In my Junior year, for my Costumes, Hair, Makeup theatre class, I entered into the Florida Districts Thespians competition in the Costume construction category. For this I created a costume from the musical Beauty and the Beast, choosing Belle's blue "town dress". For this project I put all my sewing knowledge to the test, displaying a full range of my abilities. I had to determine what the costume should look like and make design choices, then bring those ideas into reality. I researched and found a pattern to initially work off of (Daria Pattern-making's Pleated Lilly Dress). I fell in love with the pattern because of one design choice; pleats. I believe these pleats are reflective of the character, being a simple way to add complexity and texture to the costume (reflective of Belle's own standout nature and complexity). Also I felt that what is essentially just folded fabric, isn't too out of place for the time period (1800's France) which I also took inspiration from. I extended the pattern to reflect the modesty of the time period, and added a second white skirt underneath. The Dress notably includes a zipper in the back for accessibility. In addition to the dress itself, I created a apron and the neck piece, added for increased recognizability and historical inspiration. I drafted my own patterns for each. The final material cost was under $65 total.