Way back in the day when I didn’t really know what cosplay was, I wanted to make this dress. It was simple, elegant, and reminded me Madame X. Of course, I was 16 at the time, didn’t know how to sew, and really barely understood the concept of cosplay or conventions — I just knew I wanted this dress. In fact, I wanted all of Satine’s dresses. It took me 9 years after Moulin Rouge was released to make my first costume from it, the Hindi Wedding dress.

The main reason I never got around to making the Gothic Tower dress was due to the fact that I needed the necklace and not just any rhinestone necklace would do. Years of hunting around for the replica that had been made proved futile and so I kept putting this dress off until one day while trolling around for rhinestone tiaras I came across the perfect base necklace from a rhinestone wholesaler — it resulted in me purchasing a dozen rhinestone buckles because that was the minimum. I cannibalized three rhinestone necklaces, linking them together w/ tiny silver jump rings and solder, until the result was something closely resembling the original necklace. Because I’m fairly short and have a petite build, I was unable to make the necklace as large as it was a bit overpowering.

For the dress, I used a Vogue pattern as a base which I altered to suit my needs. It is made from 3 yards of black silk velvet. The red ‘sash’ accent is made from a wine silk taffeta which was draped onto the dress and hand tacked into place. The fur trims is a faux brown arctic fox purchased through Mendels — the pile is a tiny bit wispier than I would have preferred, but faux fur is a bitch to come by in the middle of summer even through online retailers. The dress was made to be worn over a tight-laced 22 inch corset to achieve the proper silhouette instead of fitting my own uncorseted measurements; it closes in the black with grommets and ribbon, and has a modesty panel to give extra coverage. The gloves are silk satin vintage circa 1930 that I have owned for several years now.

The wig is long lace front — the same I used with my other Satine costume — and was styled with hair pins and hairspray prior to getting laced into the corset. I dislike permanently or pre-styling my wigs.

For the makeup, I tried to stay very true to Nicole Kidman’s makeup in the film. Winged charcoal eyeshadow, no eyeliner, a little mascara, pink stained cheeks, and red lips. The lipstick is Makeup Forever’s Moulin Rouge, a colour that’s more like a red lipstain. Befitting.

Photography (c) PhotoNinja