The Idea
I’ve been wanting a Disney cosplay for a while now and always struggled with which to actually make. So many people have done direct recreations so well and I often feel like the ground has been well trod already- and that there’s no need for me to do it. I see cosplay as a form of art, and unless I personally need a particular costume then I prefer to choose something new. No Disney princess is ever going to be new without some sort of twist to it.
At the same time, I’ve always admired (and lusted after) the work of Charles James. He was America’s first real couturier and a master of the art- and he treated his dresses as art. Many of his best known pieces were highly structured, including the gorgeous Butterfly dress.
Mixing Cinderella and Charles James works really well (in my mind at least!) because Cinderella was first released in 1950 and Charles James was doing some of his best work in the 50s. At the same time, the new live action cinderella dress is known for its butterflies and bazillion yards of various shades of tulle- the train of the Charles James dress is also made of layers of different colors of tulle.
Pulling it off
This project is extremely intimidating to contemplate. Cinderella’s dress alone is impressive but Charles James is a master of the craft and there aren’t any patterns to follow to make the butterfly dress. I haven’t even found any information on the understructure of the butterfly butt in my preliminary searches- and if contacting the MET doesn’t work, and I can’t find any books about the interior of the dress then I’ll be attempting to recreate it blindly.
There’s also the question of the bodice. I don’t wear sleeveless dresses but the Charles James was the father of the style in the 30s, and his butterfly dress with the pure, strapless column in front is iconic. I could change it be closer to Cinderella’s bodice style with the organza sleeves or even go for the classic animated 50s style puff sleeves. Making the decision will probably require several mock ups just to make sure all of the elements are balanced properly.
Estimated Completion
Ahahahahaha. HA. Haha. Heh. We’ll see how motivated I feel after I finish the family’s Star Wars costumes this summer. It could be for the 2018 con season, or for 2019.
