Menina Gown
I made this gown for a LARP back in 2018. The idea is that we are an italian/spanish mafia-like family centered around
a character called Inigo Montoya (yes! the one from 1989's The Princess Bride) My character is Menina, the daughter of a antiques dealer who grew up to become a swindler and an accomplished forger. She can forge anything from the certificate of authenticity of an antique to a letter from the emperor himself. This is a skill that comes in handy in the more shady aspects of the Montoya family's business.
I didn't do any patterning for this piece, the base of the bodice is a cheap wedding dress bodice with puffy sleeves and a lacy peplum I got at the thrift store and covered with red taffeta. Then I added a skirt to it. There is no specific time period the LARP is placed in, so I got some renaissance and some 18th century inspiration in there. The Montoya family are newly rich gangsters so it has to look kitschy and over the top. Also, this is Menina's ball gown and her very best dress, so I got to embellish to my heart's content. I made the hat before I had any notion of proper hatmaking, so it's just cheap polyester felt covered in fabric, which means it's too floppy and doesn't really feel right, but since it's small, you can't really tell in the pictures.
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It rained on the day of the photoshoot, but I like the way it looks anyways! Thanks so much to my friend Melis for the fantastic day of shooting! Check out her very cool pictures at the link below.
