Wednesday’s Project
The Phantom of the Opera in Miniature—”Point of No Return”—Completed!
Awhile back I posted about my plans to make a series of outfits for the Gene doll: costumes from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. (Please see the blog post, The Phantom of the Opera in Miniature: “Point of No Return”) I am pleased to report that the first in the series is complete! The doll herself is not yet styled to look like Christine, but the costume worn during “Point of No Return” (aka Aminta’s dress) is done.
Aminta’s Dress—Fashion Sketch
The peach silk dress is supposed to be a Victorian representation of a Rococo (18th century) gown. As such, it has a skirt that’s wider at the sides, and a zone-front bodice. The skirt splits at the center, revealing an underskirt of gold and black lace. Each layer of the outer skirt is scalloped and ruffled, and edged with black embroidery in a scroll motif. The bodice cuts away to reveal a richly embroidered stomacher.
I can’t talk too much about the design and construction process, because that’s the focus of a new two-part article, entitled Replicating a Costume, which has recently been published at Your Wardrobe Unlock’d. (If you’re a subscriber, you can read Part I and Part II, here. Because they have first right of publication, the articles won’t be available here at Yesterday’s Thimble until January of 2013.) I can tell you that it was an immense challenge to make the costume in miniature—and I enjoyed (almost) every minute of the process.
Here are some photos of the finished doll costume, just to give you a peek. First, the entire costume.
Point of No Return (aka Aminta’s Dress)
Next, a closeup of the zone-front bodice with its embroidered stomacher.
Closeup of Bodice
And a closeup of the epaulettes on the shoulders.
Closeup Detail
I hope to make several other costumes from The Phantom of the Opera, both in miniature and full-sized. (Right now, I’m working on this very same costume for myself!)
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Have you made a doll-sized replica of a theater or film costume? What challenges have you faced in making miniature garments and how have you solved them?
