The Singing Costumer

Cruella is, of course, the villain of the classic 1961 Disney animated feature 101 Dalmatians . This is my first foray into the realm of villains. This costume was for a birthday party.  I didn't have much notice, so this had to be gathered from thrift stores and quickly put together. I think it was acceptable for a first attempt :-) First, naturally, is the faux fur coat. Which I didn't actually wear to the party. Due to it being July in Oklahoma. My good friend found it at a thrift store last winter. He also found the wig.  "I live for furs. I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn't?" Cruella, 101 Dalmatians Next is the dress. Also thrifted, since I didn't have time to order fabric and make a gown. The gloves were ordered on Amazon Prime, and arrived in plenty of time. The earrings I made. I found a keychain of the perfect color and shape at Hobby Lobby. Take it off the keychain, attach fi

I have had the idea to sew a special Christmas dress the last few years, but I never found a fabric and pattern combination that really spoke to me til this past year, 2016. I've been wanting a matching dress and coat for several years. You don't find these sets in stores very often, though you can find patterns to sew your own. And that's exactly what I did. My inspiration was the classic sets from the 1950s and 1960s. Also, the Duchess of Cambridge has recently worn several beautiful ensembles that I have really loved.  Here's a couple patterns I found in my stash. This is from the '60s. So cute, but I don't like sleeveless dresses. I get too cold. Ok, so I couldn't wear this one, but I had to include it anyway. PRECIOUS! A modern pattern. I like the dress.  This is the pattern that I eventually chose. It is a vintage reprint, Simplicity 1284. And my version I made the short sleeve dress and the coat. I had this burgund

Go ahead and make all the jokes you want about how I should "let it go'', but I love Frozen. The theme of sisters taking care of each other touched me deeply. I've known I wanted to make her dress from my first viewing of the movie. And in 2015, I found a perfect fabric on Etsy, so I knew I had found my Halloween costume. I used Simplicity 0746 for the skirt and bodice. It happened to fit me very well right out of the package, which is not always the case. I did end up moving the opening to the side instead of the back, to make dressing easier. Hook and eye tape made a very nice closure. I looked all over for sequins of the right shape and size. Rectangular sequins are almost impossible to find, I soon learned. Finally found some on Etsy from a seller in Australia. Sadly, I ordered way too few and by the time I realized this, it was too late to get them in time for Halloween. I finally sewed them on the bodice in May of 2016. And then even more later on. And I s