Fairies galore

The next characters that really draw my attention in a costuming way are fairies.  Unfortunately, last year there was a directorial intervention in the fairy costume that I really should have ignored.  She wanted the fairy to look all punked up (I wanted a tutu), at the last rehearsal before Christmas the fairies mother stepped in as she didn't like her young daughter dressed like that, I told her I agreed completely so there was no hard feeling there lol.   This put a halt to the punk fairy but as there was now no time to make the tutu she ended up in the fairy costume that was one of the few nice costumes we already had on standby.

I have two types of fairy in my head, the young fairy in a tutu and the older one in a floaty ethereal gown.  This year I get to do both, not once but twice!  Good and bad fairies, one of each young and old.

There will definitely be tutus on the young ones.  Of course it will be black for the bad and I will probably do cream for the good.  This is based on the two saris’ I already have in my stash, conveniently one is black with silver and the other is a very pale coffee with the same colour embroidery.

I have this kind of thing in mind for the bad fairy;

It’s a theatre costume by Bruno Santini used in Iolanthe!

For the good fairy I want lots of floaty prettiness, this beautiful gown by Firefly Path sums it up nicely;

I just hope there isn't another attempt at directorial intervention on these, it will have to be ignored this time I’m afraid, and she may not be happy about that!

This is the frustrating time for me, I know the characters, I start to plan costumes, but as I don't know what body the costumes will go on I have to sit and wait drumming my fingers impatiently on the table top.

What a beauty!

Well the meal was a total success in my eyes! Yes, it is Beauty and the Beast and I am so excited about it you wouldn't believe! I also got that money up front so I can relax and plan without worrying about how I am going to pay for everything (I am feeling slightly smug about that and intend to show them what they can get with a bit of extra money).

As I had already spent time thinking about how to make a beast costume, when I was asked offhand how I would do it, my plans were met with a nod and smile of approval.  The directors main concern that a mic would have to be fitted is not a problem with my idea.

So, I don't necessarily hear you ask, what is the plan?

It's based on this...

Please don't laugh!  My daughter had this doll along with pretty much every other Beauty and the Beast saleable item when she was a kid (she still has them all in a display cabinet!).

My plan is to start with a lining fitted to the person playing the beast (don't know who yet, auditions are in May).  Then add a layer of wadding to bulk up the shoulder and chest area just like the doll has.  I will then make a dark blue, velvet frock coat to fit over the top to create a Beast sized torso.

A pair of fur fabric trousers will make the beast look beastly in the body department, I mustn't forget to add a tail!

The head will be made of a half mask sewn to a long wig which will also have horns sewn on.

I am hoping this plan will work and give a good, easy to wear, Beast.  At this point I hope you are muttering to yourself about how I had said some of my costumes do get more complicated lol

Belle will start off with a dirndl style like she does in the film, but I want to make it more of a romantic ballet style skirt with layers of tulle.  I will start with a lilac one (I have the fabric for these) and change to a gold and pink one when she is at the Beast's castle.

This example come from thecostumelady.net/

I am pondering whether to make one petticoat type skirt with layers of white tulle that can go under all Belle's costumes and add a top layer to the dirndl's of the lilac and pink.  This would then also give volume to the most exciting part of this year...

THE GOLD BALLGOWN!!!!!!

Yesssssssssssssssssss, there is a ball room scene!!!!!

Yesssssssssssssssssss, I get to make the gown!!!!!!!

This is not any gown, this is the gown that started me off!  When my daughter was young the Belle doll she had didn't have a gold dress, so mummy made her one!  I then made a few other things then made costumes for the kids, then the kids got bigger and I was making full size costumes lol  It was the first copy of anything I made and it was this dress for this doll and now I get to recreate that on a real life adult woman!  So the hunt is on for the fabric and my mind is working overtime to figure out how close to the original it becomes.  

The other thing is, my daughter is determined that she wants Belle's gold ball gown for her wedding dress.  The wedding is not on the cards but it will be nice to know I have had a practise run when it comes to making that!

As I go through the script I will let you know what goes through my mind and then see what the result are.  Next week I am off fabric shopping....I really hope I find some beautiful gold!

Inspiration and Interpretation

As the day of our annual meal approaches I began to think of how I got inspired for previous costumes and the results that came from it.

I do tend to spend quite a while foraging through google images for something that starts as a spark and then works its way through to the final costume.

With Snow White I decided I was definitely not going for the Disney version, I felt it too childlike for our principal girl!

I had stashed away a lovely pink and silver sari and wanted to keep that colour scheme with a dress that stood out from all other costumes. 

After filtering out ball gowns and historical dress styles I came across this dress by Basil Soda and fell in love.  Now I know I am not a top designer and there is no way I could do that for real, but I decided this was the dress to base my Snow White on.

It became a basic empire line with floaty bits of silver ribbon, then I made the ‘butterfly’ into a large appliqué with strips of different silver and pink fabrics.  I attempted a go at the shoulders and ended up with something I was pleased to see my daughter wearing on stage...even if it does lack some of the skill in the original.

In Robin Hood I decided Will Scarlett needed to be a warrior type and had wonderful images of leather shoulder armour.  Then I saw the film ‘King Arthur’ and was immediately drawn to the armour they wore.

Of course, being limited again, I did not have the budget or ability to make proper leather armour but did get hold of some plastic leather type fabric and played around with it, and some glue and split pins and came up with this;

I am really hoping that this year, some of the ideas I have rambling around in my mind will be given the time and budget to all come to fruition.  But don't feel you are restricted to what you look at to be inspired, you never know how you will be able to interpret those initial designs into something within your budget!