Showing posts with label red carpet dresses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label red carpet dresses. Show all posts

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Dolls Eye View: Golden Globes 2025

 

As usual, I anxiously await the first red carpet year of the year.....The Golden Globe Awards. This year, the women were more tastefully dressed than the usual barely there frocks and in your face costumes. But the pendulum seemed to have swung very far into the range of minimalism. Understand, I have nothing against simplicity. In fact, it can be a sort of "palette cleanser" after so many years of excess. However...with more simple styles comes the challenge to find a way to maintain a certain degree of glamour. And that is what this year's edition of GG red carpet trends is about.


Anna Sawai's 2-piece Dior sheath dress is certainly tasteful, but to my eyes, it doesn't command the room. Compare her to my girl Veronique. I chose an oyster white fabric instead of white (which looks a lot less "wedding dress). Veronique's dress is actually a two piece dress as well, but at the last minute, I added a circle to the front. That circle can be turned so that it falls on the diagonal, and thus conforms to the curve of the doll's body. It is tacked to the back of the bodice. I also added a stole...a simple piece of fabric over which I fashioned folds and drapes. 


In effect, I did something similar here. While respecting the simple silhouette of Kristen Bell's Ashi Studio's two-piece, lurex sheath dress, this time I decided to swap in a metal corset. I used aluminum from the neck of a champagne bottle and crushed it to fit over the Gina's curves. I used metal eyelets and a gold ribbon to hold it to her body in the back. For her skirt, I started out with a gold lurex skirt, but it looked a little cheap. So I decided gold satin would do more to elevate this look into something very couture! All by itself, the dress alone is quite interesting, but I felt Gina's arrival on the red carpet should have something tossed over her shoulders, like a great big silk striped shawl. It makes her look more like fashion and less like a golden statuette. 


Here's where my heart sank... After years of attending Yves Saint Laurent's catwalk shows while he was still alive....to see a dress worn by Zoe Kravitz with the famous couturier's name did not sit well with me. He would never have designed something so skimpy. It looks as if the designer ran out of material. So...for my girl Bella, we started out with the same black velvet strapless gown, but we invested in a more substantial white satin cummerbund and added a circle of white satin at the back instead of the wimpy train of the original dress. 

Now this dress I really liked and made not changes to the original design. Silk satin gliding over the body like a cool drink of water. It's Anya Taylor in vintage Dior. I definitely wanted this for my girl, Kym. But what a challenge! There is a post here on how to draft the cowl neckline, but it is using a stretch material and Kym's dress is not stretch which means it will not drape as beautifully. So even though I used the classic cowl neck pattern for this dress, the fact that it is 1/6 scale meant that there's not enough fabric for the fabric to hang so beautifully. I had to manually manipulate and tack down the folds and this was the best I could do! It's not at all like the Dior dress, but it does capture the essence. 


Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga is another dress I loved but found challenging to replicate on this scale. Again because1/6 scale does not a yield a lot of real estate to achieve the same effect. Still, I tried, with Christie as my model. I used a light silver lame stretch fabric for her dress but again, I had to do a lot of manipulation and tacking down to get something similar. I couldn't use the volume of fabric to get all of those beautiful folds in the original because of bulk. To make up for my efforts...I gave her a stole of silver "eyelash" fabric.

Sequins all by themselves aren't all that special. Though Mikey Madison is wearing a bronze sequined strapless sheath dress...truth is...you could copy it fairly easily with a length of stretch sequin fabric from the craft store! For Natasha's version, I started out with some very interesting fabric which has two sizes of sequins incorporated on a non-stretch base. To that I added irregular sequins I made from hot glue and sheets of matching foil. I placed them to cascade down the left side of the dress. Uneven sequins or various sizes of sequins mixed together in the same look is always more interesting than when they are predictably placed side by side. All by itself, it's quite beautiful. But this is the red carpet, so I made a classic straight coat out of a copper tone brocade to throw over her shoulders.



I almost did not make this St. Laurent dress worn by Ms. Saldana. It is again...another sequined dress... and it has a very popular neckline which normally I don't care for, nor is it easy for the doll to wear. But since I was working with sequins on a tulle base....which means I can break the rules in dolly dress construction, I decided to experiment. The dress my girl Lynn is wearing is really two-pieces. For the top, I used the foil from a bottle of wine to wrap around the body, serving as an understructure. I molded the shape to fit the doll's body, then cut the plunging neckline. I glued the sequined fabric to this metal base. Note: there was not enough foil to completely wrap around the doll which was okay because, I cut enough of the fabric to extend over the back and fasten with a hook & eye fastener. (I am going to experiment further to see if the understructure can be used with other fabrics.) The end result...the dress has that plunging neckline which holds up to the body without the need to tape the bodice to the doll!


