Here is the final product....
I made the costume out of costume satin. The bodice and underskirt came from a pattern that I modified. The ruffles on the skirt are attached directly to the underskirt. Here's a picture of the skirt with the top ruffle attached...showing the underskirt...
The bodice is lined, but doesn't have any boning. Update...I highly recommend adding boning to the bodice. If you sew fabric channels into the seams at the sides and front where the ruffles are, you can slide the boning in. Find boning in the notions section of the fabric store. It costs less than $10 and makes a world of difference in the crispness of the finished product. The skirt ruffles have a doubled ruffle of blue tulle under each one to make them fluffy. The dark blue trim on the top of the bodice is upholstery piping with satin over the top...here's a slightly closer picture...
There's a zipper in the back.
The blue wig was one we bought from Meijer...since it was close to Halloween, they were plentiful. You can find them on websites too. The yellow star hair pieces were wood star cut outs. I painted them yellow with acrylic paint, and attached velcro to the backs. They attach to the wig by placing the soft side of the velcro under several strands of hair and placing the stars with the poky velcro over the top. They're adjustable this way.
I used the wood stars again and glued them to earring findings to create the earrings. The shell necklace was a real shell that I painted blue and strung on a cord.
The gloves were cheap cotton costume gloves I dyed with the acrylic paint and water. The wavy arm and leg pieces are the costume fabric with heavy fusible interfacing. I put elastic in the arm piece so they could slide over the gloves, but they kept sliding around, so I'll stitch them directly to the gloves.
The leg pieces are basted directly to the boots at the bottom with a stitch or two near the top to keep them from flopping around. The boots were black, calf high...got 'em at Walmart. I painted them with Gesso and fabric paint, but the paint cracked anyway. This time I sanded the peeling paint and got a spray paint formulated for plastic. We'll see if it holds up. Update...The spray paint for plastic didn't hold up either. I've talked to a couple of costumers and a props master. They recommend using a paint specifically formulated for shoes. I haven't had time to locate any yet, but the quest continues.
I found a wood bead necklace at the thrift store that I spray painted blue, and cut apart for the wrists and ankles. I glued a small piece of elastic to the back where the beads meet to make it easier to get the gloves and boots on and off. The current pictures don't show the beads...didn't get them done in time for this Animecon. Update...Here's a pic from the March 2009 animecon. (Hanon and Luchia) You can see the beads on Hanon's wrist. These same beads circle the ankles over the top of the boots too. Notice the bodice is a little slouchy looking. If she decides not to retire this outfit, I'll add boning before the March 2010 animecon.
