Sif Update
MY HEADPIECE ARRIVED!!!! WOOHOO! Ahem... but more on that at the end of this post...
My Sif cosplay project is coming along nicely. It seems there are never enough hours in the day, but I'm checking things off my list whenever I can. I am getting more and more excited about this project as I see it coming together. I really resemble Sif physically and think this could really be an attention getter at WonderCon and ComicCon.
The leg armor is still being reshaped, slowly but surely. I have a few adjustments to make on it, but it's looking better and better! I'm still deciding what buckle design to go with, there are so many choices!
I have all of my fabrics and have started cutting. I'm very happy with my choices, but again, I'm stumped. I love the fabric that I got for Sif's cape, but I can't decide if I want to line it with white or red. The red is more accurate for the character, but the white will make the rest of the outfit stand out more. The comic geek and the costumer inside me are at war over this. Right now the comic geek is winning. We will see...
Top to bottom: Fur for Sif's cape, red yummy fabric for Sif's cape, white leather for Sif's skirt, red imitation leather for different cosplay
The big news is that my Sif headpiece arrived!! I'm so excited! It's always very nerve-wracking for me to have pieces commissioned. I'm a huge perfectionist and don't like handing control and money over to someone else. I procrastinated for months before I finally bit the bullet and got in touch with a leather craftsman from the SCA. I originally asked for white because I assumed it would be easier to get than silver. WRONG. Evidently, silver leather paint is easier and lasts longer than white. So with very specific directions and many emails in the last few weeks I signed the most important piece of this cosplay off to a total stranger.
And damn am I happy with the results!
An Asgardian goddess is born!
I'm taking pictures as I tackle the cloak/cape. I'll post info on that when there is more to see.
Sif's Leg Armor
My first cosplay of 2012 is going to be Lady Sif, lover of Thor in the Marvel Universe. Although I'm a DC fangirl usually, I've always liked the concept of Sif and am very similar to her physically. Also, Jaimie Alexander (who played Sif in the Thor movie) was at my house for a photo shoot a few months ago. I took it as a sign from the Asgardian gods that I should cosplay Sif this year.
I will be using the red leather corset that I made for my Wonder Woman outfit. The most challenging piece is the leg armor, so I started on that first. I bought a pair of dirt-cheap, $30 tassets from an online store. For anyone who doesn't know what a tasset is, they are worn like this:
and here is what Sif looks like:
Not exactly what I needed, but a good start. The first thing I needed to fix was the color. The tassets I got were imitation (CHEAP) leather with many imperfections and this horrible cherry red color. That is not the Sif I'm going for. I want to make a realistic, leather clad warrior, not a cherry red snow bunny with a sword.
Step 1: Fix the color. I used shoe dye to change the color and then used shoe polish to bring out the imperfections and darken the edges. This aged the material and made it shine like real leather. The original color is on the right and the new look is on the left. I have since done another coat of the shoe polish, so they are even darker now.
Step 2: Add straps and remold the "leather" so they will strap to my legs like Sif's armor. Tassets are flat, but I needed mine to strap to my legs and be form fitting. First thing I did was visit my friendly local Goodwill store and buy a leather purse that matched my re-purposed tassets. This purse's straps and buckles became the straps that will hook around the back of my leg and hold the armor on me. Not bad for $4.99. To remold the leather I sprayed it with rubbing alcohol (best thing to stretch or change the shape of colored leather) and wrapped them closed with strips of fabric. Then I shoved them between my couch cushions for the night to make sure they stayed curled in a leg shape. I sprayed them about 3 times before I went to bed.
And... DONE!
Ok, not totally done, but very close. I think I will have to use the rest of the purse to create a garter belt to help support their weight before I finish the costume.
Wonder Woman Armor
The most difficult part of making a good Wonder Woman outfit is the armor. It can make or break the whole outfit. No matter how much time and effort you put into the corset and star-spangled-underwear, if your armor is obviously spray-painted cardboard nobody will be impressed. Being the over-achiever that I am, I wanted my armor to be made of real metal. This would be impossible for most first-time cosplayers, however I have worked at Renaissance Faires in California for over 10 years. I know more than my fair share of blacksmiths, leather workers, and armorers. So I put word out on the dust filled streets of Faire in 2011 that I wanted Wonder Woman armor made...
These are the people I choose to spend time with...
... and the amazing Jacques Louis David answered my call. Jacques is an artist and should become very, very famous someday. He makes armor at fair, but his most recent passion is for metal sculpture and installation pieces. He also happens to be a comic and Wonder Woman fan. We met a bunch of times to discuss "the plan" and he was kind enough to hold my hand through the whole process. I know a lot more about armor than your normal (late) 20's California girl. I own a collection of swords and used to train horses for a jousting company, but Jacques' knowledge blew my mind and made me consider things I hadn't even realized were possible. Over beers and burgers, we came up with our design. I had bought a belt at a Thrift store, so that was not something we needed to worry about. We figured out that I needed the tiara, eagle chest piece, bracers, and greaves. If you ever want to commission metal work, talk to Jacques.
For my gladiator type Wonder Woman, I chose to replace the boots with greaves which are basically metal shin guards. They would be much more functional than knee-high boots in an actual battle. I could also lace them on and get a similar look to the era where Wonder Woman wore sandals.
