Vin's dress

This is one of the dresses I imagine Vin would have worn at the balls. 
I made itn as the assignment for the Theatrical Costume Class I completed at the Belfast Metropolitan College.

Reading the book I imagine that the dresses mentioned would be similar to those of the mid 18th century in North America. At the same time those dresses require very large cages and a number of crinolines. Vin doesn't seem to have do undress completely in order to run or jump. My dress is, therefore, less cumbersome.

I initially considered the possibility of usin the tipe of corsets found in Elisabethan dresses because the corset was described as rigid. The profile was, however, too squared and I decided for a more modern type of corset.

The decoration is meant to be a reminder of the nature of Vin. As a Mistborn she finds solace in the Mists. The tendrils of mist are made of bias binding tape I made using leftovers of silk from the main dress. The fabric was dyed with acid dyes in darker shades of blue and hand-stitched on the dress. 
Other, thinner tendrils are made with a double or single whipped running stitch using hand-spun and had-dyed silk and metallic embroidery thread.

 

The dress is held in shape by a petticoat with inbuilt hoops. 

 

The dress, with its inbult corset is closed by a long laced fastening. 

The dress was exhibited at the End of Year Show in Stormont.
As I had only one mannequin at my disposal the dress is displayed with the Mistcloak.