Halloween: Narnia’s White Witch Costume Details

Since I have the beauty regimen figured out, I have begun constructing the remainder of my Jadis the White Witch costume. Although inspired by the Disney movie costume, my costume is my own interpretation and not an exact rendering.

The Dress

According to Narnia Web’s The Wardrobe Door, the White Witch’s dress as seen in the “Turkish Delight” and “Ice Castle” scenes in the Disney film is three layers: dyed velvet, felted wool and silk, and lace. While the dress is gorgeous, I don’t have the time or skill to make a dress with the construction or silhouette. (If you do have the time and interest in being this detailed, visit the Wardrobe Door Web site for further construction tips.)

I couldn’t find a pattern that matched the silhouette but was also simple to sew (if time is not a factor for you, I saw several bridal gown patterns that could be adapted for a more sophisticated costume), so I chose Burda pattern no. 7977, which is a simple, medieval-type long gown. The pattern is suited for womens’ sizes 10-24.

The fabric of choice is a white 100% cotton—cheap ($2.49/yd at Wal-Mart) and easy to work with. Jadis’ gown has short sleeves, but in cutting out the pattern, I opted to make the garment sleeveless for two reasons: 1) simplicity, and 2) my “fur” coat will be warm enough as it is. Removing the sleeves made it necessary to adjust the armholes, which I did by trimming closer to the neckline at the top of the armhole and adding darts to take in the excess fabric around the bottom of the armhole. I also cut the neck to more of a boatneck than the original pattern.

The back of the dress called for lacing; the pattern suggested buttonholes, but I did grommets, which was fun but time-consuming. I used a nubby white yarn for the laces because I already had it on hand and I thought it looked kind of whimsical.

Yesterday, I dip-dyed the dress with Dylon Permanent Fabric Dye in Light Blue (3 packets) and Carribean Blue (2 packets). I mixed up the dye in a plastic bin in my bathtub and dipped the bottom two-thirds of the dress in and out of the dye for about 30-45 minutes. This yielded a nice ombre effect, with a dark ice blue at the bottom to white from the bustline up. The packet’s instructions to wear rubber gloves should be heeded; my hands looked frostbitten by the end of the dye session.

While watching SNL (this weekend’s episode, for once, was actually funny), I cut rectangles of organza into ragged icicle shapes (bissect a rectangle on the diagonal and you end up with two triangles; see, geometry will help you make Halloween costumes). With Aleene’s Fabric Fusion glue, I attached the base of each icicle to the bodice of the dress.

NOTE: I toyed with the idea of doing a second layer that approximated felted wool, but I ran out of time to complete that part. Hobbs Heirloom Cotton Batting stretches and clumps kind of like wool and takes dye well (it was a lovely shade of blue after less than 20 minutes in the dye bath). If you want to make the felted layer, this batting would be a cheap place to start.

THE FUR CAPE

I don’t wear real fur, so that was out of the question. I found a sumptuous floor-length faux fur cape on eBay, but I had to pass since it’s $399! Another idea I had was to adapt a faux fur throw into a cape, but I couldn’t find one in the right color with the texture I wanted (a mink-pelt look). I looked at the faux fur at the fabric store and didn’t find anything promising there.

So for $15, I picked up a white furry bathrobe at Garden Ridge Pottery. The robe has thread of sparkly plastic woven into it, giving it the look of freshly fallen snow. So, OK, it doesn’t exactly look like fur, but I think it’s acceptable for the price.

THE WAND

An amazing-looking replica of the White Witch’s wand is available on several Web sites for $200+. If you have the means to buy that, you’re set. If not, here’s what I did. Again, this is more an “interpretation” of the wand than an exact duplication.

I purchased two unpainted wooden candlesticks from Michael’s, a craft store. The bottom flange unscrews, and I trimmed the candlestick down further so that they fit relatively flush on each end of a 18-inch-long dowel rod. (I attached the candlesticks to the dowel by drilling out holes in each piece and gluing a section of smaller dowel into the holes.) I didn’t sand or prime the wand before applying several coats of silver spray paint—but now I wish I had because it would have had a shinier chrome appearance.

The black hand grip is painted on (though my husband suggested a higher-end look could be achieved with black leather) and the silver swirls details are built up with squeezable fabric paint (what we used to call “puff paint” in my ’80s youth).

If you’re making your costume in the later half of October, you will probably be able to find acrylic icicles in the Christmas section of craft and department stores. I found several sizes of icicles at Garden Ridge. The icicles are secured in the cups of the candlesticks with lots of glue (this technique didn’t work as well as I hoped; the glue didn’t fully set for almost 2 days, and you can see that one of the icicles is askew in the photo above).

