Darkly, lolita

The original inspiration for this dress is from a painting called Joanna of Aragon by Raphael and Gulio Romano that I saw in person at the Louvre in August. But I ended up pulling different design elements I loved from the Tudor, Renaissance, and Elizabethan era, so it’s a bit of a mishmash.

I used Simplicity 3782 as a starting point for the pattern since this was my first time making a corset. Using heavy duty hvac cable ties as boning, the corset actually cinched me in quite effectively for a true conical shape and it was comfortable to boot. But because of the boning getting in the way of my sewing machine, I ended up having to hand stitch most everything including the sleeves and all the finishes.