Antique Circus - Part I

I'm making 3 "Antique Circus" costumes for the same magician's troupe I made the Cigar Girl dresses for. I have two completed, and one left to go. This costume will also feature a black and white striped satin mini-bustle (not yet completed). We decided to add the bustle at the last minute, and I had to send what was already completed so they could add this piece to the show. I made all parts of this costume, except the black skirt (provided by my client). The top is a full leotard (and unfortunately is finished with zig-zag stitching because my coverstitch machine would NOT cooperate, much to my dismay).

The neck piece and wrist cuffs are made from a combination of red silk dupioni, tulle, and organza. The wrist cuffs are elasticized. The top hat is covered with red silk dupioni.

The corset is a "costume quality" corset. While it's still constructed of 4 layers of fabric, and still shown the same amount of meticulous detail shown to a standard corset, it is made a little differently. For starters, there is only steel boning at the front and back. There's plastic boning in the sides, so that the wearer can move and bend in it. It has a (hidden) zipper front closure, and a sewn-in stretchy modesty panel at the back. It has only a very slight waist reduction. It functions as a corset, but is mostly for show. It will stand up to repeated wearings, but would not be suitable for any substantial waist-reduction or waist-training.

Cigar Girl Dresses

These Cigar Girl Costumes are part of a large ongoing order I'm working on for a magician's act, currently performing in Tennessee. The first outfits I've completed are these three identical Cigar Girl dresses with matching hats. The dresses are made from royal blue satin. The underskirt is white taffeta, with handmade taffeta and crinoline ruffles. The ruffles at the bustline are hand-gathered from organza ribbon, and the white trim at the bottom is matching organza.

The hats presented *quite* a challenge for me. I decided to make them from scratch (yeah, I wanted to kick myself in the ass once I started). They're buckram and wire frames, hand-sewn and pieced together. I just stretched the satin over the top and sides, hand-stitched it in place, and glued the white trim on. The *buttons* on the side are just taffeta covered 1.25" buttons (made in my button making machine). I added small combs with elastic to the inside so they would stay on the girls' heads. The hats took me THREE DAYS to make. Yikes. 

All the pieces are "costume quality", which means that they aren't elaborate as a regular commissioned piece would be; but are still the same level of meticulous SugarKitty quality I put into everything I make. 

Some more mini tophats...

What made you start designing Corsets and do you need alot of backing ( money ) to get started?

I've always loved corsets and the smooth hourglass shape they give the wearer. When I was younger, I couldn't afford a high quality one, and went through several cheapie "corsets" from lingerie stores. I've been sewing since I was seven, so I decided to try my hand at making a corset about 8 years ago. After making one, I fell in love with it, and decided that was what I wanted to do for a living.

I put a lot of time and energy into planning and starting my business (literally months). I quit a decent (albeit loathsome)day job to become a full-time corsetiere. I borrowed several thousand dollars to start my business. I don't know that there's any specific dollar amount needed to get started - it's all about determination, perseverance, and raw talent. It's very, very difficult to make a living running your own business - especially in the creative world. If you don't have talent, and you're not dedicated, you're not going to succeed no matter how much money you start with.

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