Wow, wow, wow! This dress is just beautiful by Angela Clayton. You may recognize Angela’s name as we have blogged about her Elsa costume from Frozen. This dress was inspired by Christmas past.
I was sort of inspired by a Christmas angel we had for our tree when I was younger. She wore an organza ivory dress trimmed with gold, and lights were mounted on the inside to make it glow. Sticking with that theme, I decided on a gathered tulle bodice with braided trim to have almost a medieval saintly feeling.
Angela’s design really works because she spent time layering textures. You can see the base skirt uses organza with a variety of gold holiday materials purchased at a craft store. I really like how she trimmed extra leaves off the garland and attached them at intervals as if they are climbing. It really looks like a fairy fern garden at this point.
Then, she stitched simple white LED strands throughout the gold decorations, as well as higher up into the dress. Pockets were created to hold the battery packs along the back seam, which is a good support area. Gentle diffusion comes from a layer of tulle on the outside of the skirt. Test time is awesome!
Angela’s final mission was to create a simple bodice for the dress, which wouldn’t compete with the detailed skirt. After a discovery process with materials, she created a braided tulle and gold ribbon edge around the neckline, similar to what you might find in medieval clothing as she first proposed. It is almost like a ballerina’s outfit for Swan Lake.
Angela had other ideas for this costume, like placing candles in the crown, much like Santa Lucia. However, she had problems keeping them steady, and didn’t want them to become a fire hazard. As I used to work for Ikea many years ago, I can attest that Santa Lucia crowns are something that you don’t want to mess with, especially around wigs. Anyway, despite the lack of candles, Angela was pleased with the result.
I’m really happy with how this turned out. I hope we get snow soon, so I can get pictures of it in that environment.
I’m sure Angela is having the best holiday ever posing as an angell. As for me, I can’t wait until the new year to see what she designs next. You can check out Angela’s details on this costume, as well as others, on her blog, and if you are interested in some simple white LED strands, check out these Litex strands. They are mounted on a white fabric ribbon and have a tiny battery pack for easy-peasy glow. So, go be an angel already.
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