It can be said that a fine wine never goes out of fashion, so we shouldn't be surprised that now someone has invented a way to make truly vintage clothing.
An Australian scientist has designed a dress made from cellulose woven by bacteria in a vat of fermenting wine, saying it could be the future of fashion.
One small problem: The so-called "cave woman" dress must be kept wet because the cellulose fibres are not long enough to be flexible and, as it dries, they become brittle and break.
In order to shape the dress, slimy cellulose is scooped off the surface of the fermenting wine and layered around a blow-up doll. It then shrinks, taking the form of the body. The doll is deflated when the dress is in the right shape.
"This is art -- it is not meant to be practical," said inventor Gary Cass, a scientific technician at the University of Western Australia in Perth. "It is meant to be a provocative object, to spark debate about future fashion."
Cass was inspired to create the dress when he was working in a vineyard many years ago, but it was not until he gained funding from an arts group that he was able to produce it.
Cass said fermenting wine produces a slimy, rubbery top layer caused by bacteria which, if left alone, keep spinning cellulose.
"We just took wine making to the next step," he said.
Beer lovers, we know what you're thinking: What about Bud Duds?
Not-so-bad ideas
- OK, after you've selected your wine wardrobe for a night on the town, what fragrance would be a good match? How about a cocoa cologne?
From chocolate-scented moisturizing cream to maple sugar scrub and honey lip balm, the beauty industry is finding ways to infuse high-style products with down-home aromas."Rather than you walking around smelling like food, it's how they're combined that makes them a little bit different," said Claudia Lucas, senior vice president at retailer Henri Bendel, which sells Aftelier Perfumes' Cacao, a mix of chocolate and blood orange, and Laura Mercier's Creme Brulee body washes and creams."Really, what you're responding to, underneath it all, is the gourmand notes," she said.Body-care firm Philosophy makes shower gel in scents of Red Velvet Cake and Cinnamon Buns, Lather makes Belgian Chocolate Body Whip moisturizer, Diana B. makes a maple sugar facial scrub, and lip glosses by Wink Beauty are flavored with chocolate. Jaqua Beauty makes mint chocolate-scented moisturizing cream and lip gloss."After a nice meal, you put that on, and you have the nice scent of the mint chocolate, like an after-dinner mint lingering on your lips, with no calories," said Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Jaqua spokeswoman Emily Proctor.Oh yeah, like that smell is not going to make you run to the nearest Godiva shop.
Chicago Cubs fans have been waiting for their team to win a World Series for almost 100 years, and even if this is not finally their year, die-hard fans will soon be able to show their support in the next life.
In September, casket and urn maker Eternal Image will start offering caskets emblazoned the names of eight Major League baseball teams — including the Cubbies, the New York Yankees, and of course, the Bronx Bombers' archrival Boston Red Sox.
Urns, which sit on a home plate-shaped base, topped with space to display an actual baseball, are available now.
When the company announced the team urn product last summer, they had to start a waiting list, according to their news release.
So it appears some will have to go into extra innings before entering into eternal rest.