Project Estimate for Mme de Pompadour

So last night I sat down with my two best color people and we did some research looking for the right silk fabric for the MdP gown. A ton of research has been done on this particular painting, which makes my job a lot easier at this stage: https://www.factumfoundation.org/pag/madame-de-pompadour-in-the-frame-exhibition-waddesdon-manor

The best fabric is definitely this one, but it's almost $40/yard: https://www.moodfabrics.com/iridescent-turquoise-silk-shantung-fs36003-1090

Silkbaron comes in a lot more affordable with a couple of dupioni options at $25/yard: Absinthe and Nymph 

Of course I will also need the pink silk for the flowers and other trim - but the green is the one that's proving hard to find right now.   Today I did some math and I'm going to need almost 16 yards of the green, which is cost prohibitive (around $400 at SilkBaron - almost $600 at Mood Fabrics). I have a $150 giftcard for Silkbaron, and they do run sales around the holidays usually, so it's not a totally hopeless cause, but I am DEFINITELY starting with a cotton mockup (16 yards of cotton at $4/yard is $64 just for the practice gown). I'll pick that up tonight so that I can get working on the muslin (mockup) version of the gown while I think about my life choices and the price of silk.

For the underpinnings I'm going to use cotton anyway (in as close of a match to that peony pink in the painting as I can find). Since I usually do black underpinnings it's going to be fun to be using bright colors for once! I need about 7 yards for the undergarments (see below for a detailed project list) so that's around $28 of cotton if I can get it on sale at $4/yard. So tonight I should be looking to spend around $92 before tax, which is perfect since one of you guys sent me $100 in joanns gift cards while I was away this summer!

If (like me) you like to see things like this in a pretty list format, here are the numbers:

Total green (silk) required: 16 yards $400 - $600
Total pink (cotton) required: 7 yards $28  
Mockup green (cotton): 16 yards $64  
Notions: 22 yards of 3/4 tape, 4 yds 1/2" boning, 1/2 yard of coutil, 2 yards organza, 1/2 yard buckram, 12 yards of lace, corset bones, corset grommets, bias tape, corset laces. ~ $80

Other things I need (but already have):  
American Duchess patterns (4 at 1.99 each because I got them on sale) $8  
American Duchess books (2 at 15 each because I'm a book dealer) $30

Parts of the outfit I need to buy outright:
Shoes (ideally the mules from American Duchess) $190  
Wig (tbd - i need to talk to the Wig Whisperer because this isn't my area)  
Stockings (tbd - shouldn't be too bad though) 

Parts of the outfit I will be making:  
Shift (chemise)  
Stays (corset)
Side Hoops (skirt support)  
Pocket  
Petticoat  
Stomacher  
Gown (w/ sleeve flounces, ruffled trim, peony trim)  
Ribbon Choker

All together this project will run $800 - $1000 not including a wig/hairstyling. I'm starting to remember why I haven't done it yet....