My granddaughter Lucy loves watching Broadway musicals, and Beetlejuice The Musical is one of her favorites. Lucy knows every word to every song, and it was a no brainer for her to decide on being the spooky goth-girl Lydia Deetz for Halloween this year.
The Design
Though I had seen the movie years ago, I was not familiar at all with the musical version. I had to do a little research to figure out the best way to make this costume. First step was to find and study several quality images of the Broadway Lydia Deetz dress from various angles.
It can be hard to see all of the details on photography of a black dress. Beneath all of the Victorianesque black lace trim and ruffles, the dress was, in essence, a simple belted shift with a yoke collar. I found this vintage Simplicity 8807 girls dress pattern to be the perfect base pattern for a Lydia Deetz dress.
Fabric Choice, Fabric Choice, Fabric Choice
The key to making an accurate rendition of a Lydia Deetz dress is fabric choice. Where I had managed to source all of the fabrics and notions for Birdie’s Jolly Holiday Dress from my wondrous stash, I needed to hunt around my online resources to find the perfect fabrics and trims for Lucy’s costume. Having worldwide access to vendors on Etsy is just such a wonderful resource when searching for the very specific items I wanted.
Tip: When buying from an Etsy vendor, you need to be aware of shipping times, as they can vary from country to country.
Luckily, I was able to purchase everything I needed from a single Etsy vendor, Lace Emily from China. The goods I ordered arrived in a little over one week.
- black embroidered chiffon with a linear pattern – for the sleeves and body of the sheer dress
- pleated hard organza tulle – to create the the “ruff” along the yoke seamline
- 4″ wide double edged black cotton lace – for the ruffle that runs down the center front of the dress
- 1/2″ black cotton floral lace – for trimming the yoke, the neckline edge, and sleeve cuffs
Construction Details
I did deviate and embellish upon the Simplicity pattern in the following ways to make our Lydia Deetz dress as close to the original as possible:
- cut the long sleeve pieces on the bias to get the embroidered striping on the chiffon to run on the diagonal
- cut the bottom ruffle piece along the on edge of the fabric and utilized the selvedge for the finished hem
- slightly ruffled a length of double edge floral cotton lace trim to run down the center front of the dress
- embellished the centered ruffle with black knot buttons originally purchased from ButtonsNDesign on Etsy
- combined half of the double edge cotton lace with pleated hard organza to create the stiff ruff at the yoke
- finished off the yoke ruff, neckline and cuffs with 1/2″ cotton floral trim
- created a button closure as the sheer fabric would have a difficult time supporting a zipper
- made a belt with a velcro closure made from a scrap of black crepeback satin, crepey side out
- made a lace rosette for the belt by gathering some of the wide cotton lace
Let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose
As with any costume, correct follow through on the details adds authenticity to the overall effect. And, the perfect accessories also add to the fun of getting dressed up 
- tattoo stretch choker
- lacy black tights
- fingerless lace gloves
- white slip – to wear under the sheer black overdress to make the the embroidery on the chiffon pop
- big safety pins – to mimic the punky embellishment at the yoke
- black boots
Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!
Lucy LOVED it. She wore her spooky goth girl costume to several Halloween events, and also when she went trick or treating with Beetlejuice! But the most fun was when Lucy wore her Lydia Deetz dress to see the live theater Beetlejuice the Musical production in downtown Chicago. “My dress looked just like the dress on stage!” she said. Hearing my grandchildren say things like this simply tickles my Makeling soul
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