Dolores Cosplay
I just wanted to add a little photo gallery and some background information on this costume that we got to shoot while out in Big Bear last weekend.
Sarah approached me last year about creating the Dolores dress for Halloween. She being the perfect Dolores, I couldn't wait! I spent many hours staring at different angles of the dress from the show, and if you'd like to check out my Pinterest board, its here.
Dolores research images
I used two different patterns from Truly Victorian as the base for the skirt and bodice. To be honest, the bodice and sleeves were a decided Frankenstein of several patterns in my collection. I used the 1860s short sleeve bodice and adjusted the neckline and armscye, then I used a two part sleeve pattern from an entirely different pattern using the sleeve head from the Truly Victorian pattern with some minor height adjustments. I laid these patterns out on my glass table and traced them into their own proper pattern pieces. I chose to use the darted bodice pattern for ease of fitting - it's so much easier to fit darts than seams. Pinch, pin, stitch. We did have a fun little fitting snafu with that though - somehow I over-stitched and we had to undo and re-fit. But in the end it fit like a glove!
The whole bodice was fit over this little mid Victorian corset that I built approximately five billion years ago as part of my UCLA final costume construction project.
Mid-Victorian corset modeled with modern garments by the lovely Emily Matlack.
The skirt, however, was very simple. It has 6 standard princess seam panels with the selvage as the hem; I measured the length I would need for the skirt to fit over the little bum roll, and stitched it to the waistband. It has a few big box pleats at the back, with a standard placket on the back princess, hidden under the folds.
Under the dress is a simple cotton chemise, the above corset, a small bustle pad, and a white cotton petticoat. Sarah used her own boots for the look, which are perfect for kicking around the rocks and weeds on the frontier.
Dolores and her "handler" on Halloween - click to enlarge
Originally, she had worn this outfit for Halloween with a larger group of people dressed in Westworld regalia. But when we planned last weekend's Big Bear trip we realized it was the perfect opportunity to do a little photoshoot. Naturally, we forgot a few things and the dress is a little wrinkled, but we had so much fun shooting it out in the woods! We even found an old horse fence that suited the vibe perfectly. So without further ado, please enjoy the shots we took!
click to enlarge
