Arwen – Blood Red Dress
Source: Lord of the Rings
Made for: San Diego Comic Con 2005
Journal Entries: Read more at my Arwen red tag
Related Costumes: Arwen Hope Dress, Arwen Chase Dress, Arwen Original Design
Patterns Used:
Simplicity 9891 (Underdress base)
Fabrics:
I ordered deep blue silk velvet from SyFabrics, and I found the red velvet locally. (And this after buying two other types of velvet for the dress and returning them!) I found the brocade fabric on ebay – it’s upholstery fabric. I put it in some red dye when it arrived to make the entire design look more overall “red” and knock down some of the yellow tones in it.
Underdress:
I made an underdress out of dark blue lining fabric, using the Simplicity pattern above as a base – it zips up the back, and it’s only about knee length. I didn’t want to add anymore fabric around my feet than necessary. To this I attached the full bell sleeves, with the paisley/brocade upper sleeves. I drafted my own pattern for the bell sleeves, with help from my parents to figure out how to get the fullest sleeves possible, without any gathers at the top, and have it all still fit on my fabric for cutting. All of the gold trim I bought (two different kinds), cut apart, dyed and sewed back together onto the neckline/arm. The gold braid I bought and sewed on.
Outerdress:
The outer dress I made without a pattern. It’s basically just 2 large rectangles, sewn together up the sides and at the shoulder seams, with the dip for the collar at the front, and longer in the back for the train. I added the brocade fabric “collar” and the gold rope trim around the neckline. There is no closure on this piece, it just pulls on over my head.
Accessories:
The wig and ears I already had. In 2016 I got a new wig! It can be seen in the white backdrop photos here.
History:
I adore this costume but it had to go into a brief retirement – in 2008 I used this wig to make the ponytail of my Ame-Comi Wonder Woman wig. So I was without a wig for this costume until I finally bought a replacement in 2016! Since then I’ve worn it a few times plus did another new Arwen costume in 2020.
In 2025 I did finally clean this costume up – cauterized some fraying trim edges, reinforced some of the stitching holding the trim on, and FINALLY fixed the torn seam from Dragoncon 2005 LOL. I wore this at Dragoncon 2025 for its 20th birthday, with my whole fam as other LOTR characters. So fun.
Please note that none of these costumes are for sale! This is my personal portfolio.