Breath of the Wild – Zelda
Paris Oliver | May 2019
Design and Inspiration
I designed this dress based off of two of the dresses Zelda wears in the videogame. The first is her white gown and the second is her royal blue dress. I wanted to combine elements of each to create a unique look that hints at each of her personality traits. I also found inspiration in the game’s iconic flower. The Silent Princess symbolizes Zelda throughout her journey, so I thought it was essential to include in a dress inspired by her.
Making the Dress
This dress was one that went through many design iterations before I finally settled one the one I thought was perfect, but lots of the elements never changed. The sleeves, for example, were always going to be off the shoulder and around the middle of my arms. I did this because it was reminiscent of the sleeves on Zelda’s royal blue dress. Other elements I pulled from that dress was the gold panel on the skirt and the way the blue parted to reveal the white. I used the color from Zelda’s adventuring outfit because it was when she is happiest, and I thought she would choose that color for herself because it reminds her of freedom. The bodice has a triangle element near the top the same way Zelda’s white dress does and I chose white to be the sleeve color to pull in elements from that outfit. I also recreated the bracers she wears with her white dress.
Production
I used the Simplicity 1026 pattern for the skirt and made my own bodice pattern. I started with the skirt and made both the white and blue layers, then stitched them together and gathered. Then I made the bodice. I made a mock-up out of cotton first to make sure it fit just right and the made it again with the same white silk (found at Joann Fabrics) as the skirt and sleeves. I decided later to add a blue layer to the top and added that before attaching the skirt and bodice. The final step of the main dress was to add the zipper and trims. I finished the dress by making the white sleeves, bracers, and adding the trim to the bodice, skirt, and gold paneling in the front. I also attached the Silent Princess flowers I made and some ribbon to hint at leaves, and the dress was done!
The main challenge of this dress was the time. I had only two weeks to create this dress and a commissioned dress that went along with it. I had to quickly learn how best to manage my time and how to avoid overworking and stressing myself out. I’m really proud of the way this dress came out!
