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.

How to Marry a Millionaire- Marilyn Monroe Red Swimsuit & Vest

I have had this done for weeks but have been too busy to post!

Styled after the bathing suit worn by Marilyn Monroe in a fashion show scene in

 ''How to Marry a Millionaire''

This Pinup Set is made from stretch satin, boning support in side seams, bra cups with boning support in bust line. Back zipper with elastic across top back. Rhinestone detail at neckline and hip with rhinestone button on suit front. The vest is self lined with working pockets, rhinestone detail on pocket welts and collar with one button closure at neck. This suit is swim-able but is meant mostly for pinup shows or lounging glamorously by the pool, this fabric doesn't dry quickly. For a more durable swim-able suit spandex can be used.

Black and Blue Betty Bubble

This was a custom request, based on the floral Betty dress above,
I used Crepe Back Satin, shiny side for the black and the crepe matte side for the turquoise.
She wanted to add sleeves since it is January. I had to add a lot more netting inside the skirt than i expected because the satin just wanted to drape, but i finally got it to look the way its supposed to. The midriff pieces i cut on the bias and it worked so much better than straight on grain as i have done before. i definitely recommended trying bias cut pieces it if you are rouching something.

50's Green Wool Suit

This hunter green wool suit is made from a vintage 50s pattern. Fully lined with black non cling lining. Cream wool piping and covered buttons, 3/4 length sleeves with cuffs and cute little pockets hidden in the seaming :-)

Marilyn Monroe Happy Birthday Dress

 The dress Marilyn Monroe wore to wish President Kennedy happy birthday. here's what Christies Auction Catalog says,

A full length evening sheath dress of flesh colored souffle gauze encrusted with graduated rhinestones embroidered in a rosette motif. Worn by Marilyn Monroe at the famous birthday tribute to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden where she sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President" on May 19, 1962. The dress sold for $1,150,000.

        Now i don't know anyone who has that kind of cash to spend on a dress, so my version is quite a bit simpler and more affordable. I started with a light flesh colored spandex and a white mesh with silver sequins already attached. The most time consuming part of this dress is attaching all those rhinestones, so finding a fabric that already has the sparkle saves a lot of time. I draped the bodice lining, using a cream lingerie mesh, and the bra cups i would be using and attached boning to the lining just in the front to help support the bust line. Marilyn's dress was much lighter weight fabric that was matched to her skin tone and meant to show off every curve. Some people say that you could see through her dress. For my version i went with something that is not see through and has a bit more structure, the bra is built in so there is no worry about the back being low or having visible elastic lines from your under garments.

I then drafted the pattern using the lining as a starting point. The shape is very simple, fitted to the knee with a slight fishtail in the back for walking. Marilyn was apparently sewn into the dress but since i cant be there to sew my customer in, i went with a standard zipper ( invisible zippers are not as strong and tend to get stuck in tight dresses) I love how it came out, the spandex keeps a firm smooth hold on the figure and allows you to move around with out worrying about stressing the seams. This dress can be custom made over at my Etsy shop Morningstar84
other fabric options are available, and in different shade to match your skin tone. I do offer a more accurate version of this dress please message me for a quote if you are interested.