Dazzle for Christy

 The design meeting for this gown for petite and trim Christy was an easy one.  Christy wanted something with substantial sparkle.  She wanted thick white fringe, and she wanted white and nude, or as we talked, white and gold.

 I showed her nude fabrics and she decided on a metallic gold mesh instead, and we embellished that, rhythmically, in Light Topaz AB, in contrast to the random application of the Crystal AB on the opposite side of the gown. 

We discussed color blocking as a trend in Latin gowns, and then created soft body-sensitive blocks to help define her curves and rhythmic action.  The fringe is thick as requested, accomplished through the application of three layers of long white tactel. 

We finished the back with a triple diagonal strap detail, and echoed the combination of the three delicate straps against the chunky, jewel encrusted gown, with a cuff and three bangle bracelets.

Christy was a delight to work with, and we hope she will be back in our studio again soon for a new gown for her smooth dances.  And we wish her the best at her upcoming Arthur Murray showcase.

Anne as Aphrodite

Aphrodite was the mythological Olympian Goddess of  love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. When Anne and I began work on her ballgown for the USA Dance Amateur National Competition this spring, Aphrodite became our muse.   

After several years of stepping away from competition to earn a college degree while working full-time, and struggling with back injuries, Anne (and her husband and partner Tom, who also wears Made for Movement) were ready to return to the National arena.

Anne wanted an attention-getting, classical, and sexy look.  She tried on a few gowns and fell in love with one with a deep keyhole front.  We had done a similar (but smaller) keyhole in a gown several years ago which was a success, so with that as a starting point we set out to create a Greek Goddess look for her.  We wanted to include white draping and golden jewelry like that worn by the ancient Greeks.  Unlike Greek clothing, our draping needed control in the interest of not adding mass. The golden details were both perfect with her blonde hair and peachy skin, plus a subtle reminder of their quest for competitive gold.

 Anne and Tom's goal for this National competiton was to "make the podium."   Just like in the olympic games, the top three couples in each championship event take stands to receive medals for photos, and they vowed to be on one of the three podiums.
 
No color is as visible on the floor as white, and it is often a championship gown color as well.  In addition to the gold, we chose a range of cool cabochons in turquoise, sapphire, emerald and peridot green to serve as our precious gem representatives. These colors were derived from the Greek jewelry I used as resource material.  The jewelry was mostly collar, cuff, and breastplate shapes, and very geometric in character.  I wanted the jewelry to be a part of the gown itself to allow for large shapes that would move neatly with Anne without flopping about.
We ran into a bit of trouble with the Anne's keyhole.  Before one of our fittings I reviewed the USA Amateur Dance competitive costume regulations, a very large and complex document that seems ever-changing. I developed a concern that Anne's keyhole might be more revealing of "imtimate areas" than was allowed.  I asked her to get approval for the keyhole and took a few snapshots at our fitting.  Sure enough, the USA Dance costume regulations staff determined that Anne's keyhole would be outside allowed limits.  So we filled the keyhole with a large decorative white mesh, backed with nude mesh, and embelllished with stones.  Ordinarily, nude fabrics are frowned upon by the USA Dance costume regulators, but Anne got approval, in the form of an e-mail, for this solution and carries it in her dance bag at all times.  The impression is still sexy, although not what Anne had hoped for, but I was glad to be able to avoid a last-moment disqualification for her, which can and does happen.

All of the jewelry research I did led me in the direction of geometric layouts, and I used those ideas in the collar and both the front and back keyhole treatments, as well as in the cuffs and earrings.  I loved the great matte shine of this gold lycra and think it looks almost like burnished metal and works really well in the cuffs and belt.  That belt is really not represented very well on my little half body form, but on Anne, it stretches to a sleek and beautiful fit.  With layout help and prompting from me, Anne kept the cost of her gown reasonable by applying her own Swarovski flatbacks and acrylic cabochons and did a great job of it.

We also found a great piece of metallic gold crinoline to stiffen and finish the skirt hem that really adds a lovely finishing flash of precious metal.

