Susan's Night Raid/Battle Armor

For this costume, I am just going to explore Susan Pevensie's armor that she wears during the much-discussed Night Raid scene and the epic battle, which is amoung my favorites. ;)

The main piece armor is a leather corset, called a cuirass. It is two pieces of hardened leather, each are sealed by piping at the side and laced to eachother. There are straps running across it and up over her shoulders, probably just for decoration (I don't see any reason for them.)

During the nightraid, Susan wears her purple outfit minus the bodice, which is replaced by this cuirass. For this sequence, she wears a leather vest that laces up the shoulders and is open at the sides (see the picture below). I've heard it said that it laces up the neck as well, but if you look closely, it actually just has a slit down the neck, with no closure.

For the battle, she wears the cuirass over a loooovely red dress (which I'll overview later) and a shirt of chain maille.

The chain maille seems to just be a shirt (think pullover)--made of metal. It has 3/4 sleeves that flare slightly as they go down. To protect her neck (and probably to add a little style) there is a gray-blue velvet collar, which could be connected to the dress itself.

Susan Pevensie--Purple Narnian Gown

After the children explore the ruins of their old home, Cair Paravel, they find their old chests of treasure, among which are clothes from their days as kings and queens.


As most of you know, the summer, fall and winter of 2008 was consumed with my making a replica of this costume. I learned a lot about it, as you can imagine, so this is probably going to be the most correct write-up of a costume that I shall do. ;) Above, just so you know, is the picture that inspired me to attempt such a complicated task.

The overdress of this costume(consisting of bodice and skirt) is lavender. The
bodice is separate from the skirt. It is boned (stiff synthetic material used for strapless evening gowns and corsets) and probably lined. It is princess seamed, but not in the usual way...it has 4 side panels instead of two. Constructed properly (:/) this makes for a better fit. The bottom is edged with peplum that is reminiscent of her motif, the daffodil. The peplum and sleeves are made of the same pinstriped material that the overskirt is.

There is a daffodil inset in the middle of the bodice, made with what looks like gold-colored suede. The neckline in rather square, yet still round at the corners. There is about a half inch of the blue underdress neckline peeking out all around it.

The skirt is rather simple, just an evening length skirt with two side seams and a back seam. There is a split in the middle, not anchored down to the underdress (in other words, not like a colonial dress, but more like two seperate dresses layered).

A good pattern for the both skirts would be Mccalls 4109. The only modifications you'd have to make would be to cut the front like the back, just without seaming it.

Unfortunatly, there are not many patterns that would work nicely for the bodice. The corset that goes with the above mentioned one would work rather nicely, but I wouldn't attempt it unless you are an incredibly experienced seamstress (I speak from experience :/). A place you could look would be Mom's Patterns--she sometimes has something. Or you could make one. Like me. And if I did it, you could too. ;)

I love to hear more ideas about this dress...please share them!

P.S. To see my attempt, click here: Susan Pevensie Costume

Susan Pevensie--1940s Uniform

In the beginning of Prince Caspian, Susan wears a maroon, gray and white school uniform with a blue-and-yellow striped tie. The blazer has a pocket and a lapel. It falls to mid-hip. On the pocket, there is a signia, probably the symbol of her school. Her skirt is just a straight skirt, seamed on the sides and possibly the back. It has a waistband. The shirt is a dress shirt, but it is hard to tell what the cuffs look like.

Simplicity 3688 would be ideal for the blazer, since it is about the same length. The only difference is the lapel is rounded, as opposed to pointed. The skirt that goes with this pattern would be workable, or you could just fudge it. ;)

Narnian Wardrobe--An Attempt

Hello, all! I haven't posted in much too long, mostly due to the fact that I haven't had much to post about...but I have a new idea. I was thinking that since I have in the past (and still do) adore Susan's and Lucy's Narnian costumes from the two movies, I thought I would add my two cents to the myriad of thoughts on the make and design of them. So stay tuned, and I shall attempt this task. ;)

~Lucie