My newest costume project. Farewell wedding gown!

Yes, I am demolishing my wedding gown. My friend Nora came up to visit me on Sunday, and exclaimed her astonishment that I was brave enough to do it. "I'm not emotionally attached to my wedding gown, but I still am not brave enough to just pull it apart."

Well... it's not that I dislike my gown. Au contraire. I was absolutely in LOVE with this style. I found out after I bought mine, that they had a version in ice crystal blue and white that I coveted too.  But, as it is with wedding gowns... what do you do with it afterwards? You store it for indefinite periods, you try to impose it on a daughter or niece or something. I tried to resell it, but nobody was interested. I really didn't want to pay exorbitant amounts of money to preserve it either so it could sit in the attic or closet.  It has been hanging in the closet since October of 2005.  I was looking at it one day, and I observed the pretty gold and ivory tones, the lace and organza overlay and thought... this is the makings of a Regency ballgown. Yeah, sure, it isn't a historical accuracy thing... this is synthetic flat satin. But what the hell. At least it'll get a few more wearings and will get put into the rotation of event costumes again, instead of taking up space in our coat closet.

My gown was about $675... a Maggie Sottero. It was called the 'Rowena'. Here's what it looked like on the catalog on a skinny model.

Here is my gown before I started picking it apart.  The gown is a flat satin in ivory with an organza overlay edged in dark gold, almost brassy lace with swarofski crystals here and there.

The front.

Closer look at the back.

I began by removing the lace on the bodice.  It is
embroidered on a very sheer net and was easy to remove.
They used some spider-silk fine thread to attach it.

Here is a picture of the embellishment piece
made for the front. I also removed two from the back.
I left the rest on the organza because I plan to use it as is.

The lining is of the same fabric, which is advantageous, because I want to add fullness to the skirts and need to build a Regency bodice and I want to make some detailed sleeves.  I'm excited to get started, although today was proof it's going to be a long road, because every time I put the baby down in his bouncy-seat, or on his play mat, he would fuss, so I got nothing done except to spread out the separated panels onto the dining table.  I haven't quite figured out my strategy yet, but I will begin to document it as I go along.  I hope (emphasis on HOPE) to get this done for April 26th's ball. Hahahahahaha!  argh. I HOPE (emphasis on HOPE) that I can get this done by the April 26 ball. I'm laughing at my ambition, considering how little time I Have between baby fussings to do anyhthing... but I will TRY.. Emphasis on TRY. Either way, whether it's done by April 26 or not (probably not), I will document my progress and post another update that will detail my progress and a photo when it's done. I hope. I will try. ::LOLing at herself::

Incidentally.... The perfect Regency shoes have arrived! American Duchess has created the dyeable satin 'Highbury' complete with ribbon loops! They are discounted for pre-order, so be sure to order yours now!

They're here! Order yours today!