This was kind of fun. Miley Cyrus in Celine. When making this for my girl, Emanuela, I thought the way to go was to cut out the pattern pieces then dip the edges in silver sparkles. That was so messy!!! So...I started all over, this time, sewing silver beads to the edges of the triangular pieces of the bodice. It is not the same scale and thus yielded a different look. But I still liked it a lot and left it alone. I also thought the opera length fingerless gloves elevated the look while maintaining a certain edginess.


I loved the texture of this dress worn by Ali Wong in Balenciaga. I didn't care for the bow at the waist no the black accessories (which I thought lent a Halloween aura to it). But I did love the ripped pieces aspect. So, my girl's Liu's dress began with a strapless sheath over which I added rows of ripped silk chiffon in flame red. I didn't cut the strips smaller because I didn't want Liu to end up resembling a rag doll AND...I felt the width of the slats was just the right scale to add an element of airiness to the overall look. For that reason, I also decided against the giving her gloves as well.


With this look, we get into a bit more volume. Sophia Vargara's dress is perfectly fine. We just thought the draping within the body of the dress, but especially within the skirt could be a little more interesting. And that's where we took liberties.


The ultimate fishtail dress....Michelle Yeoh in Balenciaga... I pretty much stuck to the lines of the original dress for my girl, Yoon. To a straight sheath, I added lots of triangles of silk at the point of the knees which adds movement as well as volume. Also, instead of a turtle neck, I chose a draped neckline suspended from a strap that ties in the back.


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Saturday, March 30, 2024

Oscar Buzz 24 (Updated)

 


Normally, I am able to post my Oscar girls no more than 2 weeks after the event. But this year, I saw quite a number of dresses that inspired me. As a result, I became VERY AMBITIOUS! It was all I could do to get this up before the end of the month. And truth be known....there were still about 3-4 more gowns I wanted to make. But as you will notice, in most cases I took a LOT of liberties!  Sometimes, it had to do with "tweaking" the original look but in other cases, there was something about the original look that didn't sync with the proportion of the doll. Still....this year's Academy Awards red carpet provided a feast of ideas.

What could be more glamorous than this modern rendition of a famous 1950's  Balenciaga gown! As simple as it looks, this was not something I could whip out in a few hours. Au contraire! I used a stretch velvet because I felt it would give me a perfect fit--which it did. HOWEVER...(and this is a big however) the sweetheart neckline and the scallops at the hem contributed to the headache! The fabric is soft and the scallops went limp. I used hem tape to add a little body. It would have been easier to cut the neckline straight then pinch in between the busts. On a doll with small breasts there would not have been the same issue. But Nadja has full breasts. I used tulle to face the top of the dress. After attempting to tack on the tulle lower skirt to the dress, I gave up and finally decided this dress--originally conceived by the master couturier himself, Cristobal Balenciaga--would have been made with an underskirt! The underskirt is tulle held in place at the waist. 

This dress, designed by the house of Dolce Gabanna, is so elegant and looked so good on actress/dancer, Rita Moreno. I had to make the decision to follow this design line by line or to simplify. I think the original dress might be a wrap dress with its grand collar of ruffles that cascade down to the ankles. But I felt the that was too much volume on Veronique's tiny body. For me, that regal pile of ruffles framing her face so beautifully was the real story so I decided to start out with a simple black velvet sheath and add a taffeta collar with a few trailing ruffles down the front. 


The simplicity of this Dior Couture dress is what caught my eye. It's as if she's wearing a silk satin scarf twisted around her breasts and shoulders. Again, this dress is more complicated than it looks. I ended up making two dresses in different fabrics. The original dress was described as a "light silver satin." I used a silver satin  (for the dress above) but after photographing it, the sheen distracted the eye from the details of the dress bodice (as seen below).

So I cut another...this time using a soft pink silk satin. This version comes close to the original dress. However, the tiny proportions of the doll will never lend itself to exactly the way it falls around the bust of the actress. 


A strapless sheath of black sequins with a little sash at the hips by Versace worn by Margot Robbie is lovely for "ordinary folk dressed up," but for couture, I feel it is too simple, too boring. For me it lacks those special little details that distinguish it from expensive off-the-rack dresses. So for my girl, Charlize, I did a gown cut from iridescent mini sequins, dotted with regular sequins and paillettes at the hemline. If you look closely...instead of a sash, I did three rows of black sequins in a trompe l'oeil effect resembling a chain belt! She's holding a shawl made from embroidered tulle.


