Easter Parade Costume w/ New Bolero

(a.k.a. Test Run for Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume)

Throw some flowers on it and call it 'pretty'

 So my awesome friends wanted to attend the Easter Parade in NYC [which, if you're not aware, is not an actual 'parade' with floats and marching bands, but simply people wearing awesome hats ('Easter Bonnets' if you will) and strolling along 5th avenue. See the movie 'Easter Parade' with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland for further clarification, or just because it's fun!]. Being as they are my friends, however, they of course wanted to do this in full steampunk costume.

My Plaid Monstrosity, however, was not completed yet. Luckily, work has been slow at my 'real' job and so I had the Thursday off, finished up my bodice, and decided upon a bolero and some new trim for my topper to make the costume presentable.
The bolero I drafted up from a free online period patten draft at http://www.tudorlinks.com/treasury/freepatterns/. It's actually part of an 1896 Bodice pattern, with full-on leg-of-mutton sleeves. And yes, I know I mix a lot of different parts of the Victorian era together when making my costumes. Anyway, the bodice is out of more of the textured dot-on-dot black cotton (also used here), which I still have a little bit left.

Ultimately, this costume will feature a vest-underbust out of the black medallion brocade used in the underbust corset. Instead, here, I just wore the corset on the outside and added the bolero. The bodice and skirt on their own are a bit overwhelming with the amount of purple plaid.

The wig is a cheap costume wig, that I got on sale for about a $1 after Halloween at Jo-Ann fabrics a number of years ago . Of course, I couldn't remember where it went, but my mom found whilst searching through storage bins for one of her quilting projects she had wanted to pick back up again. Needless to say it needed some love (a brushing with a comb made for Barbie hair and lots of wig spray).

I had some fake purple flowers, because I intend on making a Victorian style ladies' hat to go with the finished Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume. Add a strip of fabric and voila, matching hat trim.

We of course made pilgrimage to Nikola Tesla Corner

Other Posts for this costume:

UNDERBUST: Component #1 for Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume

PETTICOATS: Component #2 for Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume 

SKIRT: Component #3 for Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume

BODICE LINING: Component #4A for Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume
BODICE: Component #4 for Plaid Voile Steampunk Costume