Self Directed : New Direction

So I've been working on going in a different direction for my self directed. I've been looking at children's beauty pageants and today's ideals of beauty. I think that it's really interesting that all through out history we see children's costume as the miniature version of adults, and now in today's society it looks as though it's starting to revisit that ideal. It's also strange that today's ideas of beauty are focusing more and more on youth, we try to look younger, the models in most high end magazines have the body's of 12 year old boys, not to mention that they themselves (the models) are getting younger and younger

We have this obsession and love of the youthful look, and then only a fine line away we're all looking down upon pedophilia and talking about how disgusting it is (an opinion that I do agree with).










Yet in the pageant world there seems to be some sort of strange taboo, the children are getting tanned and made up to look like miniature adults but often put in little dresses that give the impression of them being dolls

                                                                   a natural picture of the same little girl (Eden Wood)

So that's what I'm researching for the most part and looking into and as the actual practical project I'm making a pageant dress.

Some of the flowers that I'm hand beading. I'm currently beading them on the same shear fabric that I've used over top of the bodice. I'll then cut the flowers out and hand sew them on to the bodice.

After cutting a bodice pattern on the stand I cleaned up the pattern pieces. I like to keep my patterns in muslin because they're easy to store and use and last far longer than paper patterns.

 Here's my first muslin of the dress base, I didn't make the pettie coat, it's actually an old tutu I had laying around. In the end I will be completely construction the entire skirt

back view

 Here are the fabrics I'm using with (above) and without (below) flash. the fabric in the middle is the main fabric that the bodice will be constructed out of, the fabric on the left will be layered over the top fabric to give it that extra sheen as well as keep it from being to 'party dress' and 'cheap' looking. Both fabrics will be in the skirt but the main skirt fabric will be that on the far right.

 Here is the bodice sewn together, without (above) and with (below) flash. Yes all those little stitches you see will be taken out, they are just there to keep the bodice fabric and the shear top fabric from moving about when I sew them together...pins can only do so much.

inside view of bodice

time so far in dress
45min
2.5 hrs
=3hrs 15min

time in beading so far
4hrs