Padme Amidala Ep. 3 "Peacock Dress"

Okay, I'm coming to the C&P folks for help. Fenig and I have been looking high and low for a suitable velvet that would work for the Peacock Gown overcoat. While doing the burnout etching by hand is probably what will happen, (although... YIKES!), the hope is to find an on-the-market velvet that is a very close match. In order to make a similar pattern with all the colors would be stroke-inducing. Seriously, can you imagine resist-dying all those yards and yards of velvet, simply to get a blue underlayer??? (just the thought makes me nauseous)

Is there a velvet out there that is purposely two-tone (specifically for etching), with the backing being one color, and the velvet another?

On a more positive note, I've made some good finds in the search for the two-tone fabrics that make up the underdress:

Shot silk taffetas:
http://www.fabrics.net/outlet/Detail.asp?ProductID=1967 - blue/orange
http://www.denverfabrics.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/SI/r/12950.600.jpg - royal/brown (looks too dark)
http://beautifulfabric.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fpage=1&productID=299&cartID=2920456&categoryid=8 - embroidered, but gorgeous

Habotai: (for the blouse)
http://www.bangkok-thailand.com/create-your-own-two-tone-thai-silk.htm#colors - create your own two-tone silk - $14.00 yd or less ? interesting option


Velvets and other overcoat possibilities:
http://beautifulfabric.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fpage=2&productID=174&cartID=2920456&categoryid=18 - may be to heavy, may be wrong shades, but might work

If any of the links I've posted here are inappropriate, please feel free to edit them. I have them saved in a word document, and will be happy to share with those interested.

Please remember that this is an ongoing fabric search for me. I have not seen any threads in this forum dedicated to this dress, although I know people have done it (Nacchi's friend has a beautiful version that she wore to Comic-Con). Of course, ANY tips about this dress are wanted and appreciated!

Post pics of your own dress, if you have 'em!

S_S edit: just unlocking.

 

Oooh, dang. I saw a good silk velvet when I was looking for other fabrics at B&J Fabrics in NYC. (I call it the Padme Store because I swear they have every velvet possible that was used in her gowns. Just hideously expensive. ) It was a rich reddish-orange-brown with a cerulean silk base. Granted, the shade of blue wasn't the perfect aqua of the real overcoat, but the effect was exactly the same, and if I were making the Peacock gown I'd have totally used it.

I don't know if B&J would ship to anyone, especially outside of Manhattan, but it would be awesome if they did.

 

What is the name of the store? Maybe I can look them up, call and ask. Y'never know. Though....hideously expensive sounds painful...

 

Hey Fenig! I just looked up B&J online, and they just have a splash page. But it *does* have their contact info:

http://www.bandjfabrics.com

Always worth asking!

 

If you gals want swatches, I'm sure us NYC costumers can get one or two Moriah is rigth, they do have every color velvet and a lot of textures as well. They have the perfect Mustard Robe velvet, but its $30/yd

 

One of my local fabric stores does have two toned velvet, can't remember if they have the colours your looking for though

 

I was thinking of doing this costume also, but I too got stuck on the fabics.

I did find the perfect fabric for the under dress at the Denver Fabrics store. I believe it might have been an iridescent taffeta in blue and bronze and was on sale for only $36 a yard. Yikes! I looked on their website for the same fabric, but I didn't see it. And since the fabric I saw was on clearance I don't know if there was enough on the bolt.

For the velvet, isn't there certain dyes you can get that one only dyes the silk back of the velvet and another dyes the rayon pile of it? I don't know where you can get them from though. Sabine from Movie Gowns had on her website how she did hers, but her website is down.

Have you done any research on her hairpiece? I found two possible places where you can get the dreds/ringlets for it.

One

and

Two

 

Denver Fabrics is usually pretty good about filling special orders, provided that the manufactuer doesn't require an obscene minimum yardage order (which at $36/yard on clearance, I doubt they do), and as long as you're ordering a good portion of their required order. Depending on how much yardage is needed, it'd be easy to get them to order more.

 

Naboo Girl, I think those dread-locks look really good. I think I'd go for the first batch - but only because I can see the picture better on that particular site. The other one, it's difficult to tell. I heard that the film one was done similar to the Ep. 2 Battle Outfit hair. Just artificial hair wrapped around spongy tube things. But, why go to all that trouble, when pre-made dreads exist??

Did everyone see the Simplicity Fall 2005 thread? And the very obvious Peacock Dress pattern? Click on the picture of Leia's "New Hope" dress, and you'll see the full pattern picture. Pretty cool! It will most likely need to be altered some, but that's obviously how it goes with commercial patterns. What great news!!

 

i am TOTALLY getting the pattern for the "Peacock dress"!!!!! i am SUPER excited about that!!! now I just have to find the right fabric for it >_< darn. I don't want to have to do that top jacket part....all those amidala symbols *_*

 

Great thread.

This is one of those costumes I would love to tackle someday if I could get my hands on the appropriate fabrics. The research you've all been doing is fantastic so far.

