Weekly Tip

When searching for ideas for a costume, books on art are very helpful. They provide detailed pictures of almost any style or period you want. By using these you can easily create a beautiful gown which is also historically accurate. 

Nefertiti Headpiece

Here are some pictures of the headpiece so far. It still needs some more painting, along with a few other adjustments. The hat consists of a large white bucket and top, paper, oil and acrylic paint, cardboard, glue and tape.

Weekly Tip

Always sketch out drawings of your ideas for your costume. It can help you figure out exactly what you want it to look like and sometimes inspire you to adjust certain parts to make it even better.

Idea for Halloween '09

I've been thinking ahead and have decided to start a halloween costume early so I can spend a lot of time perfecting it. I had sketched out a few ideas of egyptians and mummies last year but decided on the masquerade gown instead since I didn't have the right pieces for an egyptian costume. But this year the pieces have begun to show up and I have started designing a Queen Nefertiti dress. I still am not perfectly sure if this is what I will be, but I'm hoping it will work out.

Here is a sketch of what I'm hoping I can get it to look like:

Weekly Tip

Always start out simple. Once you have created the basic style you can then decide whether you want to add more detail or not.

Renaissance Gown

This dress was created for no particular event but I thought it might come in handy in the future. It consists of a bodice I sewed (without a pattern) from fabric used to cover my dining room chairs, a red dress my Aunt gave to me, a long brown velvet skirt I found in my laundry room and a shoe lace.

Here are some pictures of each piece:

  

Step 1. The left over fabric from the dining room chairs was sewn into a three-piece renaissance bodice which laced up the back.

Step 2.  The front of the red dress was cinched up more to create a prettier neckline.

Step 3. Two slits were cut down the length of each sleeve so that they draped off the arms.

Step 4. The bodice was laced (by the shoe lace) over the red dress which was placed over the brown skirt. Then the side of the red dress was hitched up at one hip and the sleeves were pushed up above the elbow.

Weekly Tip

Thrift stores and garage sales are great places to search for a cheap base to a costume. But you have to remember to keep an open mind and consider the ways you could adapt that tacky prom dress into your own stylish gown.

Masquerade Ball Gown for Halloween 2008

For Halloween in 2008 I created a masquerade ball gown. I used a prom dress from the thirft store, one of my Mom's old black skirts, a white ruffled underskirt that my sister used for plays, black stockings, some old white satin, pearl beads and some leftover lace from a ballet costume.

The prom dress was black with red plaid. It was strapless with a ruffled skirt. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the dress before I started changing it. 

Now, here are the steps in which the prom dress was transformed into the ball gown:

Step 1. The red plaid was removed from the hips and skirt.

Step 2. The bodice was detached from the skirt.

Step 3. The plastic ribbing inside the bodice was shortened and the seams were taken in about an inch to give it a more fitted, baroque-style look.

Step 4. The old white satin and beads were used to decorate the front of the bodice.

Step 5. The two black ruffles from the skirt were taken off. One was sewn around the bottom of the bodice to create a cinched flair around the hips. The other was sewn to the top back and then pulled over the shoulders and sewn to the front to form the back and the ruffled capped sleeves.

Step 6. The shortened legs of the black stockings were sewn to the capped sleeves.

Step 7. White lace was added to the black stockings to form bell sleeves at the elbows.

Step 8. Satin trim was added around the neckline and lace to the front of the bodice.

Step 9.  A strip was cut out of the front of the long, black skirt to show the white underskirt down the center.

Step 10. I plastered my hair into a Marie Antoinette style, decorated a mask and fan, put all the pieces of my costume on and went trick-or-treating!