Second-Hand Socialite

It's time for the annual second-hand/DIY Halloween costume post. A few years ago, I aspired to be something glamorous and epic for Halloween. And at the last minute, I made a fatal mistake in my DIY-ing, and had to change direction entirely. 

This year, I was out thrifting with my friend T, and kid you not, the Goodwill gods directed me to 2 identical ballgowns, new-with-tags, and in my size and the adjacent size. 

It was meant to be that I should revisit the idea from years ago.  Introducing, painter Gustav Klimt's muse, the socialite Adele Bloch-Bauer. She was the subject of several of his paintings, and the 2015 film "Woman in Gold". 

This is the pre-altered dress. About 6" too long for me, but otherwise a perfect fit and very comfortable. My goal is to not damage the dress with my costume embellishments, so I still end up with an evening gown. 

Beyond this being a generally great gown, the price was fantastic. As mentioned, it was new with tags, so I know the original retail price was $357. The Goodwill price was $50, which was already a great deal. However, I noticed the other size was marked $10 less. ALWAYS ask the question. So I bring both dresses to the register and ask if I can pay the lower price, and they agree! So this gown came home with me for $40 (89% off).

First, I start with hemming the dress for my bitty 5'3" stature. I'm finally trying a zig zag stitch, because it's a stretchy fabric.

If you can learn some of these basic stitches, you can save some major cash. I had a formal dress hemmed last year for a wedding and the alterations cost $70 at Nordstrom. Halloween costumes are a great low-risk project to practice on, because worst case scenario is I only wear it for Halloween. 

Next, I use that 6 inches I cut from the hem, and reuse it to make a wrap that will serve as a faux ruffled "cold-shoulder" neckline. Adele's ruffle is patterned, so I'm painting on a design before sewing. The paint? Craft acrylics from Buy Nothing (free!) mixed with a little textile medium.

Onto the body of the dress, the painting is decorated with what I describe as eyeball shapes. For those, I started with an old bed sheet that  contained a similar pattern, and embellished with acrylic paint.

Now, when I went to attach these appliqués to the dress, I wanted to make sure I could remove them without residue, so I could rewear the dress in the future. I tried 2 products: a basting spray adhesive (did not work to adhere the eyeballs), and a double sided fabric tape, which worked phenomenally. (Cost $9)

Finally, I completed the look with this gold and pearl collar. I had found the collar at an estate sale for $5 years ago, with no purpose in mind, but knowing I'd eventually put it to good use. This collar emulates the stunning bejeweled heirloom necklace that Adele wears.

Here is the completed look! For just $54 (dress, collar, and tape), I was able to create a one-of-a-kind look:

This price is competitive with the average pre-packaged adult costume cost at Spirit Halloween, and is a $320 savings on the leftover strapless formal gown.

Now... time to start thinking of ideas for next year. :)