Just for fun - a costume dress

For NYE 2000, I went to a goth-y clothing store in Chicago called Medusa's Circle and bought a black pleather and tulle ballerina dress for $80. At the time, it was the most I had ever spent on a piece of clothing. I wore it with a tiara and felt fabulous.

After that, I had little use for the dress in my day-to-day life. The high price tag, though, made me hang on to it all these years, and I pulled it out occasionally as part of a Halloween costume. Below are photos of me on NYE, as some sort of deranged spider lady, and as a witch just a few years ago.

Two weeks ago, we were getting ready for our upcoming annual visit to the Renaissance Faire by putting together costumes for the kids. I had always loved those corset dresses ladies wore to the fair, but I never had the time or ambition to make my own. I saw my dress in the closet, though, and thought I could find a way to cinch up the front. Since I had lost weight since I last wore the dress, giving it a corset look would also fix my fit issues. 

Looking around my sewing room for notions, I spotted a length of black grommet ribbon that I had bought on a whim from the remnant bin. In less than an hour, I had sewn a piece of ribbon straight down each of the two front bodice seams, as shown below. When I cinched it tight with a ribbon, it was perfect! Here is a shot of me at the Faire with my princess and Batman the not-so-dark knight.

Thanks for reading!

Amy