I was surprised to see that Simplicity made a pattern based on this. Perhaps they began production on it prior to realizing the costume had been cut from the film. *sigh* But hopefully we should get to see it in the dvd's deleted scenes.

At first glance, and without having gotten my hands on the pattern yet, the first difference I see is that the sleeves on the outer velvet robe will need to be lengthened. And it looks like they didn't make the underdress with any pleats. What other differences do you guys see?
[image=http://www.simplicity.com/assets/4443/4443fb.gif] [image=http://www.padmeswardrobe.com/images/episodeIII/padme/rasta/IIIR09.jpg]

 

Yeah, it's too bad the scenes with this dress were cut out of the film.
One of Quincy's biggest complaints when wearig some of her costumes is that most people in the public do not recognize most of these obsure costumes. Sci/Fi conventioneers stand a better chance of knowing what it is, but if we're not at a convention, it could be seen as some sort of an elaborate outfit.
Don't get me wrong --- this is a beautiful costume as are all of those in Padme's EP III wardrobe, but I have to consider the practicality of putting the time and expense into something that will likely be recieved with "Nice costume, what are you supposed to be?" nad Quincy might only wear it once or twice. I could be wrong and she might enjoy wearing it often, however, since the costume has not been seen in the movie, only a very small portion of the population will know what it is.

I am still going to get the patterns......and I will keep an eye out for suitable fabrics and dreds.

 

Nos, that's been one of my pet-peeves as well. I wore my Ep. 2 Blue Poncho dress to Comic-Con last year, and was recognized by ONE person dressed as a Jedi (who just nodded and said "Nice work"), and then asked by two girls if I was dressed as Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess. I was ever-so-slightly irritated. All that work, not even recognized by hardcore SW fans. **sigh**

Obi-Dawn, I think the biggest difference I've noticed is that Padmé's dress seems... well... SOLID. I know it's not, and that it's most likely a very sturdy hoop underneath, but the Simplicity pattern doesn't seem to acknowledge this. I mean, really, what kind of support is going on underneath that skirt!? It's holding the shape of pleated two-tone taffeta, and a dual-layer silk-velvet heavily lace-embossed overcoat! I have a hunch that the back of the coat - where the yoke and the sleeves meet - is wrong as well. I just don't imagine pleating - or see any sign of it - going on back there. It doesn't mean it's not there, but I just don't think it's constructed quite in that way.

I wonder if they have instructions in the pattern about how to do the headpiece...

 

Simplicity has this pattern for the Peacock dress actually, including the head piece.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/JainaDurron/4443.jpg]

 

Obi-Dawn Kenobi already point it out in her post.

 

If You goto the Padawans Guide, there is a link in there with details on how to make it.

A tallented young lady on here called Guriwannabe made the same dress for the ep3 Premier. it's her photos on the website.

But she also has another site you can look at

www.guriscostumes.com

Hope this helps

 

Maybe the peacock dress has some sort of hoop under it like the green cut velvet robe - it had a kind of quilted hooped undergarment that looks like it would give it good support.

kreleia - I know what you mean about the blue tatooine costume! And it was even in the movie! I still like wearing it though - it's comfy.

 

Didn't see it.

 

Is anyone attempting this or have it finished recently? I am thinking about it and just was wondering.

 

Hi!
Even though the Simplicity pattern has some flaws as far as accuracy goes, it looks like a great place to start! It got me psyched up, so I bought it and hope to begin piecing it together in the future. Of course, I've begun making the lake dress and am in the process of revamping my picnic dress skirt....yikes.
Regarding the overcoat portion of the peacock gown, is anyone going to hand-embroider those little patterns? I've seen some close-up pics of the blue embroidery, and it looks soooo nice--it's just that I may be collecting my social security by the time I actually finish. Any suggestions or ideas? There have been so many great ideas so far!!! It's great to see everyone so into the art of costume making--my studnets either think I'm really cool 'cause I'm into Star Wars...or they think I'm a total dork. Oh, well--they don't know what they're missing he he he.
---Ashlee

 

I have started it just for fun and mine won't be anywhere near screen accurate, but my wife doesn't care. I used a Navy Blue Satin for the dress, a Maroon Satin type material for part of the overcoat and a black lace with design in it to go over the maroon to finish, so pretty much straightforward with what the pattern suggests. It's coming together very slowly as I've never done costumes for anyone but myself let along learning to do zippers for the first time.

 

It IS comfy! The most comfortable costume I have, by far. I wish it was more recognizable, but so it goes. **shrug**

 

Here's another idea for the dreds...at Joanne's they have packets of "curly chenille." It's used for doll hair and comes in one 4.5 yard strand. It looks just like real hair and does not fall all to pieces or tangle when cut to the desired length. It was on clearance yesterday at $1 a pack, so I bought all they had. I'll post a pic. Hope this helps.
---Ashlee

 

I am trying to make this costume.
The simplicity pattern ig goog for the underdress and the front of the coat.
It doens't work for the Headpice and the back of the coat and the neck.
In Paris, France i have founsd the fabric for the underdress but the coat, it's very difficult

 

Great tip Ashlee! Thanks!

I still don't know whether I will make this, but the 'hair' would be an important part.