Look, I made a thing!

It feels like forever since I actually made something! Other than mock ups I haven't actually made anything in a couple of months. And I made it just in time for the 3rd HSM challenge, YAY!

This last week I've been sick but I was feeling good enough to sew over the weekend. I was working on the mock up for my 1871 dress and I decided that I would need something to add some modesty to the low neckline.

In my research I've noticed that this type of thing wasn't a huge fashion fad at the time, but I was seeing similar things, coverings for the low necklines (a lot of them, I suspect, were removable to so the dress could also be worn in the evening without having to make a whole new bodice).

I pulled out my old Simplicity 1818 pattern that I've had literally forever (it was one of the first patterns I ever bought) and dug through my pathetic excuse of a stash to find some fabric. Luckily I actually had fabric that would work and that I liked!

I had the hardest time with the collar. As usual, the instructions were making no sense to me and the only reason I figured it out at all was because of the pictures. And even those were tough to decipher. What's worse is that the pieces weren't even the correct size!  It ended up taking me till the next day to figure it out.

 

The Challenge: Stash Busting

Fabric: White cotton (I think were old sheets) and printed cotton

Pattern: Simplicity 1818, although I did deviate from the pattern just a little bit.

Year: Technically 1860's but I'll be using it for the early 1870's

Notions: Buttons and ribbon

How historically accurate is it? I really have no idea, but I'm just gonna say 60%

Hours to complete: Probably around 5? It took me forever to figure out the collar

First worn: Not yet, as soon as I finish my 1871 dress

Total cost: $0.00! Wahoo! I suppose if you were to buy it new it would cost around $10-15?

Cinderella

A week or two ago (I seriously can't remember) I saw Cinderella, and it was fantastic! This post is sort of a review of the movie, but mostly focusing on the costumes.

The movie was put together really well, the actors all did amazing, the script was written well, and those costumes! I made a post a while back when they first released pictures of some of the costumes, and guys they're even more amazing on the big screen. Sandy Powell is seriously an amazing designer.

You could definitely see the early Victorian influences in the costumes throughout the movie, and I think that's part of why I like them so much. It helps it feel more grounded and real, like this land could actually exist.

I really love Ella's day dress, it's just so simple yet so pretty! The only thing about it is that it's too nice of a dress to be working in. But the way the movie played out made it alright.

I don't know if it was just coincidence or what, but there were a lot of similarity's with R+H's Cinderella with the fairy god mother. Actually, they had elements that were similar to 4 difference versions of Cinderella (counting the original Disney film). Which is not a bad thing, especially since they took some parts from the original fairy tale.

I have to say though, that I was a little disappointed with the transformation scene. After seeing the live dress transformation in R+H's Cinderella this just wasn't as exciting, although it was still beautiful, just not the same as live theatre.

To tell the truth, I wasn't so sure how much I would love Ella's ballgown. In some of the promo's it looked like it had a serious case of the "lampshade hoop", but I was pleasantly surprised that I fell completely in love with it. The dress is especially gorgeous in the ballroom scene while she's dancing with Kit.

On a side note, I know there has been a lot of talk about Lilly Jame's waist. Guys, just calm down. I've read a bit about this and yes she did wear a corset, but she didn't have it cinched in an unhealthy amount like a lot of people seem to think.

Lilly is very small to begin with, and while she is wearing a corset, that's not the only reason her waist looks so small. It's also because they added a lot of poof to her shoulders and to the skirt giving the allusion of a tiny waist. This trick has been around for centuries, so just chill people.

On to the Ella's step mother and sisters. Not just Ella's dresses were gorgeous, but Madame's outfits were all very chic with a 50's flare to them. And the step sisters had a definite 1830's flare which was perfect for their characters.

And let's not forget about the Prince, Kit. His uniform's (or whatever you want to call them) were very nice. The style of them was very down to earth, and yet the colors and embellishments gave it that fairy tale look while still being believable.

Oh, and the wedding dress at the end... I have no words. It's very simple compared to Ella's ball gown but is so gorgeous! I do have to say though that I think it looks better in the pictures than it did in the film, but that's probably just me...

Have you seen Cinderella yet? What did you think of it?

Mara Jade Begins

I've officially started working on my costume for May the 4th! This year I'm finally going to do Mara Jade, the one I've been posting about wanting to do for the last 2 years. I don't have a lot done of it yet, but I have got one of the most important parts for it, the wig. Mara jade isn't complete without her red hair.

