Evolution of a ballroom dance gown - part 1

I've been taking dance lessons from an Arthur Murray franchise for several years now.  I really enjoy it, but it's pricey.  The lessons are pricey and the events are pricey, but the gowns are insanely expensive and I just can't bring myself to buy one of those gowns.  But, I figured I could make one.

I started by reading what I could find on the internet.  Since I start trying to do this several years ago, there wasn't really much I could find.  But I did find this great tutorial by Laura La Gassa and I read it and geared myself up to try it on my own.  And I read every post on BGBallroom for inspiration.  

I knew how to sew and I owned a decent Singer sewing machine that got use for maybe one Halloween costume a year, if even that.  But I really had never gotten into sewing actual clothes, so there was a lot that I didn't know yet.

My first dress I did wasn't intended to be a dance dress, per se, but I was going to dance in it.  I was supposed to do a short Viennese Waltz routine at a Masquerade themed spotlight ball.  So, I decided I wanted something that fit the part.  

I went to a thrift store and bought a lovely mint green flocked bedspread, some off-white brocade curtains and a couple of lace doilies and I made the bodice from McCall's 6097 and just a floor length gathered skirt with an off-white panel in the front.  

I wore a large red wig and a mask for the dance I did.  It's funny for me to watch this video because it was well before I started working on my lovely arms, so I cringe at all my "dead arms." 

 But I also learned that wearing basically a blanket to a dance event was not the smartest thing ever.  I was drenched in sweat before I even started dancing.  :)

More to come later...