Friday, October 8, 2010

The Princess Bride Wedding Dress

The  inspiration:

Wedding dress from the movie 'The Princess Bride'.

The movie dress appears to be a semi sheer blue/silver floral brocade with a high waistline, lacing in front. Extra long slim sleeves with flowing oversleeves. Bodice appears to be decorated with some type of silver metallic lace. Cream/white sheer chemise accented with jewel trim.


My fabric -  a vintage cream/silver brocade drapery in a scroll and diamond pattern. The moment I saw the fabric, the Princess Bride dress and the Ever After 'breathe' dress came to mind. The Princess Bride dress won.

I used a combination of several pattern to achieve the look of the dress.

Bodice:
 Based on the Regency short stays from the Sense and Sensibility Underthings Pattern

 Over sleeve:
by Janet Arnold - oversleeve pattern pg. 113

Under Sleeve:
by Janet Arnold - Regency sleeve pattern pg. 48

Skirt:

Inspiration Pictures:

The closest historical basis I could find for the dress were a few Italian Renassaince pieces, and some silhouettes from the late 13th c.





I thought about jumping off something for the photo shoot, but *ahem* decided against it.


The sleeves turned out perfect - the Tudor-era over sleeve pattern from the Janet Arnold book was just the right shape, length, and drape. I did have a little trouble during construction, though. The sleeve was so heavy that it was pulling  the bodice down off the shoulders! But - after I added a drawstring at the neckline, that really helped to keep everything in place.


I also had a bit of a dilemma about how to work out the front lacing opening on the bodice with the ungathered skirt front. I finally decided to make the dress two pieces. Thus, the skirt is not attached to the front-opening bodice, it is back opening and attached to 'suspenders'. (I saw this method on a Regency dress in 19th C. Fashion in Detail) The bodice laces with cream ribbon through hand sewn eyelets.

In the movie, Buttercup's dress appears to have a semi-sheer chemise underneath. I decided to make mine out of two layers - one of muslin and one of sheer voile. That way I could get the look of the soft sheer, but not the immodest transparent-ness. :^) The trim on the chemise is a broken vintage pearl necklace that I hand-stitched into place.

The crown is a rhinestone tiarra that was leftover from the drama days.
Skirt is plain in front, at sides and back has large pleats facing the center back, and comes to a slight train at hem.




Yeah! Now I just need a place/event to wear the dress - and my 'true love' to show up, right?

22 comments:

  1. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
    I love it miss Atlanta!!

    Meg

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  2. Ohhhh, that is soooooo beautiful, Atlanta!!! Actually, I like yours better than Buttercup's! Thank you for sharing the construction notes too.... I love how you borrowed from so many different patterns! I love doing that! ;-)

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  3. Oh oh OH!!! That dress is luscious! Wow, very, very impressive.

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  4. Delightful! I LOVE it! That movie is a favorite of mine. I'm continually amazed by how acurate your dresses and other outfits are! Do you sell them?

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  5. It's absolutely gorgeous! You did a fantastic job! I love Buttercup's costumes, they're so elegant! And I love the way you have your hair for the photos, so lovely!

    God Bless,
    Miss Laurie :)

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  6. Atlanta! That is simply amazingly beautiful! You did an awesome job and it looks so great on you! The fabric is just perfect. :D

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  7. Sublime! I love the fact that you put so much detail into this gown - there's nothing cheap and "costumish" about it. Truly of movie screen caliber. Love it!!

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  8. Oh, I love that movie, even though it is *ahem* a little cheesy. =)
    Wow! The dress is gorgeous - you did a beautiful job!
    Blessings,
    ~Annie~

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  9. Gorgeous! I like it better than Buttercup's! You did a great job. That movie has some great costumes, but yours is "inconceivable". :-)

    Joanna

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  10. Love, love, love! There are so many amazing costume inspirations in that movie--I would love to have the red gown Buttercup wears when riding :)

    Thanks for not risking life and limb with a jump, but the dress would have looked great mid-air!

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  11. That is so beautiful! You always amaze me with your dress/costume making skills. I would have no idea where to begin with such a detailed dress.

    ~Kristin

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  12. Thank you so much, everyone!!

    Charity, yes I do sell some costumes in my Etsy store, but never the ones I make for myself. :^)

    Joanna - ROFL!!!

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  13. How beautiful Atlanta,
    It is truly lovely.

    My sis to be ( getting married tomorrow ), and I made the Breathe Dress, from Ever After for her wedding dress. I promised her I would not post pics of it 'till after the wedding, oh well :)

    ~Rosie

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  14. That is absolutely gorgeous!!
    Genevieve

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  15. You did a beautiful job! And I agree with Elinor, I like it better than Buttercup's!
    Through Christ,
    LH

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  16. Rosie - do let me know when you post pictures of the wedding dress, I'd love to see them!!

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  17. I love the fabric that you chose! It's very elegant!

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  18. So, so sweet! I'm so impressed with all the different patterns you combined!

    Suddenly I've realised that I have some vintage brocade of my grandmothers that would also be perfect for this gown - someday when I have free time (not likely!)

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  19. This is such a beautiful reproduction! It's so lovely! Looks like it's fun to wear. : )

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  20. Oh wow you did a great. Will you make one for me. My prince found me 20 years ago. Yours will found you you to.
    Always
    Hartrose33

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  21. Lovely job.

    Caytlin Sebo

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  22. Oh my gosh, this dress is beautiful and perfect! I wish I had your talent for sewing as my daughter would love this dress.

    And ... your prince will show up when you're looking in another direction. Never fails!

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