Here's a picture of the wig. I opted to get one with bangs over a lace front because I didn't want to spend the time or the money on a lace front right now. Eventually I would like to get another Matilda in in red for Mara, but for now I got this wig from Epic Cosplay. It's the Hestia in Copper Red.

I want to get some better pictures soon, but that might not happen until I wear it with my Mara costume.

The particular version of Mara that I'll be doing is from the Japanese cover from the Dark Nest Trilogy. I really like this version because it's simple and just seems more like Mara's style to me than the other versions.

I started out planning on buying most of the clothing pieces with the exception of the vest, but after going shopping I realized I was doing to need pants that didn't have pockets on the back. After looking for a bit and not finding anything I decided that I'll make the pants too.

I found a tutorial with a free pattern for just plain, skinny pants HERE. I still haven't decided what kind of material to make them out of, but I'm not going to go with leather. I hate the way leather pants look, they just look cheap and tacky.

The belt and shoulder straps are going to be one of the toughest parts. Someone on the Rebel Legion forums made them with leather and polymer clay, so I'll probably end up doing something along the same lines.

Also, I'm gonna try and make her lightsaber, which will be a challenge. And I probably won't get the DL-44 blaster before May, but it's definitely something I'll be getting eventually.

So, we'll see how it goes. Right now I'm mostly focusing on my 1871 dress (which I just bought fabric for! YAY!), and then I'll work on this one more.

Also be sure to check out my wig review I did for this wig!

Costume Love | Going Green!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone! Today I have a special Costume Love post filled with my favorite green costumes. I hope you enjoy and have a great Saint Patrick's Day!

One of my favorites, Tiana's wedding dress from the Princess and the frog. I love this dress, but I would want to make it most since I'm Tiana. Yes, I'm a Disney Princess ;)

Anna's coronation dress from Frozen. One of my all time favorite Disney costumes!

Jacqueline's green dress from Ever After. The costumes in this movie are amazing. If you haven't seen it already, go and watch it. Like right now.

I love this Rapunzel cosplay based off of the concept art! Some of the concept designs had some beautiful costumes in them and I would love to make some of them one day.

And on the historical side we have a beautiful green 1860's dress.

What are some of your favorite costume?

Cinderella!

If you've been reading my blog for long then you should know about my love for the Broadway show Cinderella. For the last two years I've been following Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, waiting for it to go on tour and Sunday I finally got to see it! My sister Alina and I went to see it together and we had a such 'a lovely night'!

Our seats were near the back of the theater, on the 3rd mezzanine, so we were pretty far back but they still ended up being great seats. Oh and the theater was so pretty! This was my first time going to the Paramount and it's beautiful! It would be the perfect place to do a photo shoot for costumes.
Please ignore the quality of some of the images, I only took my phone with me to the theater.

We had our own little section with just 2 seats so we didn't have to sit by anyone :D

This was the view from our seats.


Cinderella was the first Broadway show that I really loved so it was really special that it was my first Broadway show that I've ever seen live in person. It was even more amazing than I thought it would be. Everything from the costumes and the dancing to the sets and the actors was beautifully put together. And those costumes are more amazing in person (even from where I was sitting)!

I was so excited when I found out that Paige Faure and Andy Jones were the main cast. The played the rolls on Broadway right after Laura and Santino left, and they (along with the whole cast) were amazing!

Our cast :D

By the end of the show my hands hurt from clapping so much. I laughed, I cried. It was a great show. And at the end there was a standing ovation, which was very much deserved.

After we got out of the theater my mom and dad joined us to go to the stage door. I got to meet some of the cast, get pictures with them, and they also signed my playbill! I got to meet Paige Faure (Ella), Andy Jones (Prince Topher), Kecia Lewis (Marie/Fairy Godmother), and David Andino (Jean-Michel).

With Paige Faure

With Andy Jones (he's way taller than he looked on the stage!)

With Kecia Lewis

I splurged and bought a program and a Cinderella T-Shirt, which I have been wanting forever! The program has beautiful pictures of the original cast with Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana and it talks a little bit about the show and some of the costume designs.

You can't really tell here, but it's sparkly

Here's my autographed playbill. It was so amazing to actually meet them! Now I can check 'meet famous people' off my bucket list. :)

And my shirt. Sorry for the poor quality, I'm horrible at taking pictures in the mirror.

I'm goign to be seeing Phantom in a few months, which I'm even more excited for now than ever! If I ever get the chance to go to New York, all I'm gonna do is see Broadway shows ;)

Guys, if you have the chance to see this show, see it! You will not regret it!