For the Balenciaga gown worn by actress, Michelle Yeoh, I used lame instead of the 2-toned silver sequins because I didn't have the right fabric on hand. It was fairly easy to make--an asymmetrical bodice with train over a sheath skirt. But when I finished, I was quite underwhelmed and almost didn't include this dress in this lineup. The top came out the way I envisioned, but the light grey lame did not. Just before abandoning this dress, I decided to rub in some silver glitter and photograph it outside in the sun. In person, I like it better. But for some odd reason, it didn't make a difference in the photograph.


 On the subject of silver.... I do love silver dresses and this one translated well for the doll. Naomi's version of DJ Kiss' Jovana Louis gown, is in three parts. A silver bustier, a skirt with train and a sash belted at the waist. 



The other challenge this year... curvy lady fashions reinterpreted for our skinny vinyl divas. I did not have the baby blue sequins the original Louis Vuitton gown called for. And that was okay because I am sure I would not have liked it as much as the dress I ultimately created for Shakira. Actress, Da' Vine Joy Randolf's proportions call for simplicity in design. So the sequins with the dramatic ripped sleeves is just the right look for her. That said.... my doll has smaller proportions and we can play more with the details of this look. Instead of a strapless sheath, I made the body of the dress using a twill acetate (usually used for lining) that I wet, crushed and let dry. You don't have to think about darts or construction because when you unravel it, it will cling where you want. If there are any gaps, simply tack in place. I added a train of un-crumbled fabric. But then, instead of the ripped fabric sleeves--which I started to make out of tulle--I used the rag jacket we make a while ago out of ripped denim. How much fun is that!

Producer Ava Duvernay's gown, in a word, was.....boring! But the straps and the color screamed "denim" to me. So... I decided to have some fun and created this denim gown for Pat. Her dress was made from a pocket I ripped off my father's old jeans. A created long fringe out of another piece and added that to the bottom of the dress. The straps are leather.


Here's another boring dress we decided to have a bit of fun with. Jennifer Lawrence wears a Dior couture gown--simple bodice with full skirt gathered into the waistline--tasteful but boring. Morgan's dress is in three pieces. I had more fun by draping at random, the polka dotted sheer fabric over a strapless bodice. I added a gathered skirt. BUT....I make an over-skirt of black tulle and scraps of dotted sheer that it tied to one side over the rest of the dress! If you are going to do polka dots....make them dance!


I found this dress very interesting!!!!  I love the swirl of black and white around the bottom of the dress. The under dress is a simple black velvet gown that I duplicated using stretch velvet. But it is the black and white satin draping around the hips and the train that is most intriguing. It is also one of those rare dresses that you really need to see in person to figure out exactly how it is made. I cannot tell you how many times and how many different ways I tried to drape this detail to no avail. Though it appears to be one big piece of fabric wound around the hips in a swirl, I believe there are several pieces incorporated to achieve the end result. In this case, I had to close my eyes to the original dress and focus on what I most love about the look. Then....drape in the spirit of the original. It's not the same, but it exudes the same emotion!

Arianna Grande appeared on both the best and worst dressed lists because of this dress from the house of Giambattista Valli. The actress is cute as a button and there was something terribly adorable about her in this Barbie pink gown. To my eyes, she emerged as princess dressed like a pink bumblebee struggling under all of that fabric! This is a perfect example of what happens when you design for a photo, for that moment on stage. Unfortunately when you don't think about how the woman will get between point A to point B....this is the result. But still, we couldn't pass up on her. I wanted to keep the spirit of "Hello Barbie" but lighten it up as if our heroine was emerging from a sky filled pink airy clouds. The strapless gown is nice, but inasmuch as she has such a teenager silhouette, I felt that dress should be something less heavy; something that doesn't point to the curves she doesn't have. I kept the drapes but there are fewer of them and the dress itself is cut from a sheer fabric. The over-piece of the original dress is cut from silk and again is so heavy...it looks like she gathered her bed sheets around her. So....I used sheer polyester organza (from a package of gift bags I found at the Dollar store), to create a series of poufs tacked together into a cloak of sorts. Everything is light and airy as an early summer evening. 

