Patternmaking Project (In Progress)

This is my patternmaking project that I designed at the University of Missouri Patternmaking course. The requirements of the course were to design a bodice and skirt with sleeves and a collar based on a fictional character.

I was inspired to create this set based on the idolized cowgirl in the song "Long Live Cowgirls" by Cody Johnson. Images from Diamond Cross Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as well as several images depicting western life and romance inspired the creation of this project. I wanted my design to reflect the wildness of the spirit of a cowgirl as well as the romance of the west. The wildflowers on the bodice reflect the wildness of her spirit, and the entire set resembles something a cowgirl could wear in a wedding besides the traditional white.

The song lyrics that are the source of my inspiration are:

She's a gooseneck on a dually

A long neck at the bar

Loves old John Wayne movies

Waltzin' under them stars

She's sun up in the saddle

Cuttin' through the herd

Loves brandin' her cattle

Long live cowgirls

Well, she rode in them wagons

When the Wild West was won

Took the canyons and badlands

And made 'em her home

She's boots on, Ledoux songs

And snaps on her pearls

Long live cowgirls

Like a paint-colored mustang

She's fast and she's wild

Stop a runaway freight train

With her high-country smile

She's tough as December

Salt of the earth

Make you fall like September

Long live cowgirls

Well, she rode in them wagons

When the Wild West was won

Took the canyons and badlands

And made 'em her home

She's boots on, Chris Ledoux songs

And snaps on her pearls

She's been there and she'll be here

'Til the end of the world

Long live cowgirls