Arwen Blood Red et al

The "Blood Red ", "Requiem", and "Coronation" dresses:

I grouped all three of these dresses together because they all have the same basic design and the same color pattern. They consist of an underdress with a wide scooped neckline and half circle sleeves (possibly larger) while the overdress has the same neckline but the straps (it has no sleeves) turn up a bit sharper than the undress's neckline. The arm holes are open seam you can see it when you look at the coronation gown pictures. The overdress(s) are made out of silk velvet and the trim for the lower part of the sleeve is of paisley silk as well as the small band of fabric on the neckline of the overdress. The Blood Red dress has a wide band of bullion on net trim that has been over dyed. The Requiem dress over dress is made of silk velvet while the underdress is of silk satin. The trims are heavily beaded and there are only 3 seams with an invisible zipper in the back most likely. The sleeves are of a silk brocade. The Coronation gown overdress is of silk velvet and the trims are all beaded lace. All of these gowns has huge trains.

Click on the thumbnails for larger views.

Blood Red Dress

Requiem Dress

Coronation Dress

I decieded to make my own dress my senior year for the prom. My friends and I had decieded to each wear a different "era" dress. One wore a middle class medieval dress another wore a renaissance dress and I was originally going to do a Medieval court dress, but after I saw Arwen's Blood Red one, I changed the pattern a bit as well as built the color scheme around her Requiem dress. I also later wore it for Halloween and bought elven ear tips. I had never sewed any clothes before in my life so I "enlisted" the help of my grandma and just started researching the costumes on-line. One of the best sites out there on LOTR costuming is definately alleycatscratch.com/lotr . I helped my grandma make the dress. I chose the pattern Butterick 3663.You can get this same pattern on either e-bay, House of Anoria or Sewing Patterns.com We drafted the pattern for the sleeves ourselves as well as cut of some of the train since I didn't think it would be practical for prom and dancing (but now I wish it had left it the way it was). We ended up going to 7 stores to get or at least look for the materials we needed. But I was happy with the results and I love wearing it people always give me compliments which I pass on to my grandma. I'm planning on wearing the same dress to the Ohio Great Lakes Medieval Faire this summer (2004). Here are the few pictures i have of my "medieval Arwen dress".