And for the final dress of this series, I chose Laverne Cox in a velvet gown from Mugler. From the bottom up...this is a black fishtail skirt topped with a bustier made from.....the foil from a champagne bottle, sculpted to Amalia's body. This is the second one I made. The first one corresponded to the proportions of the original dress. However, I didn't like the end results as much as when I added more length. The scarf over the shoulders....this is the one in two pieces that I did in the post just before this one! 

(April 18 Update... Here are the dresses we added on after this was published. They were also featured on our Facebook page as well.)

Melissa McCarthy


Danielle Brooks in Dolce & Gabbana


Leah Lewis in Lever Couture


Lisa Koshy in Marchesa.


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Unless otherwise noted, all images and text of this blog are the copyrighted property of Fashion Doll Stylist 2024. We are independent and not part of any other group or website no matter where this post or its elements appear on the internet or social media. Please request permission before reproducing any parts of this post. And please, always credit us. 

Monday, May 3, 2021

OSCAR BUZZ 2021

 

How refreshing it was to see a real, in-person red carpet event where the stars had to actually dress up and pose for pictures. That was the good part. On the other hand, due to Covid restrictions, there were fewer people on the red carpet which meant a smaller number of fashions to choose from. Nonetheless, a few trends emerged....metallics (gold in particular), bare midriff gowns, and the color white... To be frank, I wasn't all that enthralled with what I saw, but at least it gave me something to work with. 


The one stand out gown that I truly loved was by Alexander McQueen, worn by award winning actress, Viola Davis. The original gown has an art nouveau embroidered pattern over a micro gathered chiffon skirt. I will admit, I tried several ways to duplicate that bodice without success. The main problem is scale. The intricacy of the floral pattern with leaves swirling throughout simply didn't translate into a simplified 1/6 application. I nearly gave up on this dress until I came across a triangular cotton embroidered lace insert I removed from an old bustier. I started to cut away the pattern near the bottom, but then I decided I really liked my bustier fell into a point over the gathered skirt. The result is not as close to the original as I had hoped, but I was still able to the verve of the Alexander McQueen gown.


I remember seeing a version of this Valentino dress and thinking the bare midriff top didn't seem in balance with the skirt. That it is a shiny gold is another challenge. However, I do admit that Carey Mulligan wore this dress very well. Unfortunately I did not have gold lame on hand, so I had to get a little creative. I chose a golden polyester organza instead. I also simplified the skirt a bit, largely to save time and fabric. Instead of doing a skirt with deep pleats, I used the method from my "Fit For a Queen" tutorial. It is a slim skirt with a high waistline and bustles added to both sides. To make up for the "bareness" of the Valentino, I added a statement necklace to complete Zoe's look.


Angela Bassett in Alberta Ferretti's gown was simply stunning. I loved everything about this dress, but for my girl Sonya, I wanted to soften the sleeves a bit. Instead of "wings" I thought "roses." I started out with a simple V-neck strapless sheath to which I added the side gathered "poufs." I pinched them and tacked the fabric in place to arrive at the desired shape. When the two sleeves are finished, I tweaked each one so that they closely resembled each other before definitively stitching them in place. To the back I've added tulle on either side of the center back seam. Then a square of red silk allowed to fall into points is tacked at the top of the back near the center back. I did not allow for a front slit because I did not think this style needed it. 


Laura Dern's dress was actually on many people's "worse dress list." Me, I saw the "Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers" aspect to this Oscar de la Renta gown. Vanessa's gown is actually in three pieces: a velvet bustier with removal sleeves worn over an asymmetrical skirt created from a square piece of faux fur. 


Well.... this Vera Wang original worn by actress Angela Day, made both the "Best Dressed" and the "Worse Dressed" lists. Personally, I found it surprising to see this dress at a time when we have not completely emerged from the pandemic. While I empathize with the desire to resemble an old fashion "movie star," shiny gold is VERY difficult to pull off. (Personally, I would have preferred to see Ms. Day in white shimmery satin a la Billie Holliday.) To add to the challenge, the material here is chain-mail,  which is metal. The drape of this bare midriff dress is, for me, extremely ambitious and I with the Vera Wang atelier had handled it more simply. So for Radiah, I made a complete overhaul. I kept the concept of the bare midriff dress with an asymmetrical top, but I kept it simple and I chose silver which is much easier (and more modern). I did like the slant of the skirt, but on the original look, the slant seems to go against the movement of the hips and the placement of the deep slit. Since I didn't have access to chain-mail, I used a flat, silver lame often used for theater curtains. It stretches and does not fray. I chose not to turn down the edges. Instead I cut the material with a sharp pair of scissors so that the dress would lay perfectly flat against the body like liquid metal. 