I am so happy to report the Anne and Tom achieved thier goal, placing third in Senior II Championship Smooth, and I look forward to seeing those podium shots!  Congratulations to both Annd and Tom on a successful return to USA Dance Nationals!  Made for Movement was glad to be along for the ride.

Leslie's White Peach

I first thought I would call this post, "The Gilded Leslie" a play on the idea of "gilding the lily."  But gilded lily implies a false shell of beauty, which she does not need.  She is delicate and subtle, and reminds me very much of a white peach, which is also a great name for her new rhythm gown.  She is my second "Golden Girl" of this fall.  She brought her teacher and coach, Kate, to her design meeting and Kate provided a video of a gown she thought would be a good style for Leslie.  I agreed.

Kate's style suggestion was a white slip dress with lace panels, which allowed the sides of the dancer's body to be seen through the openings in the lace.  It had the quality of lingerie, and was sexy in a subtle way.

Leslie is a very modest woman.  She didn't really like the idea of appearing in lingerie, so we were careful to use opaque and substantial fabrics, and also to finish the hem with braid that made it clear that the beautiful end product was a rhythm gown, NOT a slip.

Leslie's new gown is white, and made of two different fabrics; a soft matte white lycra and a voided white lycra with a sheer pattern of interlacing loops and scrollwork at the sides.  Leslie didn't like the idea of being visible through the sheer at her sides, so we backed with voided lycra there with the matte opaque, but used its see-thru beauty in the godets at the base of the skirt, carefully cut never to reveal thighs or hips in turns.  We also added a demi sleeve to the design, which really flatters Leslie's beautiful decolletage.

The gold enters Leslie's picture through her rhinestone choice, Light Peach AB, which gives the gown a delicate golden glimmer.  I filled in the beautiful scrollwork at the sides with the stones to emphasize the pattern, and used less stones at the hem to allow glimpses of Leslie's legs.

My jewelry design takes advantage of the loops and scrollwork in the pattern of the sheer.  I used both Crystal AB and Light Peach AB in the loops, a very subtle difference, that paves the way for a beautiful pair of Crystal AB earrings Leslie she wanted to wear with the gown. 

I think the lovely Leslie wore her new gown last night, at an Dancer's Studio Showcase event, "Under the Big Top."  I missed the event, but I hope she enjoyed herself in her White Peach!

Chantilly Lace and Cindi's Pretty Face

I have been at Twin Cities Open for much of the last three days, checking out my recent work, and the fantastic dancers who animate it. I am so pleased to have my costumes worn by so much talent!

The last costume I created for TCO left my studio before I could take any photos, (on the day before the event!) so I followed Cindi around as she waited to dance and took few a detail shots as well as a few action shots.

Cindi has rich, dark hair and creamy skin, and nearly each time she visited my studio, was wearing black and white, so it seemed a great choice for her new Latin gown. She wanted a sexy and sophisticated look, with tastefully covered style lines but an exciting impact. Black gowns are notoriously challenging in terms of being seen on the floor (since almost every gentleman dancer is wearing black too!) but I think this combination of black with white was very visible and showy.

I am pleased with the framing and accent of face, hands and back that the pearl-encrusted lace provides.  The bit of fringed bead embroidery at the top of her spine makes a nice focal action point as well.  Pearls have an inherent note of sophistication that help us achieve our goal here as well.  And the jewelry helps to keep the attention on her pretty face and cheerful performance.
My action shots are just dreadful, and I apologize for the worse than usual quality, but they do indicate the movement of the gown, so I will share one, if you will pardon my photography!  I'm especially pleased with the eye-catching white skirt and sleeve lining, and gently stiffened hemline.  Her lace is encrusted with Swarovski Jet and that flashes and sparkles beautifully in action, as you can see here.

I look forward to spending time on the TCO professional photographer's site next week to locate some better shots of my most recent gowns, but did want to share Cindi's new Latin gown today. Thanks for taking a peek!  I look forward to sharing Christine's FIERCE look with you next, and hopefully a look at my many guys, all of whom looked great in their black!