I am ready

My talent costume is complete.  I will be wearing a body suit with a wrap skirt over. It will appear to be a ball gown.  Then during the high point in the music, the clock will chime, and light up. Then I have a costume change. I will remove the skirt and put on a fringe jacket and top hat. I will retain the body suit and is it helps me transition from one costume to the other.







talent costume: body suit and removable wrap skirt

 

I finished my talent jacket yesterday. I know I use the word Amazing a lot….but this is going to look a-mazing!  I made this jacket about five years ago, and it is a coat with tails. It had served me well. But it was time to upgrade.  It is like Jacket 2.0.  It is Cobalt blue satin with fringe. The collar is rhinestone.  I upgraded by first removing the existing sleeves.  I had found a matching fabric made of sparkle fabric. Then I re-beaded the new sleeves with fringe. So now it looks amazing in the light, it is like blue on blue.  You get the glitter of sequins and the flash of beaded fringe together.  Also I added length to the new sleeves. The old ones were about 2 inches too short if I raised my arms to high while performing. So I added a pleated panel under the arm and two inches in length at the cuff. The under arm fabric gives additional room to move.  I also used a flat plastic horse hair braid inside the cuff-hem to make it stiff and not allow them to fall down my wrist when my arms are raised. 




same body suit with beaded jacket, and top hat

 

I also finished my wrap skirt and attached it to a rhinestone belt. The skirt is layers and layers of netting.   I was not sure how to make one, so I went to a local prom store and looked to see how one was made. I do this a lot.  Being a self taught person, it is not unlike me to see a dress and turn it inside out to see the construction.  Then it say “ oh ok, I get it…I can do that”. This skill has been very valuable to me. It allows me to work with out a pattern when necessary.  The skirt is very Disney princess. It took me 23 yards of fabric on the skirt alone. I was gathering and sewing …and gathering some more, and sewing some more.  OMG. That was a lot of gathering. Then I attached it to a rhinestone belt by hand sewing with a twine and upholstery needle.  It worked. Some times you have to be creative. (I got the idea from a project I did year. I found small rugs on clearance at a local home store. I used the upholstery needle and yarn to sew the rugs into one big rug.) The skirt turned out great. I may spray glitter the net so that it will shimmer. You know Drag Queens, they live for sparkle and shine. I have a motto that I have stuck to for years; Flashy not Trashy!  (I got it from the movie, Beautician and the Beast circa 1997.  I love that movie.)  I finished it by surging the raw edges and now it is DONE.

I will be working on my presentations costume tonight. It is the last thing I need to complete. I started it two days ago, and will put it all together tonight.

Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with my posts about the pageant. The pageant starts on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday. I will lucky to be in my home bar for this one. I feel I have put in the work, and now it is time to shine. I am also prepared mentally to accept the outcome, win or lose, it will be a good contest. Thanks for all the well wishes and emails I have received.  Each one was so special. I will try to update again on Monday. Tomorrow is the day I have been preparing for, cross your fingers! I hope to be the NEXT Miss Gay Texas State at Large 2011-2012.