Retro Bodice

Inspiration

I recently started watching Neon Genesis Evangelion, and I loved Asuka as soon as I saw her, so I knew I needed to put together an Evangelion cosplay!  I already had my yellow circle skirt, so recreating Asuka's introduction dress was the perfect option.  I knew I wanted it to be something I could wear with other outfits though, so I decided to have it button in the front for a little extra visual interest!

Process

I started by tracing a bodice I already owned that had the right shape onto some muslin!  I lengthened it a little, added enough width to accommodate the plackets, exaggerated the points over the bust, and decided to do darts over the bust to shape it.  Once I had sewn together the mockup and marked where the darts go, I cut it out of my yellow fabric!  This piece was something I used as a warm up to begin my projects this summer, so I didn't do anything fancy like transferring to pattern paper first.

I sewed the side seams of both the lining (the muslin mockup) and the outer fabric first, then sewed along the top and bottom.  I then ironed and top stitched the top and bottom, and folded and sewed down the plackets!  Once the plackets were done, I added the buttons and buttonholes.  I waited until the buttons were on to add the straps so I could make sure they would be the right length and at the right angle! 

The straps are just long skinny tubes, and I decided to make them cross in the back instead of tie at the shoulder because I absolutely despise straps that fall down all the time, and having a heavy bow at the top of each one seemed like a great way to make that happen!  To incorporate the decorative stitch I used on the hem of the circle skirt, I used that instead of a normal straight stitch to topstitch the straps.  Once the straps were sewn on, I was done!

Results

I am incredibly pleased with how this piece turned out!  It is incredibly comfortable, and I think it looks fantastic with my circle skirt.

Reflection

I love a subtle closet cosplay, and this is absolutely perfect for that!  I feel like the darts could have been a little smoother, but other than that I love how this piece turned out and would not have done anything differently!