Construction Details:

MY GOD. This is one of the most intricate costumes I've ever done. The design is based off a 1909 garden party dress; each of the seven sins in our group was assigned a specific timeframe of historical fashion. Mine was Edwardian, which falls between 1900 and 1910. No patterns for such dresses exist in my size, so the entire dress was draped and fitted from scratch. It has a two layer, five gore skirt, with a small gathered train. The top has fluttery sleeves (my costume was very distressed for the purpose of the sin) and a lace yoke. It also has bead work and a LOT of Swarovski crystals. The front of the yoke is decorated with two genuine bird skulls. The spine in the back was made vertebrae-by-vertebrae from model magic. The wings are bamboo & wire frame with turkey quills and were articulated so that I could fold them down to get into my suitcase. The only thing I DIDN'T make was the pair of shoes I wore!

Personal Thoughts:

The costume immediately became retired. Between the intense makeup (liquid latex and "scrapes", mainly) and the fact that our group would probably never be together again... This was a one-shot. Distressing it was fun. Envisioning and sketching it was fun, too, and tremendously rewarding when the outcome was so much like I wanted it to be. I was able to use reclaimed pieces from a Victorian dress (earlier era, but still relevant) to add details. I love this costume.

Styling Notes

I trimmed the wig and used the trimmings to make rats - this is how women did their hair during the period - which I pinned to the sides of the wig and wrapped curls around. Normally, the hair would be tucked completely in, with a bun at the nape, but I left it loose and a little wild for the character.

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