Lady Gaga – Armani Prive Grammys 2010 Red Carpet Dress

Made for: Dragoncon 2010

Background: Thought this would be a fun project.

Journal Entries: Read more at my Lady Gaga tag

Related Costumes: Taylor Swift, Kate Pierson, Stevie Nicks

Patterns Used:
Simplicity 2621 (bodice), Kwiksew 3052 (bodysuit)

Bodice:

I started by making the bodice – I used a slightly altered Tudor era pattern, mostly just raising the neckline. I made the bodice out of 2 layers of white cotton, a layer of interfacing, boning, and then an outer layer of organza. It laces up the back.

Skirt:

For the skirt, my husband helped me make a cage out of wire. We brainstormed the shape and the front pieces that would basically “anchor” it to my body by sliding under the bodice. I had already made a mock-up out of scrap fabric for the skirt, so I just tweaked that old mockup, cut out my organza, and built the skirt around the cage, hand-sewing organza around the base of the wireform to create the bottom hem. It zips up on the side back, I added a waistband and closes with a hook and eye at the very top. It has 3 “spines” that stick out the top of the waistband at the front that slide under the bodice and help hold the whole thing up by bracing it against my body.

Wig:

The wig was also an adventure. The first blonde wig I bought did not work out at all, so I rescued another wig I already had with some added wefts and used it for this. It turned out ok! I didn’t even sew them together, I just put them on individually and pin them in place. I ended up using the blonde wig for another costume not long after so I needed to have them remain separate and not sewn together!

Bodysuit:

For the bodysuit I used sheer fabric and a bodysuit pattern, I got that assembled very quickly and a zipper put in the back. Then I started adding the sequins. I tried to do this on a mannequin first, but that was just making the suit be glued to the mannequin, so I had to do it on myself. The most awkward part was the foot/ankle section – I had to have the shoes on too, so it would line up with the shoe straps correctly. That was some awkward bending. I would have loved to add more sequins but I never got the chance.

Shoes:

The shoes I bought online – the heels aren’t accurate, but I decided to go with something I would NOT break my neck attempting to walk in! I added the sequins and beads so they would blend into the sequinning on the bodysuit.

Hoops:

The hoops were interesting to make. I had hoop material I had intended to use only to realise last minute it wasn’t going to work, it was too heavy, so I had to come up with a replacement very quickly and ended up using light-weight plastic boning. I covered them in holographic tape, which didn’t stick very well and had to have clear tape put on it on top of it. (I was still actively adding more tape in the hotel room at Dragoncon, that’s how last minute this ended up being.) The hoops were held up by 4 snaps on the bodice… and unfortunately the snaps holding them to the bodice came off the hoops as soon as I hit the con floor. After I had just walked down 6 flights of stairs in this. There was no way I was going back up to fix it, so we ended up just taping it with some tape my husband had on his camera. Not perfect, but at least it held them up.

History:

I really enjoyed how this costume looked despite the issues. If you’ll notice I have no other photos of it since the white backdrop shoot – no dressform photos or anything. That’s because I got tired of the massive skirt living in my attic and sold it a few years ago. I miss it! But I’m glad it went to a good home. I do really wish I’d made that thing collapsible. Lessons learned.

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