Katie's Tudor Gown:

Katie is the only other person I consistantly make costumes for, other than myself. There's two reasons for this... First, she is incredably easy going and second, she's very close to my body type with the exception of being about 7 inches taller than me. This means that there's minimal guess work in terms of fit. Two weeks before 12th Night, Katie called me up from somewhere (she's a flight attendant) and told me that come hell or high water, she was going to 12th Night, and that meant she needed something to wear. And could it be Tudor? No problem! And the above gown was the result of about a week of frantic sewing (all the while continuing to work on my own outfit). Given the time constraints and the fact that Katie wasn't present for multiple fittings, this gown uses a lot of theatrical construction (*ahem*shortcuts) like faking the effect of a kirtle under the bodice (the white beaded part that shows at the edge of the neckline). The fabrics we chose were largely synthetic- a deep chocolate brown embossed velvet for the gown, gold taffeta for the sleeve and skirt linings, and a red/black shot taffeta for the under sleeves and petticoat (which also matched the silk taffeta I used in my own gown REALLY well). Katie handled the beading on the neckline and French Hood.

This gown turned out so flattering on Katie that everyone who saw it decided she should just live in it (which would make being a flight attendant kind of awkward) . It also inspired a whack of people to vow to make their own Tudor gowns, so if you see a sudden explosion of Tudor gowns out there, you'll know why. ;)