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:
SifComic

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.