Overview
The dress is about ankle-length, snugly princess-seamed, with
long sleeves, the bodice lacing all the way up the back from
below the waist. The pale blue underdress (or pale green, as
others see it) shows up in several places and can be a bit confusing:
we have a few theories on that.
The dress is a dark forest green fabric, medium weight in a
fine twill weave, probably a wool blend. The underdress fabric
has a sheen, possibly a china silk or silk satin.
 Green
Dress: Neckline and Embroidery
The round, scooped neckline is notched at the center front
and crossed once near the bottom and once near the top of the
notch with two lengths of a thin leather cord. They don't cross:
they enter the fabric through hand-sewn eyelets, bound in thread
a slightly lighter green than the dress itself.
That same thread frames the neckline in a vine-like embroidery,
a simple long running stitch connecting small curled satin-stitched
designs. The running stitches are tipped in some places by little
satin-stitched buds. See Aranel's study in the embroidery gallery
below. Note it's not exact—it's very difficult to get
a good shot of the embroidery, as her hair or cloak are always
in the way.
Seams and Back Lacing
The bodice of the green dress is princess seamed over the bust,
but instead of two side pieces with a seam falling directly
under the arm, there are three side pieces, with the middle
side piece falling directly under the arm. The extra fitting
of the extra piece allows for a more fitted bodic with a fuller
skirt. The center front is one piece without a center seam.
Princess seams both in front and back go to the sleeve arm,
not the shoulder; there is no waist seam on any of the pieces.
The seams run full-length; the front piece widens very little,
but the direct side piece seems to widen the most, just at mid-hip.
The back is laced up from just below the waist over a self-fabric
placket, in a green woven cord. It looks in some lights to have
a slightly brownish tint. In others, it looks like it's dyed
to match the green color of the dress! The tiny loops that the
lacing threads seem to be tiny corded tubes. Notice the lines
on either side of the lacing - it seems to be decorative piping.
Sleeves and Embroidery
The sleeves fit snugly down to the wrist. On one
side they lengthen and flare away slightly. It lengthens almost
to her knuckles and flares slightly, at the side of the wrist
opposite her thumb—so it's out of the way when she raises
her arm to shoot an arrow.
At mid-upper arm are vertical, elliptical slits that
show the underdress bunching horizontally underneath. The final
tally of slits seems to be five.
The embroidery near the hem of the sleeve is done
in a slightly lighter green thread than the fabric, with several
small curls in a satin stitch, connected by a long running stitch.
See Aranel's study in the embroidery gallery below.
Underdress
The underdress is rather a puzzle. It's definitely a separate,
full-length dress, likely princess-seamed, and hemmed just a
few inches shorter than the green dress. It shifts quite a bit,
the round neck showing a couple inches at the green dress neckline,
sometimes less.
In one image
where Susan leans over we can see a ruffle under the neckline
of the underdress. It seems to be stitched down all the way
around at the neck; the other possibility is that the line we
see at the neck is a seam for a two-inch or so neck yoke. Since
this is the only time we see it, it's difficult to make out
what it is.
In a few images we seem to be seeing a complete undersleeve,
specifically in this
image (look at the right hand) and possibly this
one (look at the left hand). However, we don't see this
at other times when it ought to be apparent. It's possible what
we see there is just an undershirt for warmth, as it seems in
most images that the underdress sleeve is simply baglined to
the green sleeve.
Though we're inclined to think the above (as this would be
rather bulky), if that is the underdress sleeve, there
would be three layers: the green sleeve, the baglining of the
sleeve (in the same fabric as the underdress?), and the underdress
sleeve.
NarniaWebber GentlePrincess noted
recently this image
where we see what looks a sleeveless armhole on the
underdress! However, we can clearly see the sleeve underneath
that. This seems to be a separate piece laying over it. Is it
possible the underdress has the ruffled neckline, and this is
like a dickey stitched to it for a smooth neckline? Input is
welcome.
The skirt is full, with a one- to two-inch shining gold trim
sewn down at the hem. This can be seen when Susan jumps down
from the tree at Aslan's camp; see this
image.
|
The
cloak fabric is a knit rib, made by Stansborough Fibres of their
"Stansborough Grey" wool. Stansborough sent us this swatch of
the original at the right. This appears to have been overdyed
to the cool purple as it appears in the film.
The
cloak is trimmed with a beautiful blue and red floral metallic
trim about 1 1/2" wide, see closeup on left. M & J Trimming
carries an identical 
