How to Get Started in Cosplay

Cosplay: The art of portraying a character through the creative use of costumes.

Okay. You've seen a ton of awesome cosplays floating around the internet, at conventions, or you just love all those amazing costumes in movies, video games, etc., and you're dying to get in on the cosplaying action yourself. That's why I'm here: to show you all the ins and outs of getting started in cosplay by making your very first costume!

NOTE: If you're looking for a pre-made (or mostly premade) costume, Etsy and Cosplay Sky are two of the best places I've found online to buy high quality, screen-accurate costumes.

>     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >    Step One: Choose a Costume

Probably the easiest part of the entire process, the beginning of every cosplay begins with choosing a character, and then choose a costume worn by said character. You probably already have an idea swimming around in your head -- perfect! Choose that one.

One helpful tip regarding this decision: it's best not to choose something *too* challenging or intricate for your first endeavor. Try to let the costume match your skill set.  So, let's say you want to cosplay Iron Man... unless you're really ambitious, maybe pare the idea down a little and go for cosplaying Tony Stark instead -- that way, you can just make an arm of the Iron Man suit to complete the look!

Here's the thing: no matter how easy your costume is to make, as long as you look good, you will be pleased with the finished product and your audience will be impressed. It's better to do something too easy than too hard -- at least for your first costume. Then, as your costume-making skills and abilities grow, you can begin to stretch them farther and farther to make super duper complex costumes.

>     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >   Step Two: Begin Planning

Though you might want to just jump right in and have at it, making a game plan for your costume will make everything much simpler and faster in the long run.

This process should include:

- Gathering reference photos. Scour the internet for the best high-resolution photos of the costume that you can find. Posters, movie stills, even toy versions of the character provide invaluable reference to help you in your build. I've found the best way to store these photos is to pin them all to a good ol' Pinterest board, designated for that express purpose.

- Making a list of everything you'll need to buy. You might be surprised by just how many things you'll need to buy to create your costume (and how much those things can cost), so it's important to have a pretty good idea of what you'll be needing to purchase. This will also make the next part of the process much easier.

- Creating a budget + calculating the cost of the costume. Now, your budget doesn't have to be calculated down to the last cent -- somewhere within $10 of the actual price is a good place to start. And since you've already made your list of things you need to buy, just add up the average cost of all those items and you're all set to go!

- Drawing sketches of the costume. This one is optional, but I highly recommend it if you're planning on making any major alterations to the original costume. It also helps you get a better idea of all the different aspects of the costume, since you have to draw each one.

- Deciding where you want to wear the finished costume. You might already know this, but if not, start thinking. It's so depressing to have created an awesome costume, only to realize you have no where to wear it. I recommend movie premieres, fandom conventions, or just a photoshoot as the best opportunities to do so.

>     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     Step Three: Research + Purchase Materials

So, now that you've got a pretty good idea of where you're going with your cosplay, start researching online and in brick-and-mortar stores for the things you'll need to buy -- which you've already made a list of! ;)

If you're looking for a few pre-made items, such as boots or weapons (the things that look best when store bought and screen-accurate versions can be easily found), the best places to start your search are Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and your local thrift stores -- you'd be surprised by how perfect some of the second-hand items are for cosplay, plus they can lower your budget considerably.

Here are a few online stores that I've found to be perfect for finding great sewing materials, which will most likely take a large part in making your costume:

- Fabric, craft foam, notions, etc:
   ~ Fabric.com
   ~ Jo-Ann
   ~ Hancock Fabrics

- Sewing Patterns:
   ~ Simplicity
   ~ McCall
   ~ Butterick

>     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >    >     >  Step Four: Accessorize

This is such a fun and integral part of creating costumes that sometimes can be overlooked. Here are the main accessories that you'll be needing to get to complete your costumed look:

- Weapons. Does your character carry a weapon, and the place you're planning on wearing the costume at would accept you carrying that weapon?  Definitely consider making or buying one to carry and pose with you while you cosplay -- it'll add a special touch to your costume. Amazon, BUDK and Medieval Collectibles are great places to start your search for these if you want to buy them.

