Belle from Beauty and the Beast 2025

Belle from Beauty and the Beast 2025

Murray Bridge Players & Singers

Belle Costume made for the cabaret production "Encore" 2025

Simplicity 8404

Disney Beauty and the Beast Live Action gown. Like Belle, turn your beast back into a handsome prince with this gorgeous gown.

Dress has a fitted bodice with an invisible back zipper and dramatic full skirt. Overskirt is made in organza with glitter embellishment on each ruffle. Bodice overlay in organza is layered over front bodice ruffles.

Pattern Sizing:

6-14 & 14-22

Fabric Used:

Silk Satin

metallic embroidered lace

crystal organza

Acetate lining

To create the fullness of the skirt you will need either a net or hooped petticoat. I tried both out under my skirt and found the boned hooped petticoat gave the best result for shape, movement and twirl-ability! 

A net petticoat adds too much bulk, weight and potential heat for the actor/wearer to deal with. 

The front of the skirt pattern has a deep V at the centre so it can be sewn to the shape of the bodice. I filled this void in on the pattern so I could make the skirt with a circle waistline instead. 

I used French seams for the satin and organza layers.

After constructing the upper and lower overskirts, I hemmed each one. Then I added the metallic lace motifs. 

I cut the individual lace motifs from the metallic lace fabric.

Lace motifs sewn to organza flounces, the excess net is carefully cut away from the motif on the far right

 I pinned these all on trying to get them evenly spaced and kind of symmetrical on both sides. 

I used a gold metallic thread and straight stitched around each one. 

Adjustable waistband

As this is a costume for theatre, it will be used by different people of different sizes, I want it to be versatile with an adjustable waistband. 

I experimented with a couple of ideas to make it so the waistband adjustable so it could fit waists from 73cm to 105cm. The one that worked involved wide non roll elastic and sash ties.

The skirt is gathered onto the waistline of the bodice, so there is a lot of fullness to the waistline for this purpose. I gathered the waistline to fit the 105cm waistband I made. 
I need the waistband to have an opening at the centre back for my sash ties to exit. 
I sewed two vertical openings in the back of the waistband, 1" apart. 

I cut 70cm of the stiff non roll elastic and added a long sash to each end. The sashes were made from the satin fabric. 

Once the waistband was attached to the skirt, I threaded the elastic sash through the opening and positioned it so the middle of the elastic was at the centre front of the skirt. 
I anchored the centre of the elastic to the centre front of the waistband with a line of vertical sewing. The sash ends then protruded through the openings at the back of the waistband. 

Two openings are sewn into the centre back of the waistband. The internal sash exits these and is pulled tight around the waist then tied off. 

When the skirt is on, the sash is pulled tight and tied into a bow at the back. The non roll elastic holds the shape of the waistband at the front. If the wearer has a 73cm waist then the sash will be quite long at the back. To combat this and add more security to the waist so it wouldn't slide down, I added belt loops around the waistband. The excess sash is then threaded through the loops and the sash wraps around the body twice. This does mean a smaller sized person will have to undo the ties to get out of the skirt.

The waist sash threads through belt Loops attached to the waistband

When the wearer has a waist larger than 73cm, the elastic is pulled tight and the sash inside the waistband extends the waist size, it is then tied off at the back. 

The elastic also means that the skirt can be pulled on and off without undoing the sash tie. This way a costume change can happen quickly. 

There are many metal trouser waist bars sewn around the waistband, these are there to secure the skirt to the seperate bodice using the hooks sew to the inside of the bodice bottom edge.

McCalls 7615

Ballet costumes have fitted, boned, underlined bodice with hook and loop fastener at back closing. View A: elastic shoulder straps and sleeves with elastic in casings.

Pattern Sizing:

6-8-10-12-14, 14-16-18-20-22

Fabric Used:

Medium weight buckram

Silk satin

polyester organza

rigelene boning

heavy ivory satin

metallic gold embroidered lace

Silk Chiffon

Foam bra cups

Design Elements

To achieve the look I wanted for this bodice I lengthened the bodice, cut the centre front pattern piece on the fold and made it pointed at the bottom.

