Issue 2 - Civil War / Victorian Collaboration Sata & Haykush Designs

Scarlett's Prayer DressBy Satenik Donaca (Sata and Haykush Designs)

For my spring collection I chose to make six of my favorite Scarlett O'Hara costumes from Gone with the Wind (1939).  The original costumes were designed by Walter Plunkett, one of the most prolific costume designers in Hollywood history.  Some of the other movies that feature his designs are: Little Women, The Age of Innocence, the Three Musketeers, Mary of Scotland, Young Bess, and many, many, more.

The story tracks Scarlett O'Hara's journey from a 16-year old Southern belle to a hardened woman of 30.  The timeline moves from 1861 to 1873, transitioning from wide, 1860's hoop skirts to more streamlined early 1870's bustle gowns.  I will present my designs in the same order as seen in the movie starting with the opening scene, white ruffled dress, also known as the prayer dress. 

Let's first talk about my 18" custom Scarlett doll that will be modeling all the dresses in my collection.  As a base doll I chose American Girl TM #101 with classic mold, gray eyes, and light-to-medium skin with warm undertones.  Her face was customized by a professional doll artist - Christy Larry from Once A Doll A Dream.  Her original wig was replaced with Bbeauty Doll's Cecile wig in dark brown.  And finally, her ears were pierced with a large pin for human sized earrings.  She is my model doll and she is not for sale, but if you're interested, I basically just provided a road map for you on how to get your own Scarlett doll!

Scarlett's white prayer dress features a full skirt with four layers of embroidered lace ruffles and a fitted top with puff sleeves embellished with lace ruffles and tiny pearls in the front that look like buttons.

The dress has snaps in the back for closure.

For the top I chose a very delicate white silk cotton charmeuse fabric.  It was my first time working with this fabric and I really liked the quality and the delicate nature of the cotton fabric.  

As I mentioned in my introduction (newsletter Issue 1), Sata & Haykush designs is a mother and daughter team and this outfit is a perfect example of our teamwork.  The skirt of the dress is made by my mom and the top of the dress is made by me.  To finish the look, I made a red charmeuse sash that ties in the back and features a rectangular silver belt with crystals in the front.  I also added a cameo brooch to match the one in the inspiration picture.  As final touches, I added a bracelet and earring drops to the ensemble.

That's just to describe what your eye can see her wearing, but we're all wondering what she is wearing underneath?  As you all know, Heather added a few new products to her historical line.  One of the most exciting ones is the set of undergarments which includes a chemise, a corset, a hoop skirt, and a ruffled petticoat.  These are available to purchase on her Bbeauty Dolls website as a set or as individual pieces.  The set is absolutely perfect for this era, and it provides such a beautiful shape to the dress, however it does add some volume around the waist, so typical patterns will need some adjustments to accommodate that.  

I made matching pantaloons and white stockings to go with the 4-piece Bbeauty undergarment set.  Lastly I added a pair of the red colonial shoes from Bbeauty's historical shoe line that are perfect to go with this dress.

Disclaimer:  The white prayer dress featured in this issue is made using our own patterns.  They are not avaialble to purchase, but I sure hope to make them available one day!

Sata & Haykush Designs:

Etsy Store: SataHaykushDesigns - Etsy

Facebook: Sata Haykush Designs

This dress will be sold as an ebay auction.  To participate in the auction click this link: https://ebay.us/m/yfH9Aq

 And don't forget to leave comments on my Facebook page, I very much would like to hear from you!