THE CROWN

On the hunt for a cheap tiara, I stopped at Claire’s. I was looking for one with open scrollwork on the front that would allow me to lash icicles to it. I almost paid $16 for a “prom” tiara, but then I saw the kids’ dress-up tiaras, which were simpler, with cheaper rhinestones, but still metal and only $5. Sold. I attached three of the plastic icicles to the front with small zip-ties. Then I painted the zip-ties silver.

TURKISH DELIGHT

What White Witch costume would be complete without that tempting treat? I ordered the Locoum Delights from Liberty Orchards (get the value pack under “Personal Treats” if you’re looking for a cheap option), which includes four flavors of Turkish Delight. I put the candy in a glass candy dish decorated with a snowflake pattern.

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Fashion at the Park: F!D/KD Model Search, Fall ’08

Ali Michael. (Photo by Yelena Yemchuck/Courtesy of DNA Models)

I wrote this piece originally for the Dallas Observer blog Unfair Park, but since it was not published there, I am posting it here. —Michelle

Ah, this takes me back. As I search for my seat once again in NorthPark Center’s Fashion at the Park tent, the emo sounds of Dashboard Confessional’s “Screaming Infidelities” pour out of the speakers. In 2001, when this song debuted, I had just graduated from college, moved to Dallas and had a bright future ahead of me as a shill for the tanning industry. As I look around at the kids in the tent—lots of teens and tweens are here to ogle/support the young finalists of the Fashion!Dallas/Kim Dawson Model Search—I realize that most of them were probably in elementary school when this song was big. I also wonder how many of them snagged a glass of Champagne from the Moet & Chandon trays circulating through the Sunday afternoon crowd.

Perhaps as a function of the lower average age in the tent and the time of day, jeans are out in full force. Still, some attendees are dressed to the teeth. Since I welcome any opportunity to forgo heels, I gotta respect the Sunday-afternoon stiletto wearers. I raise my Champagne flute to you, ladies; you have stronger ankles and a higher pain threshold than I do.

Among the teen onlookers in the crowd is a face familiar to both Dallas and the fashion world: 2006 F!D/KD Model Search winner Ali Michael, who has since walked runways for Chanel, Dior, Yohji Yamamoto, Lanvin and more. Yet, aside from the bold eyebrows, the willowy frame and the leather Prada hobo slung over her shoulder, this gum-popping 18-year-old looks just like a regular teen. Her presence is apparently a pleasant surprise to model search organizers Tracy Hayes and Lisa Dawson, who introduce her as they introduce the 10 finalists. The male models seem to get the most applause and cheers from the audience when the finalists walk the runway (and someone screams “Sexy boy!” when Michael Fjordbak struts).

Dawson goes on to explain the role that technology played in the readers’ choice vote: This year, text-message votes (which were unlimited) outnumbered mail and online votes, and the final vote count far surpassed previous years’. 2007’s readers’ choice winner won with 8,000 votes; this year’s winner had more than 80,000. A friend of finalist Fjordbak confesses to text-voting for him 40 times in one day. And the convenience of text-messaging isn’t the only technology that drove votes: A few of the finalists—including Kyle Ellison, Diaby Mo Jr. and Alex Long—set up “vote for me” Facebook groups with hundreds of members to remind fans to keep the text votes rolling in.

In the end, it’s no real surprise when Mo is announced as the readers’ choice winner and Ellison is selected as the winner of the grand prize of $1,000 in NorthPark Gold (a mall shopping spree, basically), a Toni & Guy national ad campaign and a modeling contract. But Dawson assures the crowd that all of the finalists are talented. In fact, she told Unfair Park that the Kim Dawson agency might even sign them all. All in all, F!D/KD Model Search’s first year with a live audience is a huge success in Dawson’s eyes. “I am amazed at what it’s become,” she says. “How are we going to top this?”

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Dallas’ Fashion at the Park

Sorry I’ve been so conspicuously silent in the past few days. I’ve been covering Dallas’ “fashion week,” called Fashion at the Park, for the Dallas Observer‘s blog Unfair Park. While most of the collections shown are Fall 2008 (rather than the Spring/Summer 2009 collections seen at New York, London, Paris and Milan fashion weeks), Fashion at the Park still puts on quite a show.

While I have seen many of the collections online, it’s still exciting to see them in person. And of course, there’s free Champagne.

Cruise over to Unfair Park to read my posts about the Roberto Cavalli show, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund show (got to meet the Marchesa designers, woo-hoo!)…and more to come.

Also, see my coverage on this blog of the Fashion!Dallas/Kim Dawson Model Search.