I made the bodice from the buckram first, adding foam cups and lots of boning.

Bodice Support

I made a buckram layer for the bodice including the front, side front and side back with lots of added Ridgelene boning. To this, I sewed in foam cups which create bust shape for the wearer. 

For the outside base layer, I mounted the silk satin onto the heavy ivory satin, hand basting the two layers together. The silk satin was a bit sheer and flimsy so it required a neutral backing for support. 

Centre front Panel embellishment 

For the centre front panel texture detail, I hand stitched a line of basting down the centre front of the centre front panel. I layered strips of organza, curving to follow the shape of the bodice bust from the outside edges towards the CF. 

I cut the organza into 2" strips on the grain and pressed them half. Starting on the left side, as you look at the bodice, I stitched the first strip to the front piece from the side to the centre, following the curve of the bust top edge. The second strip of organza mirrors the first and overlaps it at the centre front. Where the two strips overlap at the middle forms a square. 

Each new strip was sewn parallel to the previous strip above it. I eyeballed the distance, I'm not one to measure stuff like that. It's for theatre, and no one will be that close to it.

Side Panel Embellishment

On the side front and side back panels I used the selvedge of the organza. The selvedge had the look of metallic feathery fringing, it was 1/4" deep. I cut the selvedge off about 14 metres of fabric making strips about 3/4" wide = 28m of decorative edging.

I stitched the strips on in parallel rows, staring at the top of the bodice piece, overlapping each layer to create a feathery texture covering the panels. 

Curving the selvedge around the bust shape

I sewed the embellished satin pieces together excluding the centre back panels. 

The open end zipper was added to the right hand side of the side back panel. I added a facing to this edge so as not to shorten the side panel. Initially I had just folded the fabric back on itself but this reduced the side panel by about an inch.

Initial corset zipper placement trial

Bodice mounted onto buckram base

The front side panel of the bodice is cut on the crossgrain. Because the strips are on the straight grain they tended to stretch and warp away from the surface. I stopped this by sewing 3 lines of straight stitch in matching thread, at an angle on each panel.

Detail of topstitching holding the selvedge strips to the bodice base

Straps

The base straps are made from satin with elastic inside. The elastics purpose is to allow a small amount of size variation in the straps. Because the bodice is worn firm to the body, the straps don't have to take on all the support of the bodice. These were added to the satin layer. 

The buckram layer was sewn to the satin layer all the way around. The lining layer was pinned right sides together with the satin layer and sewn at the top and bottom edges only. 

Corset Back

As this costume will be worn by actors of various sizes over the years to come, I made it as size inclusive as possible so it is more versatile. 
The back panels of the bodice pattern have been replaced entirely with corset, which gives the wide size range options. 

I made a narrow bias tube from the silk satin for the corset loops.

On the right hand edge of the back panel, I pinned and stitched the corset loops at the edge and then stitched the left side of the open end zipper on top of this edge.

Corset loop construction

The bodice is adjustable by 20cm at the back corset using a system I designed. There are tie points inside the bodice that anchor the modesty panel in place once the corset is tied up. It goes from around a dress size 14 to a 20. This works only if the bust cup size doesn't also increase.

This photo shows a facing on the left side back bodice, this was removed and the lining was attached to this edge instead with only the corset loops exposed on the edge of the side back. 

Modesty Panel 

I constructed the back modesty panel in layers using ivory satin as the base, gold silk satin then crystal organza on top. I sewed the two back panels together at the centre back seam line and this large piece served as the corset modesty panel. This piece of the bodice is completely detachable from the main body. 

Zipper attached to the far right with one side of the open ended zipper

Modesty panel zips up to the right hand side of the corset

The right hand side of the open end zipper is stitched to the right hand side of the side back panel. 

More corset loops are pinned and sewn to the left hand, side back seam edge. 

I cut buckram to fit the back panel and added lines of boning to it.

