Working a little holiday magic with At Home for the Holidays...
Posted by Donna in FL on December 15, 2025, 8:14 pm
The road from prototype to production was sometimes rocky in the Ashton Drake years. Fabric and accessory availability, budget, and outfit manufacturing issues from time to time meant the production outfit not meeting customer expectations of being a close facsimile of the prototype. While AD did a great job of producing costumes by the thousands for the most part, a few outfits seemed to be especially challenging. I’ve seen several examples of At Home for the Holidays which, like mine, did not deliver the lovely draped bodice created by Tim Kennedy. Much of the problem it seemed to me was the synthetic tafetta used for the bodice and overskirt, which was too stiff to drape like the prototype, which seemed to be a soft and light charmeuse.
Last month I decided to see what I could do to rework the bodice to better fit Miss Marshall. I removed the bow and took apart the top dart that went across the front bodice. After playing with folds and drapes, I settled on folding the lining out and tacking it to the bodice. While the bow was lovely, I decided to use the lavender satin to create a ribbon rose, which I sewed at the shoulder where the bow had been. Finally, I added a little fan of magenta tulle behind the rose. The earrings were some I picked up at the Albuquerque convention years ago and the shoes are a pair of mismatched navy and black pumps that I repainted in platinum. Gene is my “Jean,” a glass eyed AD head repaint with violet hazel eyes on a JamieShow body and a black wig (wig by Tonner, I think.)
Creative projects like these are some of my favorites. Maybe it's because I've always loved Cinderella stories, and feel the joy of taking on the role of the fairy godmother, waving my wand (or needle and thread) and workjng a bit of magic to bring out the beauty that just needed a little help to come forth.
on December 15, 2025, 8:14 pm
