A Very Beastly Queen

This was my second 'big' costume. I wanted to make a Tudor gown, but wanted something 'different' to enter into the first Costumers' Ball Parade.... hence the dragon persona. The head is made from papier mache... a rough cardboard form, details built up in plasticine, then covered in papier mache and a final painted effect.... the final head is quite heavy and the tight fitting head band makes it sit very securely on my head. The 'partlette' is a sheer black fabric that I could see through fairly adequately but didn't show my face.

The hands are made from firm foam... it was easily (but messily) carved with sharp scissors, then painted. They fit like gloves - a thumb and two fingers in each claw - so i could use them quite effectively.

The gown itself is made from upolstry end-of-roll fabrics, so it was pretty cheap... and the heavy weight gives the gown real strength. I did break a few needles on the huge thickness of pleats though! The faux fur was cheap... the definite downside of that is that it sheds terribly. By the end of the project it looked like a cat had exploded in my living room. Underneath is the tudor corset and the large hoop skirt I made.

I went on to wear the Tudor gown on it's own to several SCA and other historical events.

AWARDS:

• "Most Theatrical" (Journeyman Class) Australian Costumers' Guild Inaugural Ball (Melbourne, June 1996)