Wonderland Wedding - Card Guard Dress

As I work on finishing off my Ophelia bonnet and another HSF project, I'll give you a preview of my next projects(s). So first the background- 

My best friend from high school, Jenna, is getting married this fall in New Orleans on Halloween. It gets better! The wedding theme is Alice in Wonderland! She had asked me to be a bridesmaid a long time ago and of course my brain immediately kicked into costume design gear. I only had vague plans and didn't really know which direction to go until Jenna suggested card guards for the wedding party. Then I also thought of the Um costume worn by Mia Wasikowska in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

Um dress via Pinterest

While not exactly like the Um dress, I did like the hourglass silhouete. I started looking at patterns and pulled out my 1892 ballgown bodice pattern (TV492) and purchased the can-can skirt pattern (TV280), both from Truly Victorian.

Ballgown Bodice TV492

Can-can Skirt TV280

The plan at this point to do half the skirt in black and the other half in red and the bodice the same colors but on opposite sides (sorry, no sketches). The layers of ruffles underneath is where I'm going to have all the fun. I went shopping at the fabric store and came back with these:

With the solid fabric on top, I felt that there needed to be some fun underneath. Since this an actual costume rather than a historical costume, I can throw the rule book out the window in terms of trying to be accurate.

Oh I can't wait to get started!