I had to zoom in close to see the details of the fabric here. This is Margot Robbie in Chanel. At first glance it looks like a little floral slip dress. But in reality it is silver lace. I had a small scrap of silver lace, though the pattern is not as tiny as with the original dress. While I was figuring out whether or not to do this dress, I discovered that the over-sized scale of my lace gave the dress a more luxurious edge, especially when lined with pewter toned satin. Since the Chanel dress is so simple, I decided Estelle's version could use a simple, unlined over coat from the same silver lace.

A white pant suit is always a glamorous way to show up for a fancy event. The original pantsuit worn by Tiara Thomas was designed by Jovana Benoit. Here again, I made several tweaks. The proportion of the jacket to the pants seemed to be a bit overwhelming. For Iman, I chose a shorter, more form fitted jacket and straight legged wide trousers (as opposed to bells). I did like the feathered cuffs on the jacket, but felt it didn't need them at the hem. As far as her top.... I did not care for the flat placard. I decided it have more dimension so I created one with pleats and more of a drape. 

When the jacket is on, you see how it fits perfectly over the body, is in perfect proportion to the trousers and how the V-neck is deep enough to allow the top to fit in unison with the rest of the look.

We also liked simplicity, especially at this particular point with the pandemic. Our girl Roshumba mimics the elegant white gown worn by Lauren Domingo. It's cream white jersey that is simple in the front with a plunging cowl neck detail in the back.

And finally.... this princess gown. It wasn't anything we haven't seen before, but it was very pretty....the Louis Vuitton tulle gown worn by actress Maria Bakalova. And yesfor our girl Margot , we went a little crazy with the tulle!


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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

La Vie en Chateau

Long before "social distancing" became a universal thing, there were dresses that forced people to stand, walk or dance several feet apart. Those dresses had structures beneath them called bustles which were made from wire, boning, crinoline and even pads and petticoats to help maintain their shape. And though silhouettes were greatly simplified and brought close to the body after World War I, some form of those wide garments have somehow survived. It lives on in the form of wedding dresses, debutante ball gowns, prom frocks and especially  red carpet formal wear. Though many of us remain confined in our homes with nowhere to do, there's no reason our dolls can't get all dressed up like the princesses they are and head to an imaginary ball.

Before we get started, I would like to explain... the technique in this tutorial is the way I create bustle dresses. It may or may not have anything to do with the manner in which its full scaled version. I would also like to point out that there is a difference between fashion and period costume. While the modern ballgown may flirt with the voluminous proportions of its 19th century ancestor, for these dresses to be considered fashion, they must respect modern proportions and aesthetics. In this case, it means softening things up so that the dress flows and is less rigid.

For this project, you will need a simple, evening length dress and a rectangle of matching or contrasting fabric. Depending on how full you want your silhouette will determine the width of your fabric. For this (Barbie) dress, the width of my fabric is 42" (106 cm). Same thing with the length. Though I chose a strapless sheath for this tutorial, your dress can be anything you want. It can have a full bodice, or sleeves. It can be slim or flared. What I like to do is build the bustle as a separate entity that can be pinned temporarily over the existing garment or stitched down permanently. I construct it like this as opposed to creating a single pattern with the volume worked in because this method allows me to better control the look and fit simply and quickly.

1. My dress begins with a simple strapless, sheath dress.
2. After determining the length and amount of fullness, I cut a rectangle of matching or contrasting fabric. Turn under the side edges as well as the hem. The top edge is gathered with a running stitch.
3. Draw the stitch into gathers so they fit from side to side across the back.
4. It's like a half-gathered "train" that only extends only across the back of the dress. Pin and adjust. Then remove and secure the gathers with another stitch so they don't move.