Lining the bodice

The bodice lining has small flat loops sew to the left side, these are the anchor points for the modesty panel to tie up to. I added 4 sets of 3. Each row gives an anchor point allowing the corset to be set larger or smaller. 
I also added a long strap to the lining side, near the left edge of the bodice. The modesty panel will be held inline with the top and bottom edges of the bodice by this strap when it is tied up for a smaller fit. Without his additional anchor point, the modesty panel would move up and down. 
After the first test try on, the actor sweated a lot because of the weight and voluminosity of the skirt. I made detachable perspiration pads from cotton and flannelette. These are secured to the inside of the bodice with metal snap fasteners. The pad on the side of the adjustable modesty panel is attached to the very top edge of the bodice so it can sit atop the modesty panel, if it set for a smaller sized person. 

From the lining fabric I made a half inch tube, cut it into 3 strips and sewed these to the left hand side, edge of the modesty panel. These ties are the anchor points for the modesty panel to tie to the inside of the bodice. 

I sewed the modesty panel to the buckram and then lined it.

ties attached to the edge of the modesty panel, they thread through loops sewn to the lining of the bodice and can be secured at different position. 

Modesty panel anchored at widest setting

Modesty panel anchored at narrowest setting

Modest panel set to medium size

Fitting the Bodice Corset Back to the Actor.
The zipper was added so the bodice can be removed easily without having to undo the corset. 
To fit the bodice, the actor puts it on with the corset part very loosely threaded. The zip is done up and then the corset is tightened to a firm but comfortable fit. 
The bodice is unzipped and removed. The bodice is turned inside out and the modesty panel is moved to be flat against the bodice. Making sure the modesty panel is threaded through the first anchor strap, the modesty panel ties are then laced up to the nearest loops on the bodice lining and tied off. 
This means after the corset back has been fitted, the bodice can be removed without undoing the lacing. 

The modesty panel is tied in place on the inside of the bodice at the desired size, it is extra long so the bodice can be extended out, or reduced to fit then secured at this position so it doesn’t move or crease up.

dress model and corset set to different sizes

Embellished Strap Detail

I created pleated satin straps by hand, pleating and tacking the fabric together. These are not uniform or symmetrical because I just made them without a pattern. 

Test run of the straps

The pleated satin straps were hand sewn to the bodice, from the hem at the side front seam, lined up to the seam and over the base straps, down the back about an inch away from the corset loops. 

Pinned test run of the embellished straps

The scalloped metallic lace is what was left over from the fabric I cut the motifs from I used on the Belle skirt. 
On top of the pleated straps, I added the scallop metallic lace edge. I pinned all the points so they were horizontally lined up across the bodice, then hand sewed them in place. Over the shoulders the metallic lace is gathered up very slightly to the pleated strap, this allows range of arm motion for dancing. 

Making them fitted in a non stretch lace would have reduced the actors ability to move.

Detachable Sleeves

As this is my interpretation of the costume from the musical I wanted to add detachable sleeves. 
Not all actors want to wear a sleeveless corset style bodice, so this way they have options.
I drafted off my own flutter sleeve pattern, cutting it from the silk chiffon. 

I made the sleeves double layered with French seams because the fabric is very light and floaty. On the test sleeve, when the actor lifted their arms the sleeve kept catching on the lace and sticking out.

The armscyce seam of each sleeve is bound with yellow bias binding. They are hand sewn to the straps at the top and the bodice at the underarm area.

The bodice was fitted on the actor over the seperate skirt. When she lifted her arms the bodice would rise up exposing the waistband. 
To temporarily join the two garments together, I added trouser waistband hooks to the inside of the bottom edge of the bodice. I attached 6 to each side starting at the side front seam.

On the skirt, I sewed bars to either side of the centre back where the sash ties up and either side of the centre front to match where the centre front of the bodice would sit. 

As the skirt waistband has elastic and can also change sizes depending on how it is tied at the back, I sewed lots of bars between the front and back. 

Depending on the waist size of the wearer, Once the front and back are secured, they can hook the bodice to the closest bars on the skirt all around the sides. 

I learned this technique from Bella Mae and her Cinderella movie dress recreation, a cosplay costume designer I follow.