreds of gorgeous quilts and wedding cakes, setting a strong foundation and sense of creative design.   A few years later, Renaissance Faires and belly dance came into my periphery, and a seed was planted.   Always following my own path, I found myself neck deep in the world of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) as a Mistress of Arts & Sciences in the early 90s.  It was then I found my calling creating clothing with historical designs and sought to outfit my family of seven with those that could survive children of all ages as well as week long costumed events and wars.   ​My need for packing small with opportunity for variety developed my sense of mix-and-match wardrobes. In 1995 a dear friend gave me a video of Carolena Nericcio's first Fat Chance Belly Dance instruction.  The seed planted in the 70s suddenly broke ground and spread its graceful leaves.   A year later I was teaching others in my SCA group, and in 2003 began teaching classes through the local college.  In 2006 my students and fledgling troupe, Sha'Waza Belly Dance Company, had their first performance with my eight year old daughter beside me.   Our troupe grew to over 30 members at one point with many appearances each year, securing an annual place at the Midsummer Renaissance Festival in Utah.   During this time I turned my sewing talents to Tribal Style designs with an historical flair. After my first 25 yard skirt, I swore never to do another, but by 2008 the economy sent my family and I into a financial crisis with no home or job. Moving to LA was my only hope for finding work. Instead I found the garment district. My first sales were Ghawazee coats and Turkish style vests.  Suddenly the wheels started churning, I pulled up my big-girl panties and attempted another 25 yard skirt.   After somewhere around 101 design attempts and changes, I finally perfected a skirt design I love to wear and didn't hate to make.  While watching the classic movie "Petticoat Junction", I coined Petticoat Skirts to identify my skirts.   In 2009, Painted Lady Clothiers was born, and as we now celebrate ten years, we thank all of you for stopping in and hope to one day meet you on one of our expeditions. And now, 2020, Painted Lady has expanded to include "Haute Bohème by Lady Faie", an exclusive collection of Bohemian inspired broomstick and gypsy skirts, tops, scarves, sundresses and rompers all sewn and hand dyed by me. My technique of "tie dye" creates unique, wearable art that you'll love to show off at the beach, pool, park or anyplace you want to let your free spirit shine! I also offer custom orders to create color palettes, sizes and design modifications especially for your personal tastes and needs. Want to learn more about what I do and how you can build your own distinctive outfit?  Check out our website or follow me on Facebook:  www.paintedladyemporium.com