A #MeMade Snow White cosplay costume for World Book Day

So kicking off Me Made May, which I am not officially part of but would like to dabble in, I have a cosplay costume to share with you.

I really love Disney, like love Disney, but lets face it Disney is a bit of a Marmite, the people who love it, love it and the people that hate it, hate it. I have found that Disney is popular in cosplay circles and I can completely understand why. The dresses! Who wouldn't want to try and make those beautiful and sometimes rather offbeat ballgowns.

When I was a little girl I was lucky enough to go to Disney world in Florida and I can very vividly remember the moment a lady ran up to my Mum saying 'Oh wow, you look just like Snow White! That pale skin, that dark hair!'. My Mum was flattered and a little embarrassed and as the years went on we both got older and I started to look more and more like she did on that day (although a little rounder...).

So when it came to choosing a costume for World Book Day back in March I decided that I wanted to dress as Snow White. Because she was one of the original fairy tales committed to writing by the Brothers Grimm, but also because I wanted to make a costume my Mum might one day be able to wear so she can be Snow White again.

This was the first Disney costume I have made completely and 100% from scratch but I did have a little help in the form of Simplicity pattern 2813 Snow White and Cinderella.

Firstly I would like to say that this is the greatest pattern I have worked with so far. I WISH I had known of its existence when I made my Princess Daisy dress (although that still somehow turned out pretty well).  It had really comprehensive instructions and was really straightforward to follow despite containing some really complex elements. Well done Simplicity!!

This costume took a lot of fabric and as I decided to make it in a better quality cotton it was not cheap to make, but I am feeling like it will be a great costume to wear again and again.

I started off making the bodice that was not only fully lined but also had interfacing around the collar, these were two new skills I learnt just for this costume but interfacing makes SUCH a difference I could not believe it (that's the white stuff poking out at the seams)!

I also learnt how to applique the design on the sleeves using wonder webbing and a new zig zag stitch on my sewing machine, which was fairly simple, however what was not simple was the white collar.

I SPENT 3 HOURS ON THE COLLAR!! It has two layers of stiff interfacing, an attempt at machine overlocking and strategic velcro attachment so that the collar would also stand up AND be detachable. It was very hard work, but I was so pleased with the finished effect.

Also how much do I love my swirly fancy fringe in this picture!!

And here is the final outfit, including the hair bow, that I also made myself :)

And here is a quick selfie I took with my wig on before heading off to work.

Annnnnnnd here is the final thing, complete with apple! I really wasn't pleased with the make up as I had to keep it fairly toned down for work, I am looking forward to wearing it again, and since I have had my hair done, I wont need to wear a wig - YES!

Sad news is that I didn't win the staff competition this year, but I don't think it would have been very fair to win two years in a row.

But I did get some very weird looks on the train!

The best part of the who day was when I walked past the nursery near my work and one of the staff came running out to ask me to say hello to the children. It was adorable!

What do you think of my costume? Do I make a good Snow White?

Review: A Rapunzel dress for World Book Day (even if it is the Disney version...)

I have always been a big fan of fair tales, whether that come in the form of a Disney Movie, or the original word of mouth tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Something about those fantasy worlds always thrilled and excited me. The adventures of unfortunate Princesses were always the ones that really got me particularly excited. I think fairytales have an important place in European literature as they are often a gateway for many children into the world of reading and (feminism issues aside) the value of these stories cannot be underestimated.

I think that's why I am drawn to these characters for World Book Day (March 5th in case you were wondering) and I don't think there is anything wrong with using the Disney versions of these characters for fancy dress as they are far more recognisable. This year my work is having a 'Girl Power' theme for World Book Day and I have been thoroughly exploring costume options.

The costume website All Fancy Dress very kindly offered to help me out and sent me a Disney's Tangled Rapunzel costume to check out. The costume is made by costume manufacturer Rubies and is officially licensed by Disney so I had high expectations. In the interest of fairness in this review all pictures are taken with the dress completely unaltered - this is literally how it came out of the packet.

The costume arrived in a packet that was similar to most other fancy dress costumes (it also arrived the next day after it was ordered so I can highly recommend their quick service) and it consisted of the dress only. All other accessories such as the wig, hair flowers and frying pan are my own.

As far as the overall look the dress has the right colour and style to match Rapunzels dress, I appreciated little details like the netting on the sleeves and the lace decoration on the waistline and neck. There is a mix of fabrics used, most of the dress is made form that light weight satin-type fabric that so many costumes are made from. It is cheap fabric, but to get a princess dress made in anything else would cost a lot of money so I don't mind, I think the shiny-ness works as an advantage on a gown like this anyway as it makes it appear more full.

Surprisingly I found this dress very comfortable to wear and I thought it fit quite well. I ordered the medium or 12-14 as I had read reviews saying that the bust was ample and the dress was quite a large fit. I found that the front of the bodice fit very well and there was a stretchy panel on the back to accommodate larger sizes. I found that this bunched up around the waist a little bit but it was a fairly minimal problem. In an ideal world I would like something much more sturdy in the bodice and waist, but without having a costume specially made you will probably never find that in a fancy dress costume. 

I would have liked to see the waist lace going all the way around the back too...

In side the dress and attached to the waist is a mini petticoat that is about 8 inches long. It has a lining inside with a netting overlay to give the dress a bit of fullness on the hips. I am not entirely sure what this added to the dress as Rapunzel isn't especially noted for curvaceous figure and her dress is one of the more slim line of the Disney Princesses (not counting Elsa of course!). I am also a woman with a very ample set of hips so I really didn't need any additional full ness so I am considering taking this out for future use of this dress but it really is a minimal issue and could be done very easily.

That grass was COLD!!!!!

 Overall I am pleased with the general look of the dress and for a fancy dress costume you can get away with wearing straight out of the bag £35.99 isn't too bad a price.

I did notice that the official picture of the costume the bodice looks a lot longer and I found the bodice to be quite short in real life. This is something that isn't a problem for me as I have quite a short torso but perhaps it is something to bear in mind if you are longer in the body.

 I used the blonde wig form my Princess Zelda costume and applied some hair flowers of my own. I know that this wig is no-where near long enough to be like Rapunzel's, but I think it is long enough to give mostly the desired effect... I hope at least!

At the time of publishing All Fancy Dress had sold out of Rapunzel costumes, but did have several other Disney Princess, like Snow White and Cinderella. They also have a dedicated World Book Day section with plenty of suggestions for both adults and children - and their quick delivery means that you still have time to get a costume before World Book Day on the 5th of March (you know you want to!!!)