I was not much of a Disney princess girl when I was little. Jasmine was as close as I got, mostly because she got to wear pants (and her tiger was badass.) Mulan was also up there, because she got a sword and went to war instead of getting rescued. I had a growing resentment of poofy dresses so pants and armor and stabbing was where it was at for me.
With one notable exception: Jessica Rabbit.
Obviously not a princess, and maybe of questionable appropriateness for a seven year old (although, hey, it was at my grandma's house so...) I was all about Jessica rabbit: she was married to a derpy bunny, got a gun, and got to be girly without pink and poofy. I'm also pretty sure this is where I got bitten by my pin-up bug.
I'm not into costume making and cos-play kinds of projects but I've been wanting to do a more wearable version of the iconic Jessica dress. It had to be red, it had to have a slit, and it had to have a retro vibe-- but it also needed to be wearable.
My version is a mash up of Butterrick 6453 (officially a TNT pattern if I ever saw one!) and the a-line skirt from Gertie's Ultimate Dress book. The top is assembled entirely according to the original pattern, although I forgot to shorten the straps so the sliders sit at the top of my shoulders. If I decide not to be lazy I might fix that at some point. For the skirt, I just added a seam in about six inches from the side for the slit and eye-balled where I wanted it to end. Obviously not quite Jessica level but definitely more wearable :D
The fabric is more Kaufman Essex Linen from fabric.com and I think it's actually perfect for this dress. It's casual and summery, obviously way more than floor length sequins, but it's still got the red. It's still a lot of dress for a casual summer piece but I'm in love with it. It's super comfy but also demands a little Jessica flair which I like.
Still don't have the gun yet, or the derpy rabbit, but we'll get there.