- Footwear. Never go with sneakers or flipflops just because they're easy -- they'll ruin everything of the costume that you worked so hard on! Thrift stores are a great place to find shoes that you'll only be wearing a few times, and you won't feel bad altering a pair that only cost you $5. A note about characters that go barefoot: You will probably want to create a pair of "invisible shoes" (tutorial by "...And Sewing is Half the Battle!").

- Wigs. Now, I have a more lenient opinion on wigs than other cosplayers, but that's just because wigs can so often make a costume look worse rather than better, unless you want to fork out the $30-$80 for a high quality, synthetic, lace-front wig. With that in mind, it might be better to completely forego buying a wig and just go with your natural hair, styled like the character's as best you can. But, if you do want to buy a wig, Arda Wigs has rave reviews, and eBay can have some pretty good finds.

- Prosthetics. I've found that Aradani Costumes is the absolute best place for high-quality, inexpensive prosthetics, which can add a convincing touch to your cosplay and make people look twice. "Wait, did that girl have pointy ears??" ;)

>     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     Step Five: Create Your Costume

Now that you've got all the necessary materials necessary to make your intended design, it's time to put your sewing and crafting skills to the test!

Here's a few extremely helpful links to get you started in your crafting.

- 12 Things You Need to Start Sewing (Fab Grandma)
- Craft Foam Armor Tutorial (Penwiper Unlimited)
- Foam Board Weapons Tutorial (Fire Lily Cosplay)

Let me tell you something crucial for this step: Google is your friend. Don't know how to do something? GOOGLE IT. Chances are pretty good that someone else has made the same costume before you and wrote about their process of doing so. Reading about their build can be extremely helpful for your own, and they may have even made some how-tos for the creation of some of the more difficult parts of the costume. Plus, if you have a question about the costume, they might be able to answer it! Many cosplayers are very open to helping others with their costumes. You can also check out the RPF, which is a great place to find answers from experienced hobbyists.

>     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     >     > Step Six: Have fun!

You've sewn, crafted and bought everything for your costume, and now it's finally time to put it all together and show it off!! Enjoy literally stepping into your character's shoes for a day. :D

And with that, you've completed your very first cosplay. Bravo, and congratulations!!!

If you followed my little guide to make your first costume, post a link to it in the comments below so I can see your wonderful handiwork. :)

P.S. Let me tell you: if you don't think your cosplay turned out perfectly, don't worry, because I promise that you will only get better from here on out. Also, never compare your cosplays to others -- only compare them to your previous work. That way, you will only see the improvement in costuming, and you'll only be inspired to keep getting better. ^_^

That Day I Went to a Renaissance Faire

Over a month ago, on Saturday, April 18th, a few friends (recognize them from my Captain America photo shoot??) and I went to a Ren Faire for the very first time. And it was awesome. :D

We drove three hours to get to the faire (which was well worth it;), and to pass the time, we took selfies, played brain games on Karis' ipad, and talked about lots of stuff -- mostly stuff pertaining to our favorite fandoms. ;D

Then, after arriving at the festival at about 12:00, we spent the rest of the day doing lots of walking, laughing, picture-taking, window shopping, etc... :D

Walking and taking pictures around the extremely extensive grounds...

We met a brave knight.

Karis and I got locked up in the stocks -- I was arrested for being an outlaw, and Karis for fraternizing with the outlaw.

Visiting tons of the little shops...

Amber and I parry with LARP swords in one of the "armory" shops. My favorites were the leather shops, which ranged from selling epic leather dresses, tunics, coats, to books, bracers, boots, etc etc.

Going through the "haunted pirate ship," and scaring ourselves silly...

