Where can I find a pattern to sew a recreation of Princess Diana's famous Travolta dress?
I want to have a seamstress custom make me a dress as true to the original as possible for an annual Christmas party. Where can I find the pattern for this dress and how do you recommend I find a seamstress who will do a great job without charging an arm and a leg? Also, how expensive do you estimate the material and labor to recreate this dress would be?
That's going to be an expensive dress! There are lots of underpinnings to that one. I'd guess $1K easy.
I'd start with the bodice to Vogue 2960, and change the neckline to a V neckine. The skirt is ruched, probably to an underlining, but the photos I've found don't tell me if it's a simple front and back skirt with circular flounces or if that's a ruched trumpet skirt, perhaps with added godets, or if there are several layers of skirt fabric at the bottom.
You will need some good interior construction for the bodice and a waist stay or the skirt will drag from the weight of the fabric. This is not a dress for the inexperienced, especially considering the weight of velvet. I suspect silk velvet is probably the lightest you'll find.