The outfit of a ROCK LEGEND!

I have always loved Tina's music. In Australia we have celebrated Tina's career and her music. From her teaming up with an Australian Manager Roger Davies to kick start her solo career, to the Nutbush dance routine being created for physical education by teachers in the 1970's (see ABC article here), to her promos for the rugby league competition in 1989 , and her performance at NRL Grand Final in 1993. It is no wonder Australia has always held a special part in it's heart for the icon.

When I found out her life story was going to be told on the stage, I just knew I had to go and see the show. I also had an idea to make a Tina inspired dress to wear to the show. Kind of like the Swifties paying homage to their Taylor. But this would be for Tina! Why should the Swifties have all the fun!

I scrolled through heaps of fashion articles and decided I was going to make the Versace minidress Tina wore at Wembley Stadium in 1996.

After examining the dress the pattern didn't look like it was going to be too complicated to replicate. It was slip with sloping bust panels (joined at centre front), lace trim, knit sequin fabric and adjustable straps. Using a knit fabric and adjustable straps means I could get away without using a zip, so it could literally be slipped on.

I began by using draping tape on my dress form to mark out the bust, side seam then where I wanted it to sit on the back. I used the princess seam as a guide for where I wanted the strap placement. I used scrap jersey fabric to trace out the design lines and then transferred this onto pattern paper.

Using the bust piece, I drafted the skirt using chest, waist, and hip measurements plus ease and divided it into front and back pieces. I calculated dress length and then using the bust pieces traced this contouring into the front dress panel which was then cut on the fold. Matching side seams of the bust cup and the dress, I contoured the back of the dress to match. I added seam allowance to the pattern and sewed up a sample. The under bust curve needed a little adjustment, but other than that it was looking good.

Next, I was out to source some fabric. There was a lack of fabric options that I thought would have a the right look (without bedazzling the whole garment). There was either mat sequins (hello 1990's end of year dance performance costume) or the holographic option. Given I only had two days to make the costume, shipping anything "better" wasn't an option, I went with the holographic. Lace trim options were either really expensive and not wide enough or excessively wide. I opted for the wider option and trimmed it down to the shell motif with the scolloped edge. The final fabric was very see-through, so rather than repurposing my sample dress, I made adjustments to the garment and used it as the lining for the final dress.

It was super easy to sew all the edges together (leaving the shoulder seams open so that I could add shoulder straps) and line the outer dress with my sample dress. This enclosed all the raw edges and made the dress very comfortable to wear.

I had sparkly bias tape in mind to make the shoulder straps however, it did not iron very well and kept curling up. So I decided to make straps out of the main fabric. I made them initially 18" x 2" however, I think in the final version I made them slightly longer to allow for cross-over at the neck. Once I sewed up the final version of the dress, I found it sat better as a halter neck, so I lengthened the straps, so I could get them over my head and the dress could remain a slip on.

Next, I added the lace trim. I used pins to attach the strips to the edge on the bust and the hem. I used black thread and my sewing machine to attach them using a straight stitch. This also acted like a top stitch to keep the lining from rolling out and being visible.

I decided to style with dress with a basic fitted black tee and Dr Martens. Unfortunately, on the day I couldn't get any nice outdoor shots with my sparkly dress as it was overcast and rainy. Here's an instagram reel with some close ups so you get the idea.

The show was super fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. For the finale the audience all got up and danced the final set. It was amazing and highly recommend seeing the show.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you would like to see me make any other famous dresses or celebrity outfits. Should I try making a Taylor Swift costume? Halloween is coming up soon.

Until next time,

Sarah x