Queen of Hearts Dress Costume

So my final bridesmaid's dress for the Wonderland Wedding did a little bit of evolution as I worked on it throughout this summer and fall. Originally it started out to keep it very basic and uniform since the initial plan was to go as a card guard. Then I found some photos of Victorian fancy dress costume.

Playing card themed dress. Unknown date.

Queen of Spades costume c. 1905.

Along with my can-can research, it inspired me to do a number of add-ons, including my heart bloomers and the ribbon trim along the edges of my bloomers and bodice sleeves, and the hearts on them. In addition, I maxed out on the accessories.

Astoria Shoes

Red clocked stockings

Stockings and shoes were from from American Duchess.

 Matching garters from Zofi Design.

What really changed the direction of the dress though was the heart tiara, from Venus Jewelry. Originally I was going to do some type of fascinator, but I couldn't say no to the tiara and after I put it on, everyone wanted to know if my costume was the Queen of Hearts. I went with it and said yes, especially after we took this picture with Ben, the King of Hearts.

So here is the finished dress in all its glory.

Although I wasn't sure about the sleeves initially, but they certainly grew on me the more I wore the dress because somehow they just "work" with it. However we have found that due to their size, there's a number of photos where they're peeking out of the corner of the frame.

Since this a costume dress, I set up the bodice to lace up the back, rather than worry about hidden hooks and eyes. Originally, I had also planned to sew some hearts near the skirt hem, but then ran out of time. Looking at all the photos, I think I'm going to just leave it off.

Underside of the skirt and my bloomers in action.

The best part of course was the underside of the skirt. For all the swearing and cursing that went into it, it was absolutely fantabulous! There was a lot of skirt flipping because I had to show it off.

I had such a blast in this dress. It's definitely going in the "too keep" pile and I really hope I get another chance to wear it again soon!