This costume was made for a friend who had a desire to be Belle, but with an edge. Design wise the dress used a combination of Simplicity 8404 (skirt) and 8406 (corset). The basic corset pattern was used as the initial shape but drastically altered to fit and flatter the 8 year old. The corset was a combination of Yellow Rose metallic Brocade fabric, with a butter yellow satin lining and trim. The lining was a gold taffeta skirt with nylon netting gathered and sewn to the topside lower half  to build fullness. A butter yellow satin underskirt, toped with a two tone yellow taffeta overskirt. There were three layers of two toned taffeta to make up the overskirt. The entire skirt was bound in a waistband made from the brocade and a zipper installed in the back. The corset had grommets along the center back and was tied with a satin ribbon. The corset was designed to sit higher on the girls chest and back, and light flexible boning was added in the center and the sides, stopping at the waist to allow for comfort when running around that night. She looked wonderful and truly felt like a princess, I felt it was a perfect mix of pieces and design to compliment this 8 year old Belle.

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