This costume was all about luxurious fabrics, lace, beading, sequins and feathers!  It was fun and frustrating to pattern out, tailor, and embellish. For the dress, I wanted to created a sculpted hourglass shape, with an exaggerated mermaid skirt. It was tedious, but important, to serge all the seams, sew them together, and press them open. I also installed boning to take some of the stress off the delicate taffeta, and built the top of the dress with foam/Worbla support to create that seductive, sharp, open front. The appliqué portion took the longest, but was also the most enjoyable. I got to use the high-end lace on netting fabric that Nene Thomas gifted to me several years ago, and cut apart the designs carefully and hand sew them on. 
The rest of the outfit consists of a headpiece, a feather collar, and two capes: one chiffon and one sequin. The cape is so heavy that I had to make a bolero and a Worbla shell for my shoulders for support.