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Ebay Wish List: YSL Manifesto Tote Bag

If I had been at New York Fashion Week, I would’ve loved seeing the shows, lusting over the latest fashion and beauty items and mingling with the tall and beautiful. But what I missed most about not attending Fashion Week: the free stuff.

Early in September, I saw pics of the limited-edition YSL Manifesto tote bag on the blog Selectism. It was a giveaway in several global locations (including New York) on September 6, but unfortunately, none of those locations was Dallas (where I am). So my only recourse is Ebay where, not surprisingly, 36 of the FREE totes sold for $35-$127 since the end of Fashion Week.

It’s an interesting look at the relation of intrinsic value, branding and supply/demand. The bag itself has so little intrinsic value (an imprinted cotton tote costs about $2 to produce) that Yves St. Laurent was able to give it away for free. But the power of their brand name and the low supply, along with shoppers’ desire to have the “it” bag of the moment drives the price right through the roof. The same thing happened with Anya Hindmarch’s “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” bag; that limited-edition cotton tote sold for £5 in stores, and it still sells well on Ebay for $40-$360.

So, how much would I pay for a $2 tote that happens to have the YSL logo on it? $35? Maybe. Not $127.50, that’s for sure. For now, this item will have to stay on my wish list.

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Cheap Shoes at Fashion Week

New York magazine’s blog made a snarky crack earlier this week about an Aldo retailer who was promoting their shoes as “seen on the runway at New York Fashion Week.” The implication was, dahling, “cheap” shoes are for the unwashed masses and have nothing to do with fashion.

I guess Payless didn’t get the message, since they featured their shoes in three shows at Fashion Week, by designers Lela Rose, Abaete and Alice + Olivia. While these designers’ lines aren’t new at Payless, they certainly feature some cute shoes for not a lot of dough. Take that, New York.

The Spring ’09 collections won’t hit shelves until February, but you can read about the designers and take a look at current collections at PaylessOnTheRunway.com. Or catch a peek in the video below, featuring Gossip Girl stylist Eric Daman. [UPDATE: Embedded video stopped working, so I took it down. View the video here.]

Thanks to Fashion Indie for the video.

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Sarah Palin, Lover of Comfy Shoes (Pics!)

Whatever you think of her politics, buzz about Sarah Palin’s look—which some have called dowdy, outdated and countrified—is lighting up the blogosphere. I wish I could tell you more about who does her makeup or hair (or if she does it herself), but I haven’t found any information on that. (Anyone know?)

But it appears that the VP candidate does buy her own shoes. Fausta’s Blog pointed me to Shoe Fly Alaska, who claim on their Web site that they sold Palin the red peep-toe Naughty Monkey “Double Dare” shoes everyone’s talking about:

Our Governor, Sarah Palin, walks her “buy local” talk… literally in our case. We have been excited to help this busy executive find the shoes she needs and the shoes that spark a gleam in her eye in our little shop. We appreciate and applaud her efforts to support Alaskan business owners in such a simple, direct way.

The shoes are available at Shoe Fly Alaska and also at endless.com for $89.95.

And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen interest in Palin’s shoes. Anchorage Daily News snapped this photo of Gov. Palin’s footwear more than a year ago at a fund-raiser:

Courtesy adn.com

This time, she even sported some nail art on her big toenails. How much more Everywoman can you get than nail art? Love the wedge too—it’s a realistic shoe, cute but comfortable.

Copyright New York Times

Yes, she likes the wedge, here in a slide style, which she apparently wears to work, as this photo was taken in her office in Anchorage. (And, uh-oh, was she photographed in the same shoes twice?) Palin’s definitely not afraid to wear comfortable shoes, which is refreshing, especially when I think of all the women who, at this very moment, are walking around New York Fashion Week in 4-inch stilettos. But Palin knows that if you’re going to be on your feet all day (such as at a trade show, in the picture below), comfort is not only acceptable, but appropriate.

Courtesy Alaskan Dude at Flickr

And can we seriously talk comfort shoes? I don’t have independent confirmation on this, but Palin looks like she’s indulging in one of my favorite shoes, the Dansko Professional, in the pic below. (Please click to enlarge and give me your opinion on whether you can tell if this is the Dansko Professional.)

Official Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mac Metcalfe, Alaska Army National Guard

OK, maybe they aren’t Danskos (I’m still crossing my fingers, though). But clogs nonetheless:

Courtesy Alvin at Picasa Web

But when the outfit calls for it, Palin can rock a classic, pointy-toed pump, below. (Though Kodiak Konfidential said at this meet-and-greet, Palin wore both these heels and “some warm-looking boots.” Hey, we can’t fault her for that; it’s Alaska.) I think she wore these again (or very similar ones) on Day 3 of the RNC.

