Y’all.  I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to share this with you!  I saw a dress with similar sleeves on an ad and immediately needed to make it happen — so I did.  AND THEN, I also graded them out and am offering them up as a freebie over at Patterns for Pirates!!  EEEK!!  Let’s talk about the Elvira Sleeves, in all of their delicious Halloween glory!

I really wanted something that would have a super vampy, retro vibe.  And the princess seaming of the Gala Gown from Patterns for Pirates was the perfect pattern to help make it happen.  The Elvira Sleeves are just an add-on for the pattern, so you do need the Gala Gown to complete this look.  And to attach them, it’s a simple switch up of some of the steps…but it’s all outlined on the P4P blog HERE.

I was trying so hard to emulate Elvira herself, but I just don’t think I have the sexy-sexy vibe she’s got going on most of the time, haha.  I was able to NAIL her campy, over the top faces.  But the sexy ones?  Not so much.  Oh my god….I deleted so many photos that I took during this photo session.

I also looked a tutorial for her makeup and hair.  Where I learned that I’m not good at makeup.  But I did have a ton of fun overdoing my eyes and giving myself a fake beauty mark.  I also learned that I do not have the skillset required for truly teasing my hair to reach the heights in needed.  But you know what?  I’m still good with these photos.  They were fun to make happen.  For sure.

Okay, enough about my makeup and hair fails.  Let’s talk the sleeve.  Because that’s why we are here, isn’t it?

Like I said, the sleeves are made specifically for the adult, hourglass Gala Gown.  That’s because I designed it to perfectly fit down the front and back princess seams of that amazing dress pattern.  I created a “bat-like” sleeve with the scalloped edges.  With your arms up and moving, it def has a vampy vibe to it.  With your arms down, I love that it’s very much like a cape.  OBSESSED.

Now for a full confession, I didn’t exactly use the Gala Gown skirt.  I really wanted a peplum style top to wear, so I mashed the Sweetheart skirt with the Gala Gown bodice (and the Elvira Sleeves!) to complete my look.  I think it turned out perfectly.

Or at least I did until one of our admins said that I should have done a scalloped hem for the skirt.  And now that’s all I want to happen.  Damnit Lizzy.  Where were you when I was dreaming this up?

Before I go, I do have one more photo to share.  I did get an actual snap that I didn’t delete…where I’m looking at the camera and not smiling like a huge dork.  Here’s my best Mistress of the Dark effort.  I’d give it a C+, hahahahahaha.

Pattern: Elvira Sleeve Add-On / Gala Gown by Patterns for Pirates
Fabric: Black DBP from JoAnn Fabrics