Worn at the climax of the movie, the dress is both elegant yet strikingly unique. (Hehe - of course! Erik (well I assume) made it!) Made of the familiar bridal fabrics of the time, it is memorable for suck a tragic part of the movie...
Images
Ebay Images and Displays:
Promotional:
Dress Breakdown
This dress is divided into four parts the underbodice/underskirt, the bodice, train, and overskirt.
Underbodice/Underskirt:
In one of the pictures of the first ebay auction, you can see the underbodice, which was sewed to the underskirt, probably for the purpose of easier dressing. I'm not sure weather or not this is historically accurate, but it would make sense for them to connect the underbodice with the overskirt because of the amount of movement Christine does in this costume through the water.
Bodice: We know for sure that the bodice is laced up in the back, but where the back bertha is, it is closed with hooks and eyes instead.
The bodice is pointed in front and the back, similar to the think of me gown, ending at the waist and then the point extends for a few more inches beyond the waistline. The fabric is unknown, but it is often suspected to be made of silk damask. The triangular shaped bertha looks to be made of an intricate crushed or ribbed silk embroidered organza. So far as we know, this has not been proven yet. The front of the bertha is edged with a delicate scalloped lace trim.
Take careful note of how the bertha is attatched to the back in this picture:
Overskirt: The overskirt is an asymmetrical overskirt in the front only. Obesrvation has shown that it does not continue in the back, but rather, gathered at the right hip.
As for the fabric, if you look at this picture, it looks very similar to the outside/fashion fabric used in the bodice. It looks much lighter, though, because the overskirt does not seemed to be lined with anything. The material is very light and sheer. So far as I know, it hasn't been identified yet.
Underskirt and Train
I have a great suspicion that the underskirt and her "train" are two different things. The evidence is when she walks into the water. Notice how the dress floats? Well, it wouldn't float if the train was not the same as the underskirt, because the rest of the dress would weigh it down. You can see the shape of the train when Christine walks into the water.
Here is a picture of the train. This is what it looks like when you walk forward, and then walk backward a little bit so that it lies flat. (bear with me. i know i am terrible with descriptions sometimes. )
Here is a picture of her train floating in the water:
Another picture that gives you an idea of the shape of the train. The underskirt is probably trained also:
The fabric of the underskirt is made of several layers of lace. It is not quite certain how many layers, specifically. The train is made of several overlaped and draped layers of lace, which almost appears yellowish in some lights. If you look at the picture of the ebay auction, you can see how the skirt and train are seperate.