OH, Snap! Steampunk Princesses Part 2!

Remember, we didn't want to take this rigid and unimaginative take on the Princesses, because I feel like if I had done everything completely literal, it wouldn't leave any room in there for my view point. However, I have seen many pieces of artwork that did steampunk style princess characters, and it was just simply the girl's head pasted onto a punked costume. The colors, the sweetness, and the memories weren't there at all. I LOVE the bold, bright colors in every princess costume, so I searched for a year to source fabric that I thought would work, and even then, we have VERY limited pieces of this fabric.

For the little Mermaid, I was absolutely NOT going to put together a seashell bra. However, I was looking up tips for pinup photography for one of our shoots, and I saw the 50's style swimsuits, with all the gathering at the bustline, and a light clicked on! The pleats mimic a seashell without being cheesy, and these are such gorgeous and face-flattering tops that they could work in places OUTSIDE of a mermaid costume. Bam! Now, my biggest complaint about mermaid costumes in general is that the tails on cheap costume store sets are always just these straight skirts made of tacky scaly looking sequined polyester with a bit of gathered tulle at the bottom. I originally tried making a corset with a big tail that came out of the back (more like my monster tails) but I still felt like it didn't get the point across quite right.

The green tail corset here not only has some GREAT curves and lines of interest, but we discovered that it would ALSO make a great costume for Tinkerbell or Princess Tiana! For the underskirt, I just wanted it to have an ocean feel, like she was gliding along the top of the ocean, so I just made a skirt that flared out to a longer ruffle around the bottom with the slightest train in the back.

Yay for this punchy blue! I was so thrilled when I found it! All you have to do for Cinderella is get the color and the puffed sleeves, and as far as I'm concerned, you've got it in the bag! I DID at this belt that has two fully functioning pockets sewn onto garter straps that can hike up the skirt. It's a separate piece, so it can be put into other costumes. The arm pieces I made for Marilee (the model) were measured by my...uh...more stout arms, and so they're a little loose on her, but if you get the fit right, these look sensational!

I hope that I've inspired you guys to 1. (let's be frank here) Buy the dang costumes. and 2. (more importantly) take these costumes and accessorize the daylights out of them. I love it when people purchase my corsets and then TOTALLY make them their own with jewelry they've made, big crazy hairpieces, funky hooker shoes....anything that speaks to YOU as a person. I just provide the launching pad, and I want you ladies to be the ones that take flight.