5. Next, create your own "bias tape" by cutting a strip of fabric diagonally on the fabric that measures a little more than the circumference of the doll's waist by 1" (2.5cm) tall. Note: This strip really have to be cut on the bias so that it curves around the waist smoothly!
6. Fold one side and the bottom edge under and press.
7. Pin the folded over the gathered edge of the "skirt," pin then stitch in place.
8. Fold the top edge down but just until it reaches the top edge of the gathered train Press but don't stitch it down yet.
Though I have a lot of fabric in this train already (42") it will need something to help the gathers maintain their fullness and not droop. You will need some sort of "padding."
For padding, you can use a stiff tulle or, as I've used here, you can recycle those used "dryer sheets."
09. My dress is pretty heavy, so I used two dryer sheets. Put them together and fold them in half lengthwise.
10. Make a gathering stitch along the top of the folded edge. Draw up the gathers so that this "padding" falls 1" (2.5cm) short of both sides of the train.
11. Cut another 1/2" (1cm) bias strip of fabric and stitch it to the top of the gathers.
12. Tuck both side edges inwards
13. Apply to the middle back of the gathered train.
14. Stitch the top folded edge of the train to the top edge of the ribbon on the padding. This is just to keep the padding from shifting.
15. Fold each side of the train inwards towards the center.
16. Pen both edges of the waistband together.
17. Stitch shut along the top and the bottom of the "waistband.". The end result will look like a gathered skirt where the waistline has been sewn shut.
18-19. Place over the train over the dress and make any needed adjustments needed on the front or back. Pin in place. I add some sort of embellishments to the train so that it comes together as a complete look. We will need to figure out how our doll gets in and out of the dress! At this point, you can decide whether you want this train to be permanent or simply pinned on. For this dress, I have decided to make the train a permanent part of the dress. It will be stitched onto half the back (to the opening) then attached to the other side with a hook and eye.
20. I still have some beaded lace. I cut out a few medallions to sew on the top of my train.
A. Sew the beaded lace medallions on top of the bias tape of the train.
B. Allow the medallions to extend over the side of the tape so that it will overlap and blend into the rest of the dress. When you have completed this, pin the dress to the dress for placement. Then stitch the train from the front of one side across the back to the center back closure. The doll must be able to get out of the dress, so I secure it only as far as the back opening. The remainder of the "waistband" will lay over the other back half of the doll's body then attach to the side front with hook and eye as explained in the next two steps.
C. Add a hook to the underside of the lace medallion.
D. Add the "eye" (in this case I made a crochet eye instead of the metal one) to the front of the dress where the medallion will attach to the dress.

21. When you are finished, it will look something like this from front to back
22. You can use almost anything for the embellishment like lace or tiny silk flowers!

23. My finished gown.

A variation of the above look using flowers. 

 You don't have to use a slim dress. You could start out with something more flared. And something more decorative!
 This is a princess lined, "faux embroidered" dress we made awhile ago. Notice it has an A-line silhouette. But what if we wanted something rounder, fuller....
I used the same technique as the first dress. Instead of the dryer sheets, I gathered a width of tulle which is about 2" (5cm) deep. It is applied exactly as we did to the train in the first dress. Instead of beads, I cut a bit of lace from an old shirt to add to the top of my train.
From the front, the difference appears to be more discreet but once you turn her a bit to the side and the back, you notice how much rounder the silhouette appears. For me, this will be temporary, which will give me the option of having two looks.

 This was a red carpet dress worn at the Golden Globes last year. It was a red silk strapless sheath dress with two small peplums on either side of the front.

This is the original Valentino red carpet dress worn by Jennifer Lawrence for the 2014 Oscars. It is a slim fitted strapless sheath with two gathered peplums, each placed just above the hips on both sides.
There are a couple of things happening here. First I created a train, using the above technique for the first dress. The top of it is placed just under the peplum at the side and wraps across the back to the other side, then tacked under the opposite peplum. 
Instead of adding the gathered tulle for padding, I took a length of chiffon and gathered it into a soft knot which was then added on top of the train. 
Each layer is longer than the other to create this most elegant silhouette.

Finally, this is the (Versace) gown Lady Gaga wore to the 2019 Golden Globes Award show. I was most intrigued by its "Marie Antoinette" allure. I did not have the time to make another, so I'll walk you through the steps I made to create this look. There are several things going on here. The dress is a strapless, princess line gown with a long (incorporated) train in the back. See "Train of Thought" for the instruction. The sleeves are separate  puff sleeves. The ribbons that wrap around her wrists are separate as wel.
To this dress I added little poufs created from the same fabric as the dress. Again, they are made by creating folding bits of fabric and gathering them into small pouches. I applied these to the sides and the back of the dress.

I made two panels. Each measures 24x12" (30x60 cm). The bottom edge was rounded and all sides, including the top of each panel were turned under and hemmed. At the top of each panel has been gathered to fit on either side of the back of the dress. Attach one panel to the right side of the dress, from the center back seam to the side. The left panel is slightly wider. It is stitched to the left back of the dress but there should be overlap that covers the right side by a 1/4" (6mm). They are held in place with a hook and eye.
The result is most regal!

Coming up next.... another Behind the Design look at Moschino's "Versailles" mini dress! In the meantime... Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe. Stay virus free!


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