Ever since I made my Rinoa costume, I have really wanted to make her mother, Julia Heartilly's, outfit as well. Julia is such an underrated character; she's downplayed in FF8's storyline even though she sings the game's theme song, "Eyes On Me." Also, her red dress has such a simple, yet elegantly sexy, design. When I came across a stretchy velvet *exactly* the right color red on eBay for five dollars, I couldn't resist.
The eBay fabric was the prefect yardage, color, and texture for Julia's gown, but it was very difficult to cut and work with. The base dress was easy enough, but I spent a lot of time painstakingly cutting and reshaping the bodice, espeically making the long strips of fabric for her spaghetti straps which crossing in a unique pattern.
Next, I took some black velvet scraps I had left over from an old dance leotard and cut and sewed them into the chest accents on the front of the bodice. Finally, I grabbed the scissors once more and cut the side seams of the skirt open to create Julia's sexy little slits.
After polishing everything off with hemming and edging, I went for the details, which are hard to see with so few reference images. I made more red strips with velco attachers for her arms, and used gold glitter ribbon for her bracelets. I then styled a short brown wig to resemble hers, and added some gold earrings for my own touch. A pair of black pumps from my closet completed the look.
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