Dragon Con 2015 - Dark Phoenix, for Rockabilly X-Men

I asked for Dark Phoenix in the Rockabilly X-Men group partly because I like the Phoenix and partly because I have a wig that I think will work for that. As I learn more about Rockabilly, I may change my mind and use a different wig...good thing I have options, eh?

Not going to be making the dress any time soon -- I have other things to do first, and as I'm getting more active doing kung fu, my figure is likely to change a little over the winter as well.  But I figured it couldn't hurt to poke around online....

I started with looking for pictures of wiggle dresses, and then added "red" and "phoenix", and found some modern Chinese wedding dresses -- and thought, a Chinese phoenix would be cool.  Friend L thought it would be cool to do Chinese Rockabilly so...

Above dress is found here: http://modernqipao.com/product/sleeveless-red-phoenix-embroidered-long-lace-qipao-chinese-bridal-dress-mermaid-evening-gown/

I also saw some variations on having an opening below the collar, usually teardrop or triangular, and some dresses are open on the upper back.  Some are all of one fabric and some have filmy/lacy fabric across the shoulders.  And a few do an open standing collar thing but I can't find the one I saw that reminded me a touch of Jean Grey from the movie.

The group is sharing pictures and patterns for different looks from the 1950s and there are a few choices in types of dress, not just the wiggle dress. It's been interesting to see what folks are sharing -- I remember a few of those dresses from patterns my mom had, and I realized that in college I had a red and white gingham that would have fit the bill. Long gone, of course.

Anyway, just for fun I did a search for Chinese Rockabilly, and found this:

http://notyourchinagirl.com/post/1950s_Rockabilly_Culture_in_China

Wow.

Anyway! The Chinese wedding dresses are lovely but a little bit of money -- not that fabric is free either -- but more importantly, how can I be sure a store-bought dress will fit me properly? So I found a lace cheongsam-like shirt with a phoenix embroidered on it on eBay and bid on one -- it'll be arriving in a few weeks.  When I get to actually making the dress I can decide then if I'll incorporate the whole shirt or applique the phoenix alone onto the garment.

I still need to decide if I'm going with the straight/more fitted skirt or more flared like a lot of Rockabilly seems to be -- if the latter, I can always put the phoenix on the skirt (instead of a poodle!).

Meantime, I have a dress I made but don't want to keep as-is, so that might get used for making the Phoenix dress. And I have gold tights!  I'm putting all the possibles together now and will hang them with my other projects so I can find them when it's time to get to work on this.