Steampunk USO Costume

So I saw Captain America: The First Avenger in theaters last summer, on opening night.  In fact, I saw it with my fellow Comic-Con attendees in San Deigo.  And of course the first thing that popped into my mind was, "Damn, Chris Evans is hot!" Hahaha,  but the next thing I really focused on was the costumes.  I particularly loved the Captain's first outfit, when he's on road doing the War Bonds perfomances and the USO girls' costumes, with the floaty skirts and the cool helmets.  I put it in the back of my mind for a possible costume and then sort of forgot about it for a good several months.  But then word got out about Marvel agreeing to a Captain America--and also Thor--sequal and it got me thinking.  Add to that the much anticipated release of The Avengers in May this year and I decided I really wanted to do a USO girl costume.

I like the color scheme in the picture above--it's the same as what they used in the movie.

But this shows a better photo of the costumes themselves, with a better view of the front.

Except, I really didn't think the outfit would look cute on me; I'm not a dainty or petite girl by any means. I'm 6'0 tall and in the low-end of the plus size range and I thought I'd look ridiculous in the costume.  So all through the holidays I was trying to think of a way to make the costume, but make it work for my body type.  And then it hit me.  Steampunk.  I could use the general costume idea and the red, white, and blue color scheme, but sort of Steampunk it out.  Last year at Comic-Con I'd seen a Steampunk Flash, Rogue, Phoenix, and a Wonder Woman and they looked supercool, so why couldn't I make my USO girl into a Steampunk USO girl?  Plus, I figured it would be way more fun than the origianl costume.

So to Steampunk it out, I decided to do the following: I'll make the floaty skirt a bustle skirt, with the red and white vertical panels.  The front would still be knee-length, but the back could trail a little bit longer, with the bustle to add some shape.  Instead of the little silver heels, I'd make myself some kick ass knee-high spats, preferably in dark blue, to match the halter top portion of the outfit.  I'd make the red cummerbund into more of a corset style.  I'd also look into some sort of bolero jacket--though I haven't decided the color yet--to wear in case of cold weather or if I want to "dress up" the costume.  And lastly, instead of the helmet or the little 40's style sequined hat, I'd make a fascinator. I've also played around a bit with making a bag that has the Captain's shield design on it.

Once I came up with the general idea for the costume, the first step would be to find a pattern I could use, since doing it completely from scratch would not only be a major effort, it would also be super time-consuming.  And since my goal is to hopefully have it done in time for Wonder Con, in mid-March, I'm going to need to work around the clock to finish it in time.