I have written about Virginia Woolf and fashion before, but this time is different. This time the garment could bring Woolf’s words closer to our hearts. Literally.

But fashionistas who don the simple sheath dress made out of recycled shipping paper won’t have long to enjoy it. Why, you ask? Because it is designed to disintegrate.

The wearer’s body heat causes the outer shell of the dress to wear away. And what’s left is a layer covered with handwritten quotes from famous folks like Charles Dickens, Dalai Lama, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Mahatma Ghandi, Agatha Christie — and, of course, Virginia Woolf.

As you can see from the drawing at the left, the Woolf quote is located front and center on the bodice, close to the heart.

Said to mimic “supple leather sheath,” the dress was created by designer Sylvia Heisel, in collaboration with Brooklyn, New York’s Paper No. 9‘s Rebecca Cole Marshall.

Read more about Woolf and fashion on Blogging Woolf:

• Here comes the Virginia gown
• Woolf and an invitation to fashion
• Five fashionable views of Virginia
• Did Woolf carry a handbag when street-haunting?
• Woolf shoes hold porcelain stones and meaning
• Would Virginia have a penchant for pendants?
• Every girl needs a Virginia Woolf dress