50s Wonder Woman and the greaves for my Wonder Woman
I went with the eagle design for the chest piece because it made the most sense for a real warrior to wear an animal symbol. Although I love the W design, it didn't really fit with the image I was going for in this costume. This was easily the hardest piece of the project.
We needed the eagle to be fitted to my...ahem... chest. That meant that Jacques needed something the shape of my chest that was hard enough to bang... I mean hammer against. We made a plaster mold of me wearing a corset (the same corset I patterned the Wonder Woman corset from). Jacques then took this shell and made a body-double of me made out of really hard plaster. That gave him the surface he needed to hammer out an eagle in the shape of my boobs.
Wrapped up in getting plastered...
The eagle (upside down) in process
After forming the steel (which is armor grade), brass was added to give a hint of the traditional Wonder Woman costume. The same was added to the grieves and the tiara. The only pieces that are only polished steel are the bracers, which are such thick steel the could probably really deflect bullets. I added laces on those to continue with the theme.
The power of the DC Universe - SDCC 2011
I am incredibly happy with how everything turned out. The metal pieces look amazing and really wow the crowed when I wear them. I really hope that SOMEONE in a film studio sees this someday and realizes that if a middle school teacher can do this in her spare time, they can do an even better job for a feature film.
Bringing an Amazon to Life
When I put my mind to something, very little can stop me. Common sense and logic were completely forgotten with this intense labor of love. I spent way too much money, way too much time, called in a lot of favors, and had a few near-breakdowns, all in the name of bringing an Amazon to life.
For months I studied Wonder Woman cosplay pictures online. Many of them were very, very good. However, I noticed that most were based on the 4-color comic book idea of Diana. While I love that image, I wanted to bring a Christopher Nolan-style Wonder Woman to life. I wanted a REAL amazon, with REAL armor. This would be outside the realm of most first-time cosplayers, but (lucky for me) I'm a nerd. After working at Renaissance Faires for over a decade (fuck, has it really been that long???) I've made some really talented friends.
The first thing I needed was a concept. I've always thought that the bathing suit look was fine in the comics, but I can't really picture anyone wearing it to fight crime in the real world. I have always liked the skirt option for Wonder Woman, and there are many renditions of her in Gladiator-style Roman skirts. Since these actually functioned as clothing for real warriors in centuries past, that's the option I went with. To do it right, I'd need real dyed leather and real molded steel. This was going to become a much larger project than I had ever planned for...
... but damn am I proud of the results...
Debuted at Comic-Con San Diego 2011
I will be posting specific breakdowns of the creation of the armor and sewing the leather pieces another night.
Zatanna Cosplay
Like many Zatanna cosplays, this outfit was more an adventure in finding pieces and altering them, rather than creating things from scratch. I had already begun work on my Wonder Woman cosplay for San Diego Comic-Con 2011, but was worried that my intricate design may not be finished in time. Zatanna was my Plan B, although I ended up so pleased with it that I wore it in addition to Wonder Woman. I love this character and have plans for continued improvements on this look.
I found the frock coat for $12 at my local Goodwill store and tailored it to fit me well. I adjusted a shirt and corset that I already owned to give the proper look. The hat was the most difficult part, and I am not completely happy with how it looked. I will be looking for a good quality replacement before I wear this cosplay again.
**This costume was created before I started my blog. Sorry that I didn’t document its creation! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions!**
Belle Gown
Belle was my hero as a child. She always had her nose in a book (like I did) and her best friend was a horse (another thing we had in common)! As an adult, I watched La Belle et la Bête and loved the stylization which inspired so much of the Disney classic. I decided to do a more accurate historical French gown for my Belle, but still stayed true to the colors in the film. There are over 40 yards of fabric in this outfit. A traditional bodice is worn underneath the gown to give it the appropriate shape.
I created this costume for the 2011 Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball in Los Angeles. It's an incredible event, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes costumes! They are incredible!
**This costume was created before I started my blog. Sorry that I didn't document its creation! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions!**
Why did I start Cosplaying?
It all started with a TV show... a really, REALLY BAD TV show.
As you have probably noticed by now, I am a big Wonder Woman fan. So when I heard that David E. Kelley was bringing her to the small screen in 2011, I was both excited and doubtful. How on earth were they going to pull off Diana with a small budget? I actually got my hopes up when they announced that Adrianne Palicki would be Diana. The woman is 5'11"! Maybe they were going to make a true Amazon Princess after all..
Then they released this image and I died a little inside.
This... shiny latex abomination killed all my hopes for the show. How could any self-respecting costume designer let this be photographed? Did they just grab whatever they could from a Halloween store and say "Fuck it"? Ms. Palicki is a beautiful woman, but she looks like a cheap hooker here. I hope that someone was fired for the horrible production quality of this photograph.
I eventually got a copy of the Wonder Woman pilot and OH MY GOD IS IT BAD. It is seriously the worst writing I have ever seen on any show, and I used to watch Xena and Hercules! Unfortunately, the costume (with a few changes) actually was one of the better parts of the show... THAT'S HOW BAD IT WAS! In the aftermath of the pilot never being picked up (because it was an abomination) many people on the interwebz were using it as proof that a Wonder Woman movie could never be made. They cited the impossible-to-please fans and the logistics of making the costume realistic as evidence of it's impossibility.
I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted to make a Wonder Woman costume that made sense for a Greek Amazon and was made out of practical materials (ie. leather and steel) so it was more than just a bathing suit. And thus, I was born into the world of cosplay.