Material sourcing for this costume began in the LA fashion district nearly a year before completion and consists of varying textures and shades of red, green, and gold. The first thing made was a custom hoop skirt out of cotton, twill tape, and hoop boning, and a red organza tiered petticoat. Materials for the spiral boned corset is crushed red and green velvet, lined in red satin, and gold trimmings with rhinestone chain and gems, paired with a beaded bra with rhinestones and center gemstone brooch. The skirt is kelly green silk taffeta with over twenty individually sewn rows of fabric strips, ribbons, and trims. The middle tier of the skirt measures to five yards wide, and the bottom tier is ten yards pleated with a lined hem facing. There are four identical panels made of crushed burgundy velvet with gold appliques and gold fringe hems. The back train is matching green silk taffeta lined with red satin and hemmed with sequin trim. The dramatic back bow is structured with horsehair and interfacing and has matching applique and trims. 

Because of how much yardage the costume required, I ended up purchasing most of my trims and ribbon in bulk, and finding good deals in the fashion district for all of the appliques and rhinestone embellishments. 

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I've always been a big fan of The Phantom of the Opera, and I remember being in awe over this design the first time seeing the production as a child. I love how overtly ornate and bold the design and color choices are, and it was so much fun putting together my own version of it. At a glance, this costume may seem complex, but once I broke it down into smaller components it was easier to tackle. It was extremely time consuming because of how long it took to sew fifteen yards of trims into overlapping rows on the skirts, and adding all of the trims to the train, corset, and panels. I still have a lot of trim and material leftover from this costume, so I'm hoping to put them to good use in the future!