Costuming in Style

I confess it.  My name is Trinity and I love costuming.  If I could get away with it, I'd wear "costumes" as my everyday clothes. 

Now I don't mean Halloween dressed up like zombie with green goo and scaring all the neighborhood children.  I mean classy costumes, like some of the Steampunk patterns currently offered by Simplicity.  I especially like Simplicity 2172 with the pleated skirt.  And of course, who doesn't love the dresses worn by Eowen and Arwen from Lord of the Rings?  Granted, these patterns take a bajillion yards of fabric, and I am well-known for hating clothes that I have to fight with the walk up and down the stairs, I still love the style of these types of outfits. 

But they're not practical.  And I am nothing if not practical.  I'd like to indulge in my love of the fantastic (and elaborate!) while at the same time satisfying my need for the practical. 

A few months ago I came across the website for Michelle Carragher, the costumer who does the outfits for the Game of Thrones HBO series.  That is some amazing work, and I'm seriously considering trying to find a way to incorporate elements of Daenerys Targaryen's Dragonscale Dress into something I could conceivably wear on the street.  Obviously something that elaborate wouldn't do for grocery shopping, but I do have a social life, you know.  Really.   

I like long jackets and sweaters and tunic-type things that I can wear with relatively close-fitting pants, often tucked into knee-high boots or with medium heeled pumps.  This is positively gorgeous and has a simplicity of lines that appeals to my need for free motion without having to do battle with my clothing.  Seeing this dress (?) made me realize that embroidery and smocking and other similar details is the ticket I've been looking for.

Remember this jacket?

Now, the design of this jacket is indeed awesome.  But it was the fabric I fell in love with.  This is two layers of fabric, silk over cotton.  The cream-colored silk shell has been slashed, the edges turned under and hand stitched to the pale olive cotton underneath.  Beautiful.  I fully intend to recreate this technique.

Michelle also does embroidery which is well beyond anything I could even hope to accomplish, but I must say I find myself taking stock of my thread, silk ribbons, and beads.

Well, all these details are going to take oodles of time to learn, practice, perfect and execute.  Guess I'd better get started.

Actually, I already have.  My entry for the PR contest involves a smocking technique similar to the Dragonscale dress for the waist shaping.  Similar, but I assure you much simpler with a much more prosaic result.  I've got the fronts finished and today I start on the back.  I'm holding off showing any pics until I'm sure that what I've done actually works.