The Pattern

So finding a pattern for this costume was actually pretty difficult, as it's supposed to be from the 40s.  I tried looking on several vintage pattern sites to find something similar, with no success.  Then I tried to Google 40s era patterns and still couldn't find anything even remotely close.  I actually searched for a pattern for a couple of months, before I'd really even decided I definitely wanted to do the costume. So I finally figured I'd have to draw up my own pattern when I came across a sketch a girl had posted online of a USO girl prom dress.  While the length of the dress wasn't right for what I wanted, the restof it was perfect.  Besides, shortening the length of the skirt is an easy enough thing to do.

Picture credit to Stormraven 24 on Flickr

I used the Simplicity pattern she found and made my own adjustments to it.  I could leave the back length the same as the pattern called for, since I'd be bunching it up to make the bustle, but the rest of the skirt length would be shorn off just above the knees.  The pattern is Simplicity #3784.

 I'm using the A pattern, which is what the blue dress is in the picture above.

Now to figure out the fabric I'm going to use.  I don't want something too shiny or too flimsy.  I'm going for a matte finish as opposed to a glossy, and I definitely need it to be a little bit stiffer fabric for the draping look I'm going for and the bustle.  I'm thinking about a poly blend, but I haven't found one I quite like yet, so that will be the next step.  I'll be hitting up the fabric store on Sunday, so once I do that I can begin on costume construction.