Miss Pinup Australia wearing the 'Hallway Dress'

I just had to share these, my lovely customer Miss Betty Jean sent me pictures of her wearing The Marilyn Monroe Hallway Dress that she ordered last year from my Etsy shop for the Miss Pinup Australia contest, and she won!

From a Picture to a Gown

With prom coming up i thought id share a couple of my more recent formal projects, both are made from just a picture, i draped/drafted patterns for both, and searched high and low for the right colors and prints to complete these. Sometimes what you are looking for just isn't out there, but i was lucky this time around.

Above is the picture i was given, and below the finished gown, this dress was quite a project!
it has built in bra cups, and an elastic band that runs along the under bust band, but because of the jewels it could only be attached every few inches by a ribbon loop sewn on the underside of the band. i used the same technique with the arm bands to keep them up. The skirt is a yellow stretch mesh with gold glitter with a white stretch satin lining, making it look like a light gold. with so little dress on the bodice, it is tricky to be sure it fits close to the body and doesn't gap, especially when you can't fit the dress to your customer. I have done work for this client before but i have never seen her, so that makes fitting all the more difficult. Luckily the dress fit and she was beyond thrilled when it arrived.





Above the other dress that i was given a picture of and the finished product, i had a hard time seeing what the exact beading/sequin situation was on the original image, so i had to sort of guess, but i think it looks pretty close. It is bias cut with a front drape, i used a penny to weigh down the front drape facing just a little bit. The lower portion of the skirt is chiffon with a light weight satin lining. The print isn't quite the same but it was the closest one i could find :-)

Jayne Mansfield Bathingsuit/Sundress Set

This set was inspired by the Yellow Swimsuit & Skirt worn by Jayne Mansfield in the move
''The Girl Can't Help It'' at first glance it looks to be a sundress, but then she removes the skirt and reveals a cute little swimsuit. My version is made in Mint Cotton Stretch Twill with white cotton sateen piping and big white plastic buttons. The bathing suit is fully lined this lingerie mesh to help support the figure as well as the outer fabric, boning and bra cups help suport the breast, and zips up the back. The skirt is fully lined in the white cotton sateen, the fron features pockets with button tabs, the back of the skirt buttons with scalped detail all the way down the back. The belt can be removed and worn with either the skirt or swimsuit or not at all.