How They Got It:
Ruth purchased the costume at auction from Dori Hartley at the 25th Anniversary on Oct. 13, 2000. Dori says she was handed the corset by Sue Blane at a convention many years back. Many thanks to Jaimie Froemming and Mark Beck., who photographed it for them and who floated them a small loan.
The repeating pattern of the embroidered flowers on the overlay fabric can easily be seen, suggesting this was fabric bought by the yard, then cut up and put on the corset. Note also the tendrils.
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| Keep in mind that while it's in very good shape, the corset has faded a lot over the years. | Corset front bottom. Note the fact that the embroidered flowers are on a separate black netting base, not stitched directly onto the corset. | Corset Front Top |
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| Corset back | Closeup of the back buttons -Note the soutache loops, the iridescent rounded oval buttons, and the embroidered lace edging along the back opening. | Closeup of embroidery - Note the stones on the base fabric, though not many on the flowers themselves. Glue can be seen under some of the rhinestones in this shot. |
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| Extreme closeup: stitched flower. The netting-like characteristic of the base fabric can easily be seen, as can the square 3x3 "rhinestone" gem (actually not faceted at all). | Closeup of rhinestones. You can see how the netting fabric is actually sewn onto the chiffon shirt, whose texture is clearly visible. Nice closeup of several star-shaped rhinestones and one 3x3 "gem" grouping. | Closeup of star-shaped rhinestone. The faceting is clearly visible, as are the metal prongs (which do not extend through the velvet beneath). |
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