A Zumba Fairy Costume. . .

I got an interesting request last month--my sister is a Zumba fan and her instructor was going to a convention and needed a costume for a party they have there. She had three requirements--it had to be white (to glow under black lights), it needed to look good with a set of fairy wings, and it needed to be funky and floaty.

My first thought was a handkerchief skirt, so that's where I started--two layers, one of a sparkled bridal fabric, and the second of a polysilk. But then I needed something else underneath it, since as soon as you spin in a handkerchief skirt it goes flying. Really flying. (And leaving little to the imagination if you aren't wearing something underneath.)

So taking my inspiration from those wrap pants you see everywhere in the Caribbean, I fashioned some funky bloomers out of the polysilk and integrated them into the skirt. So the bottom layer you see is actually the points of those wraparound bloomers. I put the whole thing on an elastic casing, because I hate fighting tons of layers and making sure nothing is slipping or showing when I'm dancing. I then took some scraps of the organza and serged the edges to make some cute spiraled accents that I could layer on top (the organza is a separate skirt, since it's dry clean only.) Voila! One funky, floaty, fairy skirt.

On top is a simple peasant blouse out of the same polysilk, with slits up the sleeves (oh yes, her face and shoulders were also going to be painted so they needed to show--so I guess that was the fourth requirement). I had this leather obi belt in my stash to tie it all together. I think it turned out pretty cute. I may whip up another one of these fairy skirts in a bit longer length to wear to belly dance class--I hate wearing a ton of layers when it's summer, and the breezy design would keep you comfy while you dance!

Click on the photo to see it much bigger if you'd like to see the costume's details.

Any interest in me adding these skirts to my Etsy store inventory?