How to Make a Headless Marie Antoinette Dress
Marie Antoinette led an intriguing life as the Queen of France during the 18th century and was ultimately beheaded by the guillotine. Her life and death has captivated many and inspired some to create dresses that can be used in Halloween and other costume parties. The dresses she wore signified the extravagance and luxury during her time. Her gowns were intricately designed with diamonds and pearls and embellished with laces and ribbons. So if you want to go trick or treating as a headless Marie Antoinette, wear a perfect dress to go with it. It does not matter if the dress is going to be covered with fake blood stains.
Things You'll Need
- Hanging mannequin
- Old backpack
- Scissors
- Tape
- Cardboard
- Long white cotton nightdress (long-sleeved)
- Ribbons, lace, beads
- White gloves
- White thread
- Needle
- Fiberfill
- Hot glue
- Silicone caulk
- Styrofoam
- Silver and blue spray paint
- Red nail polish
- White hairspray and rollers
- Make-up or face paint
Instructions
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Purchase a 3/4 apparel mannequin. You can find this hanging mannequin on-line at mannequinco.com for only $7.35. It comes in different colors and sizes, and the best thing about it is that it is light to carry around. Buying a cheap hanging mannequin is recommended for those who do not have time to mold the upper torso of the costume.
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Fit the mannequin into the backpack with its front facing the backside of the backpack. The mannequin will be the headless body of your costume so its body should be facing the right direction. If you can't get the waist of the mannequin into the backpack, cut the front of your bag crosswise until you can get its waist close to the bottom panel of your bag.
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Secure the body to the back panel of your bag with a tape. Wrap the tape around it until you get a firm and stable hold of the body. You want the mannequin to be as close as possible to your body. Unscrew the hanger from the mannequin. Tape a cardboard at the hollow back portion of the mannequin. You would not want the dress to stick on the inside of the hollow portion.
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Slip the nightdress back on the mannequin and decide where your head will stick out. Cut along that area. Add laces, ribbons and other embellishments to the dress. You can also add layers of silk and sheer fabric to the nightdress to create the 18th century look. You can get these fabrics from an old curtain or blanket.
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Stuff the gloves snugly with fiberfill particularly on the fingers. Attach the gloves to your dress by sewing it to the inside of the sleeves. The gloves will be the fake hands which will carry your head. With their palms facing up, attach the left hand over the right hand with hot glue.
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Use silicone caulk to make blotches on the headless part of the mannequin. Add a Styrofoam-carved spine on it. Give it at least 7 hours to dry. While you are waiting for it to dry, spray paint the body of the mannequin with silver and blue to make the body glow like a ghost. Pour red nail polish to the silicone after it has dried up. The red nail polish will be the blood of the headless Marie Antoinette. Let the nail polish trickle to the neck area and smudge some of it to the dress and gloves. To produce genuine-looking blood stains, use two bottles of nail polish.
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Use a white hairspray to color your hair. Make your hair puffy by setting it with rollers and pinning it into a bun at the back of the head. Make your face pasty white by applying white colored face makeup or face paint. Line your eyes with dark eyeliner and smudge some dark eye shadow under your eyes, below your cheekbones and to the side of your forehead. Use red lipstick for your lips.
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Don a long dress the same color as your mannequin's nightgown. Take your backpack and stick your head out of the hole. Make sure the hands cup your head so that it looks like it's carrying your head.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit headless man 25 image by chrisharvey from Fotolia.com
