I'm Fully Aware How Tardy This Post Is (Halloween 2010)

So, I know that this post is over 2 weeks late, but I've been half-busy and mostly lazy. That may also have been the reason that, despite planning, I was still sewing my costume as I left for my weekend plans.

My last post was detailing my plans for my costume, and not long after that I actually made a muslin of the pattern I found - Vogue 8508. It was the only pattern I found that had a stand-up collar of the size that Altaira's was. (There were lots of costumes with close-to-the-neck stand-up collars, but only one that reached nearly to my shoulders.) I had also bought the fabric by that same time - a gold block trim to mimic the heavily studded areas and a gold satin flecked with glitter for the main fabric. It's not quite similar, but I wanted to make it work as best I could.

The original pattern is for a wide A-line dress, not a near skin-tight dress as the original was. Though I was going to work on truly altering the pattern, I ended up just sewing the shape in - pinning and marking where to make the shape into the dress and adding a zipper (which, by the way, I used far too little of) so that it would fit like a glove, all said and done. I also meant for the dress to be a little longer than it ended up being - though it's not as lewd as I thought it might be at its current length. It was quite a simple pattern to put together - raglan sleeves attached through the collar (or a facing, should you not need a huge stand-up collar) and some simple bust darts. In its original form, it's a pretty cute 60's-inspired dress.

Here is the final product!:



This is actually just about how I wore it - there is actually a long-sleeved gold shirt underneath, and I had mustard gold tights and those little flats. And, of course, I had curled my hair to emulate Anne Francis'.

I spent my Halloween weekend down in New York City with my friend Laura - going to interesting parties, carving pumpkins and having a grand old time. One of the best events was the Phantasmagorey brunch, hosted by Dances of Vice (whose Halloween event I attended last year.) It was most of a show than a party, but all of the performers were excellent. We showed up late, but did get to see the Ghost Train Orchestra and some great burlesque performers (including one on aerial silks!). We were in an awkward spot, up in a balcony, but it was an excellent show and there were so many wonderful costumes that I wish I could've gotten a better look at.

Though no one recognized my costume, I did get some knowing "oh!"s after mentioning who I was dressed up as. It was another great Halloween, full of excitement and good friends. I can only hope that they get better as time goes on.

at the Phantasmagorey brunch