The Shieldmaiden Gown
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This is my favourite Eowyn costume and I was so disappointed that it didn't make it into the theatre cut of TTT.  Oh well, I suppose that's one more thing to look forward to in the Extended DVD or ROTK.

What is significant about this dress is that in all the photos taken of Eowyn wearing it she is holding a sword.  This gives me the impression that this is one of her more shieldmaiden dresses, hence the name the Shieldmaiden Gown.  It would make sense as the sleeves allow a lot more movement than most of her dresses, even though they are particularly long, a little past calf length.

Also the vest suits a more physical purpose.  It confines the dress from flowing everywhere and keeps the dress fitted to her body for ease of movement. 

The sleeves look to be actually the standard long sleeves that extend past the fingertips, but they could be split from the elbow or fingertips.  They have been gathered at the top, held in place with cord, the split in the sleeve lifted up and hooked up to the cord with a thinner cord and bound to her arm so they don't get in the way.  You can see this more clearly on the picture below, which is a closeup of the sleeve binding.
Photo Courtesy of AlleyCatScratch
The neckline on this dress is peculiar as a neckline like it has not yet been seen on any other dresses.  It is not a v-neck or a keyhole, but it appears to be a slight v that plunges into a deep v at the ends of the collarbone.  I am not sure how far it plunges underneath the vest, and I do not know if it is in fact laced in any way as the vest covers it.  That I will have to interpret when I make the dress. 

It would be nice to think that it is laced up as that would be a nice little addition to the dress's features. 
Original Photo Courtesy of Fantasy Planet
The fabric the dress is made out of appears to be a patterned silk.  You can only see the patterning on the bottom of the skirt of the dress on one of the photos, but it is most definitely patterned.

The vest is apparently made from a thin  chocolate brown leather.  There is also a possiblity it is in fact made from suede, but I prefer leather. It has a band of embroidery or trim underneath the bust acting like a sort of empire waist line.  From there down the vest is quilted with diamond shapes until about three inches from the bottom where there are three bands of embroidery/trim, the same as the empire line one.  This trim is also around the neckline and forms a sort of sleeve cap decoration.
 
The neckline on the vest is a curved v-neck, very much like the Rose Dress.  The bottom of the vest is slightly curved where the front drops down from the hipline. 

At the back of the vest there are two wings which look to have been inserted at the side seams. They have grommets punched into the edges and the wings lace up at the back, fitting the vest to the body.  The lacing on the vest is chocolate brown to match the colour of the leather.  
This is Gena's version of the Shieldmaiden Gown. She is a member of the LOTR Costuming list, like myself, and I have found her information on how to make the dress very useful.  It is an excellent replica of the costume, and by far the best one I've seen so far.  See more pics of Gena's Costume here.
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