Belle’s Yellow Ballgown – Costume Replica – Photos

Well, where do I start?! I can’t believe how many months I’ve let slip by without posting; life just happens!

In my last post, I mentioned how I wanted to complete Belle’s Gown by the time the movie came out (March 17th), well….that. did. not. happen.

In the last 5 months, my time has not only been filled with researching and creating my remake of Belle’s Yellow Gown, but my family and I had the joy of moving to a new house this spring, and on top of the move, this new home needed some remodeling!

With all the things to be done around the house, my Belle dress was put aside for the majority of the day and only appeared during the late hours of the evening.

Once the grunt work of wallpaper removal, priming, and painting was put aside, the petite paintbrushes and gold leaf came out and the precise work of applying gold leaf began! For several months, my family had the patience of saints by allowing my nightlight to shine brightly in their eyes.

As the house work slowly came to an end, I was pleased to see that my tiresome evenings had paid off and the Belle dress was coming close to completion.

With the end in sight, I scheduled the photo/video shoot with my Photographer and Videographer (who happen to be my siblings.… don’t I have the best sibs?)!

Also, for this costume, I decided to bow-out of being the model and asked my sister to take on the role, allowing me to become the bossy-dressmaker-bystander-director!
What happens when you combine 67 yards of silk fabric + 92 hours of creating + 109 hours applying gold leaf (yes, a total of 201 hours of work)? The result is pictured below.
When the date was upon us, we made our way to Kansas City…. but so did the thunderstorms! After getting ready THREE times in 24 hours, we managed to work around the rain and got some pretty awesome shots! Not to mention that the zipper broke on the dress (no more separating invisible zippers!) and I had to sew my sister into the dress all three times!

Now that you’ve heard the long version of why I haven’t posted this, here’s some of the many wonderful moments captured by Smile for Sophie!After many hours trying to find replica Belle shoes (or at least a similar shape and design), I decided to use a base shoe that had the correct heel/ toe shape and create the other characteristics on my own! (Learn how I did this here.)

How do they look?!

While gathering all of Belle’s accessories for the photo shoot, I realized my need of a custom designed ear cuff to replicate the one Emma Watson wears in the movie….No worries! This is where my handy-dandy brother came in…. he’s great at designing earrings and this commission was no problem!

View some side-by-side comparison shots here.
Be sure to check out Pose Wigs: they’re the supplier for this wonderful wig worn in these photos!

Remember to watch the video, shot and edited by Vantage Point Video

Read about the making of the petticoat, skirt, gold leaf embellishment, and bodice.

Thanks for looking and learning with me!