 |
character: mana, gardenia outfit group: malice mizer made for: ax '02 worn at: ax '02, ndk '02 worn with: dormouse as gardenia klaha awards won: con staffer's favourite costume status: retired |
| why? why mana?! what sort of question is that?! ^^;; mana is my idol. i don't know how he does it, but somehow mana manages to be the perfect embodiment of all supieror feminine qualities. ^-^ malice mizer's beautiful gardenia outfits were the second set dormouse and i chose to make (she picked klaha.) i just couldn't resist this one. it's almost like a trendy wedding dress! (and i was sort of itching for a challenge. ^-^) at ax '02, when i saw a reflection of us walking together, i realized that the outfits created a nice colour contrast and we also made quite the cute couple. *lol* |
|
| how? oh and did it ever prove to be a challenge. not only for my skills, but for my wallet as well! (altogether this thing nearly cost $200!) but it's easiest to explain this costume step by step, so here goes: underskirt: originally made from about 6½ yards of tulle, but 6-7 more yards were added after ax '02. i cut the the tulle into pieces measuring 17" x 50" and then gathered them. two pieces were then sewn into one long one that fit around my waist and slightly over-lapped. this was used as a base upon which i sewed on the rest of the tulle. skirt: made from white satin. i measured the underskirt and discoved it had a radius of 21". i took a piece of posterboard and cut a skinny piece 21" long to use as a compass. after i traced out the skirt, i measured the 'circumference' of the bodice, found out its radius, and used that measurement to create a circular hole in the center of the skirt. (geometry.. who knew?) i then used the above compass method to cut out four layers of tulle to go over the skirt, making each layer smaller than the previous one (if that makes any sense.) the layers were sewn on around the inner circle of the skirt, except for one part so they wouldnt' block the zipper. then i sewed the skirt to the bodice. ^^ bodice: made from above-mentioned satin and a white lace, patterned with flowers. for the bodice, i combined elements from the two bodices in mccalls pattern 3292. the lace was used in the 'outer' side of the princess seams and was sewn on over the satin. on the sleeve bands i sewed sequin trim, just for kicks. ^^ i bought fake flowers from wal-mart and sewed them on the bodice by making tiny stiches on their bottom leaves. i also got some dangely bead and rosette things and sewed those on as well. bow: i got six or seven yards of blue tulle, cut it into two equal pieces, folded the top over, and gathered it along apiece of velcro, which attaches to the back of the bodice. headpiece: i made this the same way as my beast of blood headpiece (you can read about it here) except that i added gathered lace in between the layers and sewed flowers and dangley stuff on the top. everything else: got the wig at wizard's chest for $35 and gloves at the same place for $6. the boots were purcahsed from funkee feet for $80 and i sewed trim to the top of them. for make-up, i purchased some blue ben nye stuff. (ben nye is high-quality and affordadble stage make-up, and something i highly recommend over halloween make-up.) |
|
| thoughts i love this costume to death, but i never expected it to be so well-received at ax '02! there were so many costumes there that could tear mine apart, but dormouse and i could barely walk ten feet without getting stopped for pictures. ^^;; when we were standing around in the hyatt lobby, a little girl ran up to me, threw her arms around my legs (well, actually my boots), and asked if she could have a picture with me. ^^;; but lots of people were impressed with us, which made me feel really good about myself. ^-^ major props go out to dormouse, who not only did a kick-ass job on my make-up, but served as my 'translator,' since mana doesn't talk. ^^ more props go out to my dad, who also occasionally undertook the role of mana's message bearer, and carried dormouse's and my stuff around all day! ^^ a slightly remade version of this costume was worn to ndk '02. at ax, the california humidity all but flattened my underskirt, so i added more layers to re-foof it. dormouse and i competed in the costume contest with these, and even though we didn't win anything, people liked us anyway! ^.^ i did sort of receive an award for this costume, though. at ndk, each staff member is issued a pin that they can give to their favourite costume. one guy thought i was pretty spiffy and gave me his. i felt so special, i consider it the best award! |
|
| pictures oh, so wistful.. i like the way the light hits my hair a nice front shot my costume taken for kevin lilliard's cosplay book after a while our feet couldn't take it anymore and we just camped out on the floor the *only* picture me *ever* taken that i actually like. i think we were caught a little off-guard here (look at the guy on the right! that's my dad! XD) the re-foofed version this next few are from our skit at ax taking charge going head-to-head with klaha and of course, the best gardenia klaha ever! ^^ credits: photo 1 courtesy cosplay.com, photo 2 courtesy bootyproject.org, photo 3 courtesy xaria.org, photos 4, 8, 9, 10 courtesy fansview.com, photos 5, 6, 11 courtesy of risingsun.net, photo 7 courtesy of fiendishthingy.org |
|
