:: scarlet costuming :: dorme, AotC ::

like any good star wars fan, i just *had* to have something to wear to the premiere and to the ensuing costume contest, and although i had alot of stuff to make padme's parade dress on hand, i just wasn't feeling the proverbial love. but, when i watched a nice lil' star wars marathon, i realized that this gown was perfect...not only was it goregeous, but it looked relatively easy and functional-- and the wig was something i could do as well..

so, from beginning to end, this costume's cost was approximately $10 and took approximately two weeks of intermittent work.

i had no formal patterns, save the torso and chest area of the jacket dress. the collar was suprisingly easy to figure out how to cut without any pattern. shawl collars aren't as bad as i previously thought...by cutting two large, curved rectangles out of scrap fabric, basting the midpoints together at an angle, then cutting and trimming a bit more i was able to get a smooth, sleek and seamless shape.

::the underdress::

is made of a baby blue rayon material that's medium weight, and overlaid by a sheer navy fabric. it's sleeveless and has an expanded back to allow for the specialized crinoline's pouf. the collar is a mock turtleneck with a hook and eye fastening top.

::the jacket::

is made of a navy rayon that is opaque, with the bright blue highlights in some strange acetate/lycra/rayon blend i found scraps of in my fabric cache. the bottom of the jacket has a lengthener of the sheer navy. the collar is a lined shawl collar, and the middle fastens up with an embroidered placket. the sides of the jacket and the pockets were very difficult to get right and involved lots of basting, pinning, and scrap fabric until i finally got things right..., and i'm still not totally happy with them.

in the original, the bright blue is the lining and pops out at the top of the pocket, but in my version, i opted to have it as a background for the top of the pocket. i stuffed the pockets, too, and "tied" the bottoms to get the same look as in the original costume.

i took an old crinoline from the demolished prom dress i used for my dr. girlfriend costume and moved all the tulle and then some to the back quarter of the base. it gave the costume the back "umph" that the reference pics have.

::the wig::

well, i had several old hairpieces that went into making it, a mona lisa 'grace' wig, a drawstring ponytails, and one snap-on 3/4 wig. i fastened the side braids to the interior (as with the other hunks of hair) via using twisty ties i'd salvaged from fake hair packages over the years from kanekalon and toykalon and such... if you would like any additional details or how to's, please email me.