Italian Renaissance

In my costuming frenzy for Estrella I'm actually working on an Italian Renaissance dress that I would love to be making for myself. Unfortunately my friend Jen is the very fortunate person to be able to not only afford the fabric I was lusting after at Hancock's but also asked me to make her a dress with it.

The picture really doesn't do the color justice, it is a gorgeous shade of garnet red with gold embroidery on it and the coordinating fabric is just perfect. The photo really doesn't do it justice at all. I'm making her a dress based off of Simplicity pattern number 8735. Specifically the one shown in the claret velvet. Though I haven't decided which fabric will be the outer gown and which one should be the inner gown. The garnet one is simply gorgeous and I am half tempted to make it the outer gown just to showcase it, but I'm afraid of it being too much. I have til Saturday to finish it so I'll have to decide VERY soon.