'It has to look good on stage,” says Tauranga tailor Cherryl Marriott, who has spent a lifetime making clothes, about the eye-catching and headline-making entries into each year's World of Wearable (WOW) Arts competition.

Her entry last year inspired a trip back into time to find out about long lost life of one of her great uncles in the trenches of WW1.

Tauranga's Cherryll Marriott's enjoys tailoring.

It was a journey that reveal a lot about that generation of her family.

The entry was a WWI soldier's uniform with stitchings of battle maps, incorporation memorabilia from the war life of her grandfather's brother, who fought and died in WWI at age 20.

The uniform's jacket is lined with 650 poppies representing the men from her great uncle's regiment who died in the Great War.

'That generation just didn't talk about those war experiences. I had no idea. I found there was another great uncle who also died in the war. He was 19, while the other uncle was just 20. I have a picture of his grave site,” she says.

She has since discovered so much more about her forebears and found some memorabilia for sale online that related to her great uncle.

She's been entering WOW regularly since 2006, inspired by her daughter Tanya, who had been a section finalist before then. Her first entry was a joint project with her daughter.

Cherryll's past entries have included a mammogram bra, and a dancing peacock.

Cherryl has always made her own clothes and sews outfits for her husband and children. She's also done plenty of bridal wear and enjoys making unusual outfits, usually to order.

Unusual, or quirky as she calls them, means making period costumes, 17^th Century, Victorian, while quirky may describe the pirate outfits for the only officially recognised marriage celebrant of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the country.

'Sewing is my passion. I cannot imagine a life without it,” she says.

Cherryl specialises in men's tailoring and makes clothes for tall and slim guys or petite and slim guys. 'It is really hard to find clothes for men with an athletic build,” says Cherryl.

Ideas are swimming around in her head for this year's entry, which is likely something to do with baroque/rococo art, she says.

This year's Wearable Art competition is held at the TSB Arena in Wellington from 22 Sept-9 Oct.

The soldier's uniform being modelled on stage during the World of Wearable Arts final last year.

Some of the stitching done and the poppies inside the jacket.