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Belle's Ballgown - It's only taken me 30 years to make this

 How do I even begin this blog? Little baby Sarah’s dreams are coming true! Beauty and the Beast has been my favorite Disney movie since the first time I saw it as a little girl. I am still obsessed with the gorgeous stained glass imagery, the catchy Alan Menken music matched perfectly with the clever Howard Ashman lyrics, the flawlessly flawed villain in Gaston, the timeless story… I could go on and on. I was honored to be cast in a production as a Silly Girl in summer 2021. 


    This dress has been in the works for at least 5 years. I found an Instagram post from 2016, announcing Belle as my Halloween costume that year. That didn’t happen. A few years later, it was almost finished, then I decided I didn’t like the design. I added another layer to the skirts.  And finally here in 2021, I am finishing it up. It consists of a separate bodice and skirt with multiple layers. 



    For the bodice, I added boning and slightly adjusted the shoulder swags on the bodice. I don’t even know what pattern I used at this point. But I can tell you it is made of 1 layer of a light muslin, 1 layer of a bright yellow polyester satin (yuck), and 1 layer of a sheer poly chiffon in more of a bronze color. That last layer is key to making the look work. I was (and still am) adamant that the “yellow” dress is actually supposed to be gold. I hate most versions of this dress made in a sunshine yellow. No. That is NOT a regal, elegant look. And don’t get me started again on the 2017 version. I believe I have mentioned my hatred of that gown before. 


    I used Mccall’s 4090 for the skirt. I first made this skirt with 1 layer of yellow poly satin and 1 layer of bronze chiffon. But when I pulled up the chiffon for the gathered swags, I hated the way the yellow underlayer showed through. So I took the layers off the waistband and added a 2nd chiffon layer to cover the base fabric. That was a couple years ago. This year, I had to make a new waistband for the skirt. I had some difficulty choosing how to do the swags on the skirt. First, I cut the chiffon wider and longer than the satin.  Second, I gathered the chiffon evenly from top to bottom. And lastly, I sewed the two layers together to keep the gathers in place. The top chiffon layer was done in a similar way.


    I had a difficult time choosing jewelry and accessories. Do I go for plain and simple round shapes, like the animation? Do I go for a Disneyland look? Is the jewelry supposed to be pearls? And what is going on with her hair? A bun? A ponytail half-up?  And is that a ribbon in her hair or a mini tiara? Ahh. Too many choices. In the end, I couldn’t decide and I ran out of time. So I just went with some plain gold buttons for the bodice jewelry and made the same buttons in earrings. This wig was purchased a few years ago from Royal Enchantments on Etsy.  Perhaps I will make some jewelry with Topaz gems for an updated version later? 

    I am so excited to be celebrating this classic movie’s 30th anniversary.  (How has it been that long?) The close match to the animated design that I was able to achieve was well worth the time and hard work. It pleases me to no end.


Yours in hard work, creativity, and a dash of Pixie Dust


Sarah









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