FOUNDATIONS REVEALED COMPETITION ENTRY
Mrs Danvers goes to the Ball
(click images to to enlarge)
Outline the story …
One of the pivotal moments in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is when Mrs Danvers tricks the narrator into dressing up in the same costume as the previous Mrs de Winter (aka Rebecca) for the costume party. I always wondered what Danvers would have worn to the costume party, and this is the result. Going along with the botanical imagery in the novel, I chose a forest green silk dupioni. As Rebecca’s closest companion, the use of beetle wings is a subtle nod to Dany’s role in her life (the bug to the former’s azaleas). I chose a 1898 - 1900 silhouette, partly inspired by the 2012 Stuttgart iteration of the musical, where Danvers (played by the magnificent Pia Douwes) dresses in a late Victorian housekeeper outfit. The tucks on the blouse was also a detail I took from the musical costume.
Outline the construction…
The main challenge of the project was time. It was my first time using beetle wings and it was a lot of work filing them down, drilling holes into them (for what seemed like 173772 wings). They were also rather fiddly and sewing them onto the lace was rather taxing. I used approximately 6m of the green dupioni and a similar meterage of cotton and linen for the lining. I also hand made the buttons by cutting the beetle wings and gluing jewellery chains around it. The “puff” part of the sleeves are also interfaced which managed to help them retain their shape. The blouse is drafted from a blouse block and slightly extended lengthwise to give space for the tucks.
I LOVE your costume. The beetle wing details are amazing. I did Rebecca! We should’ve been on the same page 😉
So lovely, The beatle wing details is such a nice touch!
I just love the beetle wing embellishment. Your setting is lovely as well.
Actual beetle wings?! Impressive. The hit of iridescence against the deep tone of the dupioni is really effective. Very nice.
Fabulous! I love this book and you did justice to Mrs. Danvers! The wings are such a great touch!
This is beautiful. Fantastic work! The beetle wings are *chef’s kiss*. Love the deep green fabric. I’ve never read Rebecca but now I want to!
Wow, the beetle wings are so impressive. Must have been a lot of work to get them to look as great as yours turned out. The green and black and beetle wings colors are so perfect together.
I love this! It’s really very well done! Thank you!