Tilly Dunnage

Myrtle ("Tilly") Dunnage is the female protagonist in Rosalie Ham's 2000 romance drama novel The Dressmaker. She was portrayed by Kate Winslet in the 2015 film adaptation of the novel.
==Overview==
After leaving Dungatar, Myrtle worked in the fashion industry throughout Europe and on her return becomes the new popular dressmaker of the town.
==Personality==
==Biography==
In 1951, Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage returns to her childhood home of Dungatar in rural Victoria to take care of her elderly mother, known to the town as "Mad Molly". She was taken away at ten, accused of a crime she cannot remember, and has since worked in Melbourne, Paris, and London as a highly trained and skilled seamstress. However, the town has not forgotten the murder that she cannot remember. Her sewing skills regain her some favour with the townspeople, but few seem to actively like her. One of the few is Teddy McSwiney, star of the Dungatar football team; another is Sergeant Farrat, the local cop with an interest in fashion.
As Tilly settles back into rural life, her relationships and the relationships of those around change and grow, but throughout, she is fearful of a curse that she believes she has, leaving her loved ones in danger and her alone.
== Appearance ==
In the original novel, Tilly was described to be an exceptionally beautiful and attractive young woman: tall, slim yet well-built, with thick lush hair that fell about her strong shoulders, a full lovely mouth, and an alabaster-white complexion. As a highly professional tailoress, dressmaker, and even beautician, she also always dressed in a stylish, elegant, and fashionable way that set off her features and her figure to full advantage.
== Abilities ==
* Dressmaking: As a qualified tailoress and dressmaker who had travelled far and wide (Melbourne, London, Spain, Milan, and Paris) to learn and hone her craft, Tilly was extremely skilled in making clothes that could not only make plain unassuming people look both beautiful and glamourous, but also either conceal one's physical defects or make those defects look appealing instead. Gertrude Pratt, for instance, was transformed from "an unremarkable brunette with quiver-thighs and unbeautiful breasts" into a "lovely, curvy, and succulent" bride in the wedding gown Tilly made for her. Sergeant Horatio Farrat, a secret lover of fashion as well as a skillful tailor himself, also praised Tilly as "a real couturier".
* Beautification: Tilly was a skillful beautician - she taught the Dungatar townswomen style and fashion, how to groom and coif their hair, how to make jewellery and adornments that suited them, how to properly put on makeup, how to pick the right patterns and designs for their respective body shapes, and even how to pick perfumes that "reflected the mood of their clothes".
* Horticulture: Tilly was an accomplished horticulturist - even in the midst of caring for her aging mother, managing household chores, and later, running her dressmaking business, she successfully planted and maintained an extremely lush garden of flowers, vegetables, and herbs.
*Herbalism: Tilly was a skillful herbalist - she used herbs and vegetable oils from her garden to alleviate Irma Almanac's arthritis pain, and later on, before her mother passed on from a stroke, she used a mixture of herbs, honey, and even flowers to ease her mother's pain.
*Culinary Arts: Tilly was a good cook and baker - while living with her mother, she was the one responsible for cooking their daily meals, and she also baked cakes for Irma Almanac (which she had prepared with herbs and vegetable oils from her garden), who remarked on their "unusual aroma".
==Trivia==
==Gallery==
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