beaded and finished trim turned into a belt
This isn’t an especially exciting part of the costume, but pretty vital to give the outfit some shape – since the dress is quite shapeless. Since all of my other long belts are for my early-period Norse costumes, I needed to make something new (and blingy!) for this one.
gown on the dressform
In my last post, I discussed the Superhumeral, the embellished collar. I wasn’t able to find any information on the often-seen long hanging element of this costume though, so I’m referring to it as the ‘collar extension’ (or “hanging thing”, or “sash”, depending on how tired I am…)
Gown on the dress form – close up.
I love the big collar that seems to define the look of the Byzantine costumes, so it was high on my list of things to make for this costume. I really wanted to use the gorgeous trim that I bought at Bhatia’s Cloth House a while ago, but I couldn’t use it as-is.
In this post I’ll write about the collar, the wrist cuffs, and some of the other accessories that are part of this costume.
Direct link from Pinterest
This wacky-looking hat really appealed to me right off the bat – plus I love the chance to wear something other than a veil (I can never quite seem to arrange one so it doesn’t get in the way of everything). I’m pretty sure it’s also described in other writing as the “fan-shaped hat” though different hat depictions seem to give a basic shape, and a more exaggerated shape – so this could be two different hats.
Another version of this hat can be seen on “Dance of Miriam with the Israelite Women”, which I’ve been unable to find as a stand-alone image, but you can see in Lady Ariadne Karbonopsina’s documentation.
The cocktail hat or fascinator for my “Enchantment Under the Sea” costume.
You’re never fully dressed without a … hat!
I looked at hats from the 1950s and saw they were as diverse as hats today (albeit probably more commonly worn than today..) I opted for a small fascinator/cocktail hat, since it was a “prom” dress costume after all. (Other common options were wide-brimmed hats which seemed less workable). I wanted the hat to look like a nautilus shell curled up, accented with things like starfish, netting, etc.. Continue reading
Dawn's Dress Diary 