Happy Halloween
This year, I decided I simply need a costume. I have skipped out on this tradition far too often for someone who adores costumes and costuming as much as I do. Of course, I decided this far too late in the game, and it took me a little while to figure out what I wanted to do. I wanted something unique. That's not to say I wanted something "No One Has Ever Seen/Done Before!" because I don't begin to imagine that there's much left undone, or that I'm special enough to need something so spectacular. Still, I wanted to stand out, and I wanted it to be reusable (D*Con anyone?). A dear friend (thank you Michael!) gave me the recommendation I finally chose:
Fairy Doctor
Just what the heck is a Fairy Doctor, you might ask? Well, let me put it this way... imagine a fairy. The fae are wild and beautiful, natural but ethereal, right? They have a mysticism about them. I mean, just look at this picture if you want an example of what I mean:
Now that you have that image and similar in your mind, imagine a doctor. Especially with regards to a Halloween costume. Doctors are crisp and clean, friendly, orderly, and confident. You imagine white lab coats; a smiling, trustworthy face; and a cold, cold stethoscope. Maybe a black medical bag for door to door calls, depending on the era. Or maybe something like this (ignore their frownie angry faces):
Well, what I intend to do is merge these two images together. I will dress as a fairy who happens to be a doctor (to other fairies of course). As such, said fairy will have taken on human fashion ideas and incorporated them into her attire. ragresen has recommended that I go with a Victorian doctor coat, which would be double breasted, and I think I like that idea. I just can't seem to find any pictures of it!
Essentially, I have it in my head that I want to make the fairy skirt something like the following:
My problems? Well I want it to be a fairly normal dress other than the skirt, so I need to figure out what style I want the top of the dress. I'm going to make the skirt shorter than that, but keep it in the same style. It's going to take forever, and the girl who made this one did NOT give much in the way of a how-to, so I need ideas on how to do this. All she said was:
I started by cutting fabric into petal shapes, then ordered them by size. Then I sewed them to strips of cotton drill (that sounds SO much simpler than how it really was), and sewed those strips together. Talk about hard work! Then I sewed the whole skirt part to a top I bought.
Not much to go on, is it? I've got my work cut out for me. I most certainly won't be sewing it to some random top, though. I want a well made dress out of this, complete with back zipper and interfacing to support the weight of the skirt where necessary. I want this to be a dress I could wear non-costume that will just have an awesome flair to the skirt, with a top and wings to be some random colorful fairy, and with the specific DOCTOR top to be my Fairy Doctor.
For the Doctor coat, I know that I want it double breasted and fitted to my figure. I know the whole thing will be made to be worn with my corset, so I will have a figure to show off (and support for my wings). I want the jacket to terminate at my waist in the front (so the skirt top is the first to show) and flare a bit in the back to blend more. I also know it should be a thicker/sturdier material so the dress (probably a black top makes most sense for that, yes?) doesn't show through, and it will need slits in the back (with button closures perhaps?) to allow wing access.
I guess that's all I know so far, really. I made a "petal" pattern and started cutting out my 'scrap' fabric. I need to find a lot more and mix up the colors some. I have so much, but there are some patterns I just can't see myself using for this. It's hard to decide what I'm going to cut up. I need to figure out a lot and I really need to get cranking. So, dear friends, any advice? Suggestions? Ideas you think I should incorporate? Changes you think I should make? Raving reviews of how awesome this idea is?
I have very, very little by way of ideas on the wings, too, btw. Anyone have suggestions/experience?
Fairy Doctor
Just what the heck is a Fairy Doctor, you might ask? Well, let me put it this way... imagine a fairy. The fae are wild and beautiful, natural but ethereal, right? They have a mysticism about them. I mean, just look at this picture if you want an example of what I mean:
Now that you have that image and similar in your mind, imagine a doctor. Especially with regards to a Halloween costume. Doctors are crisp and clean, friendly, orderly, and confident. You imagine white lab coats; a smiling, trustworthy face; and a cold, cold stethoscope. Maybe a black medical bag for door to door calls, depending on the era. Or maybe something like this (ignore their frownie angry faces):
Well, what I intend to do is merge these two images together. I will dress as a fairy who happens to be a doctor (to other fairies of course). As such, said fairy will have taken on human fashion ideas and incorporated them into her attire. ragresen has recommended that I go with a Victorian doctor coat, which would be double breasted, and I think I like that idea. I just can't seem to find any pictures of it!
Essentially, I have it in my head that I want to make the fairy skirt something like the following:
My problems? Well I want it to be a fairly normal dress other than the skirt, so I need to figure out what style I want the top of the dress. I'm going to make the skirt shorter than that, but keep it in the same style. It's going to take forever, and the girl who made this one did NOT give much in the way of a how-to, so I need ideas on how to do this. All she said was:
I started by cutting fabric into petal shapes, then ordered them by size. Then I sewed them to strips of cotton drill (that sounds SO much simpler than how it really was), and sewed those strips together. Talk about hard work! Then I sewed the whole skirt part to a top I bought.
Not much to go on, is it? I've got my work cut out for me. I most certainly won't be sewing it to some random top, though. I want a well made dress out of this, complete with back zipper and interfacing to support the weight of the skirt where necessary. I want this to be a dress I could wear non-costume that will just have an awesome flair to the skirt, with a top and wings to be some random colorful fairy, and with the specific DOCTOR top to be my Fairy Doctor.
For the Doctor coat, I know that I want it double breasted and fitted to my figure. I know the whole thing will be made to be worn with my corset, so I will have a figure to show off (and support for my wings). I want the jacket to terminate at my waist in the front (so the skirt top is the first to show) and flare a bit in the back to blend more. I also know it should be a thicker/sturdier material so the dress (probably a black top makes most sense for that, yes?) doesn't show through, and it will need slits in the back (with button closures perhaps?) to allow wing access.
I guess that's all I know so far, really. I made a "petal" pattern and started cutting out my 'scrap' fabric. I need to find a lot more and mix up the colors some. I have so much, but there are some patterns I just can't see myself using for this. It's hard to decide what I'm going to cut up. I need to figure out a lot and I really need to get cranking. So, dear friends, any advice? Suggestions? Ideas you think I should incorporate? Changes you think I should make? Raving reviews of how awesome this idea is?
I have very, very little by way of ideas on the wings, too, btw. Anyone have suggestions/experience?