Courtesy of Kodiak Konfidential

Wonder if the warm-looking boots were anything like the ones she wore in the February 2008 Vogue photo shoot/article (below)…

Why do I care about Sarah Palin’s shoes? I will say, I already know who I’m going to vote for. What the McCains, the Obamas, the Palins and the Bidens wear isn’t going to influence my vote. And yet, Palin’s “middle America” look really rings true. Especially when many female celebrities cultivate an untouchable, pricier-than-thou image, Palin’s dressed-down, realistic look resonates with voters who themselves don’t have thousands in their clothes budget or a stylist on call. Her outfits come off as much more relatable for the average American woman than Cindy McCain’s three-carat diamond earrings and Chanel J12 watch. (On a related note, U.S. women were quick to snatch up the $148 White House/Black Market dress that Michelle Obama wore on The View. So apparently the “relatable” angle works for both sides.)

I’m interested to hear what you think—do you think Sarah Palin’s image helps, hurts or doesn’t affect her campaign?

UPDATE: If you care, Kimora Lee Simmons thinks Palin’s shoes should be “a little more refined.” Simmons also admonishes Palin to “stop jumpin’ on them caribous!” (New York magazine)

See also: Sarah Palin Beauty News Roundup

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So Schadenfreude: Models Totally Bite It

I can’t explain what in my black heart made me scroll through The Cut’s “Top Five Runway Falls” several times. I guess watching videos of models eating dust on the runway is analogous to dudes who love to watch videos of other dudes getting hit in the junk. (But if girls who walk in heels for a living can’t maintain their balance, I’m definitely never giving up my flats.)

Click to enjoy…The Top Five Runway Falls

Need more?

Carmen Electra Twofer:

A Runway EATS a Designer (chomp, chomp, chomp):

OK, enough cruelty. I’ll go do something productive.

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Fall Trend: True Bohemia

In the past, any girl with a leather-fringed purse or a broomstick skirt felt free to call herself “bohemian.” But this fall, looks from houses such as Etro, Hermès, Robert Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani are returning to a true Bohemian look, with gypsy flavors of Eastern Europe, Russia and even the Himalayas incorporating bright colors, bold florals, mixed prints, and puffed peasant blouses.

Armani is rocking the statement necklace like nobody’s business.

Giorgio Armani: Chiffon blouse and floral skirt

More eye candy after the jump. (WARNING: Following the jump is image-intensive and possibly wallet-damaging.)

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Fall Trend: Statement Necklaces

Jewelry is equalizing because, with few exceptions (rings, rigid bracelets), it’s one-size-fits-all, boys and girls. This autumn’s trend, I’m seeing over and over again, is “statement jewelry.” That is, a piece of jewelry that becomes the focus of your outfit or becomes your signature.

Since I type a lot, too much jewelry on my hands or wrists annoys me. Necklaces are my thing. My favorite necklace is an amethyst druzy and pearl pendant on a sterling silver snake chain. I wear this necklace at least three times a week.

Less frequently, I wear a necklace that my mother bought in Honduras more than 30 years ago—a large agate disc engraved with the Mayan calendar on one side, on a string of matching agate beads.

Here are a few necklaces that have caught my eye for this fall (not that I’m able to afford most of them). Lanvin has really bowled me over with their bold geometric and Art Deco-inspired designs, as you can probably see from the slideshow.

Lanvin photos: Allure, Vogue. Iradj Moini photo: Allure. Banana Republic photo: bananarepublic.com. Missoni photo: Allure. Tuleste photo: tulestemarket.com. Vuitton photo: Allure. Club Monaco photo: clubmonaco.com. Dries Van Noten photo: Nordstrom. Pucci photo: net-a-porter.com. Juicy Couture photo: nordstrom.com.

Related posts:

Fall Trend: True Bohemia

Fall Trend: Hair Accessories

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5 Great Pairs of Shoes for $125 (Total!)

Dean Harris Cutout Leaf earrings

While I was poking through Target’s beauty aisle, I took a turn around the rest of the store, to see what else the discount giant could tempt me with. I should probably stay away from the handbag section, where I could buy all the cute little clutches that I’ll never use.

The new jewelry line from Dean Harris also had some attractive pieces, namely the Sterling Silver Pod Pearl necklace, the Smoky Quartz necklace (simple but pretty; I’d replace the satin cord with a delicate gold chain, though) and, my favorite, the Cutout Leaf earrings.

After checking out Target’s real-life shoe section, I came home and found even more goodies at target.com. If you are a shoe addict trying to trim your budget, Target could be your new (lower-priced) habit. Take a look after the jump.

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