Arwen's Bridge Dress: Analysis and Planning

Analysis on Arwen's Bridge dress. (Analysis on Arwen's Bloodred dress here)
So here are some thoughts on making a cowl-neck, Arwen-inspired maternity dress.

I have now come to really like this dress, even though initially it was not my favorite from the movie. Maybe it was the fact it only showed up in a smooching scene.

Watching people kiss...especially when us as an audience is forced to be right up in their faces....is just, so, awkward for me. I mean, if its sillhouetted against a sunset, and we're kind of watching from a distance (like an unscrupulous 14 yr old might, say, watch the neighbor boy and his girlfriend kissing in his front yard, in this completely hypothetical situation...) then its kinda sweet.
But when we get camera angles like we're watching from 3 ft away while they're kissing....well...I'm pretty sure the hypothetical neighbor boy would have minded that....

Um, I love cowl necks.


This cosplayer made it so beautifully, she convinced me to try to make it.

Farothiel on Deviantart "Arwen's Bridge Dress"

Farothiel on Deviantart "Arwen's Bridge Dress 2"

Maybe its because the way she made it reminded me of my dream wedding dress (that, alas, I had neither the funds for nor the skill to make when I got married.)

From Carpetina.com here

from carpetina.com here

 Some other cosplayers who did a decent job...

Therese on the Alleyscratch Scrapbook

by Eryndis-Waldlichtung on Deviantart

Sidhe on the Alleyscratch Scrapbook

Sidhe on the alleyscratch scrapbook

Looking at all of these, I know I really like the cowl neck. 

I also like the look white chiffon hanging down....even in Therese's example with the little bit of chiffon, its still beautiful. I'll probably do sort of petal-like half sleeves...maybe removable...we'll see.

I think I prefer fitted bust, and empire line for this one...actually, I think I end up preferring that for all of Arwen's dresses....

While the exposed shoulder top looks lovely on these folks, I just can't get used to it on myself. Firstly, the tops of my shoulders BURN LIKE CRAZY (I don't even know why. But they do). And secondly, it looks (on me) a little too night-gownish, I think.

So, onto practical construction...

Ta'anit Isis made some cowl neck shirts, and made this handy infographic.

from Ta'anit Isis HERE

As you can see from her pictures, her cowl extends under the bust. 

As my bust will be full of milk, I don't think I want it accentuated any more...so I will only slash my pattern (the red lines) to above the bust apex point.

My favorite part of her design, is how the back shoulder extends to the front, where the cowl actually starts. This is an ideal way to add in a gathered shoulder, without having to worry about the shoulder, or the cowl, becoming all untucked, because they are actually separate pieces.

The other thing I love about this design, is I can make it nursing accessible by having 2 layers of "fronts", the under-front is just there to form the armhole and keep the shoulder line, its neckline will go under the bust. Then the over-front layer will be the cowl, but where the pleats are, its actually just hooked (2 sets of skirt hooks?), making it simple to open and nurse, and hook it up when you are done.

I will make my own infographic at some point to illustrate....