Yes, this is me, I hate having my picture taken, but I'm very pleased with this costume so I compromised. The bodice is boned - which is more comfortable than I had thought it would be - and the ruffle is from the same pattern as the bodice. They are not real visible, but I am wearing loose harem trousers under the bodice and as soon as I finish, a flop hat over my hair. Not real big on 'female' garb, lol. I am also making a second costume with this same pattern in purple and gold.
And this is a side view. My ego demands I try not to advertise the size of my butt but I prefer pants and try to avoid skirts, so attaching the petals to the bodice is a compromise. :)
One of my friends and doesn't she look happy? She likes bright colors and she says that we will not have any problem keeping track of her in this outfit. The bodice and skirt are from the same pattern as my costume, but I obviously stuck closer to the instructions for hers. I did change one thing - I took off one layer of the 'petals' because whoever wrote this pattern had to be close to 6'. My friend and are I both a little over 5' and with only two rows of 'petals', the skirt is too long and I had to reduce the length of the skirt by about a third.
My friend in her second costume. Not clear from this photo, but the sleeves are incredible, the best part of the entire costume. This one isn't quite finished, I need to add some trim down the front and around the sleeves. They are so long I am going to have to put some loops on the chemise underneath to keep the sleeves from falling constantly over my friend's hands.
This is another costume made for a much taller woman. When I wore it I had to pin the front panels up a bit to keep from stepping on them - I can't say how thankful I am to be living in the early 21st century - and it dragged on the ground behind me. Since we are going to be at a Ren Fair, my friend decided she didn't want it any sort of train, so I will be cutting nearly a foot of fabric off the bottom of the dress.
