|

Pictures on this site mostly taken from
www.padawansguide.com, where you can find
more pictures of the original costume.
 
No, this is not a period Elizabethan costume.
Yes, I most definitely fell in love with it.
Yes, I think I can produce a "crossover" between a Star Wars and an Elizabethan costume - plus, I
want people of both costuming 'fandoms' to say that the costume just looks right.
Even if Queen Jamillia was only visible for a very short time in Star Wars, Episode II, she most
definitely made a great impression on me. I just love her slightly arrogant and snarling look.
The costume is also a plus because *if* I go to costume meetings I prefer some kind of makeup which
makes it practically impossible for other people to recognize my real life face :-)
Even more a plus: I think Jamillia, and please don't laugh, looks a bit like a stylized art deco
sunflower with her headdress. I like sunflowers, so... 
And she is slightly overweight (or at least seems so with her rounded face), and I am currently also
overweight. That was most definitely the last plus I needed to finally decide that I wanted this
gown - as in "very much and right now".
Think about it:
A snarling, arrogant, overweight and stylized black and white sunflower
- I mean, who on earth could resist something like that?
(Yes, I'm totally nuts.)
Let's analyze the costume. It consists of several parts:

The white underdress is made of white fabric; decorated with white lace pieces;

The overdress is made of crushed black taffeta;

The front middle piece is made of black fabric beaded with jet colored pearls;
 
The collar is made of black velvet, edged with ?embroidered?, white/cream patterned fabric;

and the headdress seems to be made of wood or horn combined with mother of pearl slices plus an
elaborate arrangement of Jamillia's (own?) hair on the backside.
At first view looking simple, the costume is a very demanding task to
reproduce.
Especially because I did not want to change the basic shape, but still wanted a costume that could
easily be recognized as Queen Jamillia's gown *and* pass as a half-way authentic Elizabethan
costume.
That task sounds funny and impossible? Well... let's see.
This costume diary starts with the Planning.
|