Disney's Cinderella 2015 Ballgown

Aaaaaaand here is one of the biggest, most time consuming projects I've ever made!!
It took...2 years to complete, and I'm really, really happy with the result. It's pretty difficult for me to be 100% happy of my work, but I have to say that I couldn't have done anyhting more for this dress having some more euros to spend I could have added some layers of ruffles but seriously, I have already invested enough on Cinderella XD
It took very long to gather all the material needed, and even more time for the structural planning, and making...let's say that the making was the easiest part XXXD
I'm happy I took on this project though, I think it gave me some great chances to grow in planning and decorations
It's not a mistery that I fell in love with this ballgown as soon as it came on screen during the movie, and even though Cinderella is not really my favourite princess I really felt I needed to make it. I think I like movie Ella better than the original movie one, though xD
I started the planning in 2015 and finished it in late may 2017, so it took exactly 2 years to complete. Finding the materials was very complicated as I really try to balance quality and price as best as I can, especially for a project such as this where SO MUCH material is needed. I was very lucky as I was sent to Hong Kong for work in 2015 and I could find all the perfect fabrics for pretty cheap! The best find, though, was the outer fabric, that is a pretty high end replica of the original Yumissima used for the original dress. The seller told me that this is Yuma (the heavier version of Yumissima), but I have to speak frankly I think this is simply a replica as it was too cheap compared to the original XD the result is scaringly similar though, so I'm very happy
The only material I was SURE I wanted to be exactly like the original were the crystals. 80% of the whole expense for this dress were them XD I bought mostly Swarovski in dimension SS16 Aurora Boreale, and added a 30% of Preciosa as they are slightly cheaper (^^) the result is REALLY brillant, I feel like crying every time I see them moving (*__*)

I also wanted to be as close as possible to the original structure, so I made a foundation corset like the one worn by Lily James and also steel boned the bodice for the best shape the only difference is that, you see, I'm really busty so I can't have bodices cut low in the back XD so mine is a pretty standard height with unconcealed lacing to simplify dressing up by myself XD

A breakdown of all the layers included is as follows, from the inner to the outer:

- Foundation corset + elliptical cage
- Petticoat n1, 1 layer of white organza with aurora boreale white godet organza ruffles
- Petticoat n2, 3 layers of panelled baby blue chiffon with purple, green, pink, blue and white organza ruffles
- Petticoat n3, 2 layers of deep blue organza full circle skirts with matching ruffles
- Skirt n1, 1 layer of aurora boreale blue + 1 layer of aurora boreale purple + 1 layer of aurora boreale white (all full circle skirts in organza)
- Skirt n2, 1 layer of baby blue with liliac hues yuma cut in two full skirts (total 720 degrees)
- corseted bodice with detacheable bertha

Detailed quantities of material used are:
11.058 between Swarovski and Preciosa SS16 size aurora boreale crystals for the upper skirt
170mt of fabric between all the layers
silk embroidery thread by the hundred of meters (-__-)

The skirt is pretty short on the front and longer on the back to follow the original pattern. I had considered making it all the same, shorter lenght but every time I watched the movie and saw the longer train...I just had to make it XXXD

The crystals are hot glued ONE BY ONE on the skirt with a crystals wand. Yes. 11k one by one By the end of the process I felt like fainting XD it took pretty long too, especially because the smell of the glue is pretty strong and you can't stay too long focused on it. Ironing them by patches was not an option as the fabric I used (yuma) is not heat friendly and cannot be touched by heat, unless you want holes in it (=_____

The butterflies on the bertha are hand made too, they're machine embroidered one by one on different organza bases in different hues to mimick the originals that were hand painted there are blue, silver, marroon, yellow and baby blue butterflies positioned as close as possible to the original one

To recreate a similar hue for the corset I used three different layers of fabric, one of baby blue silk shangtung and two of Yuma, plus I hand dyed the piping to match

The shoes are lacey kitten heels that came already half cristalized, I added some hundreds more Swarovskis for additional sparkle but I really went for comfort here more than fidelity to the original I can't stand wearing unconfortable shoes XXXDD

I wore this ballgown only once but I really hope to take it out more often it's difficult to transport though, so it might take a bit of time...XD
There are a gazillion WIPS and videos on Instargam, if you're interested XD

WIP and other pictures on Instagram

 This work is not stock and is protected by creative commons - ask permission before using (chances are high that I'll say yes xD)!!