Coolest Satine from Moulin Rouge Costume

I’ve been wanting to create Satine’s “Black Diamond” costume from Moulign Rouge for a few years, but hadn’t had the time or the ability to do so. I was so excited this year when I knew I’d be able to do it. I don’t have much experience with sewing, but I’ve been blessed with a very crafty brain, a lot of patience, and the ability to figure stuff like this out and make it work so I gave it a shot! Though it isn’t the most original costume, my goal was to mimic the look from the movie as closely as possible (on a budget of course) and I’m so happy with the end product!

The base of the costume is a “smoother” type undergarment that I found at Ross for $12. It had a bra style top and the rest fit like a leotard. I bought the sequin look silver fabric for about $2.50/yard and the crushed velvet for $4/yard, these both came from Joanne. I finally found silver fringe at Hobby Lobby at $4.50/yard, and a 5 yard spool of sequin “ribbon” for $2. I also used some silver puff paint and glitter that I already had at home. Since the costume doesn’t use much fabric, all of the materials only cost me about $30.

I made my tails first, they were the only part of the outfit that I used a sewing machine on. I used the sequin fabric for the front of these, the backing was velvet as well as the trim. Then I added the fringe in layers. It was originally looped, so I cut them to give a more accurate effect. Lastly, I used the paint, glitter, and sequin ribbon for the designs on the edges.

Next I started the bodice. I began with the bra top, which was the easiest part. It was very low cut, so I used some black fabric I had to create the right neckline. Then I covered that with the silver sequin fabric. Because I don’t have a bust form or anything like that, I had to sew the rest by hand while I was wearing it. Since the material of the leotard was elasticy, had I covered it while it wasn’t stretched, it wouldn’t have fit correctly. I sewed the fabric on in panels, which gave it a better “corset” look and more wiggle room for me while I was taking it on and off. To sew the seam in the back, I stuffed it with a pillow. I left about an inch and a half of the fabric free at the bottom, which allowed me to attach the tails and fringe underneath it and then tuck the remaining material under and make a finished seam.

The fringe in the front is the same as the rest. But, instead of cutting the loops in the middle, I snipped each at the top to make them longer. I layered two pieces like this so it was thick enough, and for a little extra coverage I used a third shorter bit in the middle. There is a strip of fringe in the back as well, between the tails.

I cut the lapels out of velvet, and trimmed them with the sequins. They were simple to attach. I added the stars and rest of the design after so I could make sure they were in the right place. The straps were the only part of the outfit that didn’t hold up will. Again, I used the sequin ribbon, but could only attach it at the ends because of the stretch. So, they didn’t fit quite right.

To finish it all off, I bought a top hat and gloves at a Halloween store for $15. Neither of these were quite right and needed a bit of work. The hat was very large, so I cut a sponge in half and taped a piece to the inside on the front and back, so I could get it to sit on top of my head. The sequins were added as well. Since the gloves weren’t long enough, I used some velvet to lengthen them. Doing that also made them more comfortable and prevented them from falling down as much. The fishnets were from Wal Mart and cost $5. The heels and earrings were mine.

Total spent: $62

I hope everyone loves it, and that my description might help someone else create a dream costume! Happy Halloween!