Completed: August 2023
Hours Spent: 20-ish
Debuted: Colossalcon South 2023
Why This Costume:
I mean, I’m very much the target demographic for this movie and I’m still absolutely obsessed with all the outfits in it. This outfit and Margot Robbie’s Perfect Day dress were 1000% on my wishlist the moment they appeared in the trailers, but I decided to bite the bullet and go for it about a week ahead of attending Colossalcon South.
Purchased Pieces:
- Pink Seashell Necklace and Earring Set from Amazon
- Free Comfort Boxer Brief from Parade (no longer in stock)
- Shoes (reused from Swim Marianne)
Patterns Used:
- Sun Hat from Lorenna Buck
- Barbara Bodice from Charm Patterns (available on Patreon)
- Barbara dress (skirt) from IndigoJinjo
Super Helpful Tutorials:
How I Made it:
First up, a little design decision disclaimer: IndigoJinjo’s bodice is definitely more accurate to the screen version, but I absolutely DID NOT want to do a FBA on it and generally find princess seams easier to fit with this style of bodice. Hence my decision to Frankenstein with the Charm Patterns bodice! Charm Patterns is also one of the few pattern lines that fits me “out of the envelope” with minimal alterations, so that was definitely a bonus for a crunch project!
This fabric was honestly garbage (thanks for reminding me why I don’t shop with you anymore, Online Fabric Store), but pink and white gingham or buffalo print fabric was nearly impossible to find on short notice last summer, so you deal with what you can find. Since the fabric was SUPER thin, I underlined all the pieces with some white batiste I had leftover from another project.
The fronts and backs of the bodice were assembled “theatre-style” – aka, they were fully finished and then I serged the side seams before sewing the fronts to the backs. The big reason we do this is to make it easier to make adjustments for a wide variety of bodies. Since I didn’t have a lot of time for mock-ups on this outfit, that was an ideal way for me to double-check fit prior to putting in all the final stitches.
Kirsty’s pattern has a full back option as well as the heart cut-out seen in the movie. I adore the cut-out, but I’m not someone who can really get away with not wearing some kind of bust support. The cutout was *right* in the way of my bra line, so I had to come up with another solution. To make this option work for me, I decided to do a cutout using Kirsty’s pattern as a template. After creating the cutout, I stitched a piece of nude mesh to the backside of the fabric and lined the back with a fabric that also somewhat matches my skin tone to keep with the illusion.
I went with the Beach version of the skirt for this outfit and it was super straight forward to stitch up. My major recommendation would be to draw in your scallops directly from the pattern. It’ll save a lot of headache!
Kirsty’s version of this outfit closes in the back with the bow. Due to my construction process, I had to close this up with a side invisible zipper (like the Perfect Day dress) instead.
The final piece I made for this outfit was the ADORABLE beach hat! This is a super easy pattern and a very fast make. My only recommendation if you opt to make this yourself would be to stiffen the brim a bit. I’ll likely add some bias tape to the edge of the brim and slide in some millinery wire for future wears.
To finish everything up, I paired the outfit with some super cute gingham shorts from Parade (sadly, out of stock in this print), an adorable set of jewelry from Etsy, and a super cheap wig from Amazon. Eventually I’ll replace it and do a bit of styling, but it worked for a quick wear!
Thoughts on this build:
Honestly, this was a super fast build that I made for that sweet, sweet dopamine rush and I LOVE it. I don’t usually recommend quickie builds this close to the con as a general practice, but it turned out pretty well and I’ve had a few chances to wear it since Colossal! I honestly feel super cute and will probably wear it as a beach cover up again this summer. Now to see about getting proper photos…
The Geeky Seamstress 