I adore this routine from Victor Victoria. Mrs C introduced me to it. It’s so…fabulous.
Now I’m introducing you to it. Two things you should know:
1) The clip, depending on how much of a prude you are, might be NSFW
2) Don’t bother watching it without the sound on.
Carolyn’s dress is very, very close to done, and over the last week I’ve been working through the last of the design issues.
First, what to do with the detailing above the bust?
The bodice design
I had the ‘brilliant’ (well, it could have been brilliant, you never know until you try with this stuff!) idea to layer different silver fabrics and then add a bit of beads and sparkle on top of it.
I looked through my stash of translucent silver fabrics (and yes, it is a bit scary that I have a whole stash of translucent silver fabrics) and found these:
Silk organza with silver threads run through it, and foiled silk-cotton voile
I liked the way the two fabrics layered over each other, the foiling just showing through the organza:
The two fabrics layer next to the dress fabric
So I patterned up the bodice detailing, cut it out, sewed it together, and carefully pressed it.
The sewn, shaped and pressed piece. It looks a bit like a bat wing
Then I pinned it to the dress and had a look at it.
The bodice detail pinned on
Blech!
I bet that Snow White’s evil stepmother had bodice detailing just like that on her wedding dress! It definitely has an evil-queen batwing aesthetic about it.
So, back to the bodice drawing board (though I have since figured out something that looks amazing, and finished it, but you’ll have to wait to see that)
I have been remiss. Last week I did you out of a Rate the Dress altogether (though I must say, no one seemed to mind!). To add to that, when I showed you a Chanel ensemble two weeks ago, I forgot to tell you what Maria Josepha rated the week before that.
So, catchup time. Maria Josepha, despite her sourpuss expression, and despite Rowenna describing her as “a pig stuffed in a dress,” rated an 8.9 out of 10. Regency fashion, even if not an exceptional example of the era, seems to be very popular with you!
Chanel’s sequined trouser suit received divided ratings: some loved the minimalism with an opulent touch, others thought the lace fussy and the sequins icky. It rated a 7.5 out of 10
This week I’m trying to correct mistakes by including a little minimalism, a little opulence, a little sequins, a little lace, a bit of extreme femininity and a bit of masculine styling all topped up with a much sweeter expression than Maria Josepha had.
Of course, all of this is worn by a Spanish princess (fashion goes to Spain to die), and a young Spanish princess. Spain and children’s fashion don’t usually go over well with you! Will this one be different?
Mariana Victoria, who I would say is probably not 3 years old in her portrait, is shown in a skirt and jacket of rich cerulean blue. The skirt is trimmed with a scalloped fringe of silver bobbles, and is lifted up to show a pink, ruffle trimmed petticoat. Her jacket has lace cuffs and silver trimmed pockets, and is opened over a rich silver bodice with some pretty elaborate bust clips.
Portrait of Mariana Victoria of Spain (1718-1781) by Alexis-Simon Belle circa 1721 (or, circa 1725 according to me!)
What do you think? Do all the elements balance, or has my attempt to pick something that included all the elements you seem to favour resulted in a mishmash of trim and style?
Rate the Dress on a scale of 1 to 10
