DragonCon 2004

DragonCon '04 was right before I got married, and my lovely friends threw me a surprise Lord of the Rings wedding shower. (I'm horrible with surprises, but I was so grateful, and it was a fun party.)

I had an Eowyn gown, and a new Pirates of the Caribbean gown, and Moulin Rouge was still really popular.  It was a really great year.

Also, holy crap, I met Nathan Fillion! He was as nice then as I hear he is now.

More pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggie42/sets/72157624449676335/
http://www.padawansguide.com/dragoncon_04.shtml

Lord of the Rings Eowyn Shieldmaiden Gown

I loved this costume right away and when I found the perfect crinkled jacquard silk for the skirt and sleeves, I knew I had to make it! The corset and vest are made of a brown suede fabric. I quilted the corset, and trimmed it and the vest with two different trims to give the effect of the embroidery. The corset was modified to be an over-the-bust corset, rather than an under-the-bust one like the real one. The undergown is made of china silk that has an embroidered and pintucked neckline. The lower sleeves and overskirt are made of the crinkled silk jacquard. The lower sleeves are gathered and tied with cord, and braided trim wraps around the upper sleeves.

Here is the web page for my costume with my research and more photos:
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_sm.html

Two of these are SisterSola's pics, and one is Kaydee's.

 

Lord of the Rings Eowyn Green Gown

This gown was made from a green moleskin fabric. The yoke, sleeve lining, undersleeves, underskirt, and skirt panel are made from a green brocade. The yoke was quilted by me. The trim lining the collar is exactly the same trim used in the movie costume. The yoke trim is a similar bullion trim, but not exact. The belt was bought at Target and repainted gold. The front over the overskirt pulls up and is tied at the waist.

I'm actually selling this gown. More information here. If anyone is interested, let me know!

Here is the web page for my costume with my research and more photos:
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_green.html

Lord of the Rings Arwen Requiem Gown

I decided to make this one after seeing the real one at the Boston Exhibit. I hand-dyed silk velvet for the jumper, and silk satin for the underdress. The uppersleeves are made from silk chiffon overlayed on china silk. I embroidered them with the flower pattern seen on the real costume, and hand beaded them. The lower sleeves are silk jacuard. The trim on the underdress and jumper is a silver trim with bullion and sequins. It's not exact, but a decent match for the real trim.

Here is the web page for my costume with my research and more photos:
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_requiem.html

Lord of the Rings Arwen Mourning Gown

I adored the gown Arwen wore in Elrond's vision of her future, where she mourns Aragorn's eventual death. I made this gown from a midnight blue rayon velvet, with red thai silk for the sash and neck inset. The sleeves were lined with navy china silk. The buttons were bought from the company that supplied them for the movie, so they are exactly the ones used on the real dress. I had to age them myself. I made the trim from scratch, embroidered red fabric with chenille wool, seed beads, gold thread, and bullion appliques cut to make the right shapes. The edges are all loops of bullion, individually sewn down. The veil is navy silk chiffon, and the crown is made from gold foil, which I embossed with the tree of Gondor. I redid this gown in silk velvet, because rayon velvet creases way too easily and is so easily wrecked. Silk velvet is less stiff and more drapey and doesn't seem to crease as badly. I reused everything else from the original gown.

Here is the web page for my costume with my research and more photos:
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_mourning.html

Here are two arty shots I just love of this costume - it's version 1.0 though.

Here's version 2.0 in silk velvet.

Moulin Rouge "Smouldering Temptress" red gown

This Satine gown was made for DragonCon 2004 - the gown is made out of poly satin - a period skirt pattern was used for the skirt, and I modified a McCall bodice pattern, fairly heavily. I drafted the bow bustle myself!

Here is the web page for my costume with my research and more photos:
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_satine.html

I also helped costume two of my friends in Moulin Rouge costumes (Tutu Gentleman and Penniless Writer): http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_mr.html

 

I also wore this at SalonCon.

My friend L and I. I love her costumes, they're always lovely!

Pirates of the Caribbean - Plum Pirate Gown & Rum Island Shift

I made this costume for DragonCon 2004.  I think I could do a way better job on it if I made it today.  I love the fabric, but it's really really heavy. It's not accurate either, I didn't put the seam in the front of the bodice (though oddly, it's more historically accurate the way I ended up doing it, I think!) and I didn't do the cartridge pleats.  It's one of those things that I'd love to do again someday, but I don't see it every happening.

I actually have more accurate fabric for the shift, but I'm also not sure I will ever get around to redoing it either!

Here is the web page for my costume with my research and more photos:
http://costumersguide.com/maggie_costumes/my_plum.html