Esmeralda's festival dress
August 2018 - January 2019
based on Esmeralda's costume
in the musical "The hunchback of Notre Dame"
Copyright © Jerry Dalia
The bodice and sleeve straps are made out of a thick fabric with a beige and red print. They are covered in ribbons, beads and sequins. I couldn’t find out how the bodice was supposed to be closed, so I decided to close it with hand sewn eyelets.
This costume is a cosplay of Esmeralda’s festival dress in the musical The hunchback of Notre Dame. She wears it during her first song “Rhythm of the tambourine” which is also her very first scene in the musical.
I decided to make this costume after watching the musical and being quite obsessed with it... especially with Esmeralda’s character and the costumes she wears. I got very interested in the intricate beading on the bodice and I really wanted to try something like that.
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I started this costume in August 2018 and finished it in January 2019, but I wasn’t able to work on it during the whole month of September because I had to finish another project.
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For this costume, I drew the patterns entirely myself, using some clothes that look similar as a base. I had to go to 5 different stores before I was happy with the fabrics. I even remade the skirt entirely because I found a fabric that was more suitable.
assembling the blouse
and the bodice
The blouse is made out of two different fabrics. At first I bought a blue and pink two-toned organza that looked almost exactly like the actual costume, but I realised it would be too see-through, so I lined the organza with a thicker purple fabric.
the inside of the bodice and the lacing in the back
The skirt is also made out of two layers, the first one is a fabric with red, gold and black stripes, and a bit of gold shimmer to it. On top of that is a very light and see-through red satin, which makes the skirt look very light and wavy, but still allows you to see the gold striped fabric underneath.
the two layers of the skirt
the undecorated belt and the knitted flowers
Esmeralda also wears a decorated belt that has some flowers, ribbon and beads on it. To make those flowers, I used some knitted ribbon that I sewed together until it looked like a flower. The flowers were sewn onto the belt and decorated with the same beads and ribbon I used on the bodice. The belt also has some strings hanging down in the front, so I used knitting wool and beads to make those.
In order to be able to dance like Esmeralda I also cut out two pieces of red fabric that I could swirl around my head.
And of course, for this costume to be truly complete, I bought a tambourine!
