The final gown I wore to the Portland Vampire Masquerade Ball turned out pretty close to my vision. My mom helped out by doing a lot of the appliqué of the motifs on the forepart (though once I saw how the bat-shaped sequins looked, I had to sew them all over the stomacher myself).
Accessories included a purple tatted lace mask bought from Totus Mel Tats on Etsy. This is the second one I’ve gotten from her — I have a black one that I wore at Carnevale, and I love the lace masks because I can discreetly wear it over my eyeglasses and still see (since I can’t wear contact lenses). I commissioned an 18th-century ‘hedgehog’ style wig with purple streaks from Kendra, and I purchased a fabulous ruff from Videnoir on Etsy.
I had a black beaded bat purse that was too small to put my iPhone in, so I sewed in a black silk expansion drawstring bag.
Plus I blinged up a paper fan I had laying around.
Then it all came together at the ball!
Had a great time at the Vampire Masquerade Ball in Portland and will definitely attend next year!
Plus, I’m going to get as much use as possible out of this gown — I wore it at the Costume College 2019 Gala, and I’m going to the Labyrinth Ball in L.A. just to wear this again. I hope to wear it at Carnevale in Venice next year too.