The thing was so cheesy, but it was 3 bucks and we couldn't resist. It was the inside of a "pirate ship," pitch black, filled with things like skeletons and treasure hoards, strobe lights, randomly [loudly] falling items, and antics by workers, who would bang super loudly on the walls, run at us in the dark, yell, etc...

P.S. A huge thank you to the guy banging on the wall right after Karis jumped me -- that basically gave me a heart attack. xD

Meeting some orcs...

When we saw these guys, we knew we absolutely had to get a picture with them.  I mean, look at that guy's costume -- convincing, much??? :O Probably my favorite costume of all that we saw throughout the day.

Oh, and, no, I did not know the other orc behind me was there -- the next frame was me screaming. xD

We definitely should look much more scared than we do... xD

And watching a few shows, the favorite of which was the live jousting...

It was set up like a play, with the three shows throughout the day furthering the story of two knights jousting to win the hand of the princess.  It was quite a hilarious spectacle, with the evil knight getting drug through the mud behind a chariot, a guys' eye getting "ripped out," and men getting killed right and left at the climax battle.  Plus, Karis, Amber, and I totally hammed it up cheering for our team's knight -- who ended up being the winner, of coooouuuurse! :D

It was so fun to witness. Quite amsuing. ;D

And of course we had to get costume pictures in front of the arena while we waited for the joust to start...

Totally foreshadowing our next costumes (superheroes for Avengers: Age of Ultron):

Scarlet Witch, Captain America, and Peggy Carter go to a renaissance festival???

And lastly, a few details on my costume I whipped up for the faire... because you know I'm all about the costumes. ;D

It was inspired by elven archers, Tauriel, Legolas, a little bit of Hawkeye -- you know, that sort of thing. ;)  You probably recognize the bracers and boots from my Tauriel cosplay. ;D

I whipped up the dress/tunic from an ugly, awkward length skirt I found at the thrift for $2.50. I was only looking for fabric, since I knew I'd be completely changing the style, and the fabric of it was perfect -- forest/olive suede with a gentle drape, and just enough of it for a tunic. :D

As for making the dress, it was about a day's worth of time, ripping/cutting old seams, fitting new seams for the neckline, arms, princess-style bodice, waist, and skirt. It was a really fun project -- just the right amount of difficulty and need for creativity to be a challenge, without being overwhelming.  Because the fabric has some stretch to it, I didn't have to put in any zippers, buttons, etc, which made the build even simpler. At the suggestion of my oldest sister, Alissa, I ended up not hemming the neckline and hem, and just left the raw edge, which helped the time crunch I was under (about a week, from getting the idea to going to the faire). Since the suede frays minimally, I just used my shears to keep all fraying at bay, and there was no problem.  This look also lent a bit of ruggedness to the dress, which was kind of fun. ;)

As for all the accessories: as I already said, the bracers and boots were the same I used for my Tauriel cosplay -- the boots I bought online, and the bracers I made from upholstery leather, dyed darker with shoe polish, embellished with an elvish design with a Sharpie marker (bahahha), and laced with suede string through brass grommets embedded in the bracers. I already had the braided belt, and I picked up the belt around my waist from a thrift store for 50 cents. And lastly, the leather pouches were the same upholstery leather, darkened with shoe polish, which I originally made for the first draft of my Captain America cosplay, but didn't end up using. They ended up working perfectly for the costume -- plus, removed the need for a bag: I kept my phone in the larger pouch, and money in the smaller one. Perfect, right?? xD

Overall, it was an absolutely *smashing* day, and I can't wait to go to another renaissance faire soon! ^_^

Cinderella Premiere (Dress-up Included!)

Soooooo last Saturday, a few friends and sisters and I went to see Disney's new live action remake of Cinderella.

And we dressed up.

And it was awesome.

(both the movie and dressing up. :D)

The idea to dress up for seeing le movie was first conceived when Amber (in the gorgeous pink dress) found said dress at one of our local thrift stores... and I immediately jumped on the bandwagon (because you KNOW I'd never say no to costumes). It was the perfect occasion, I realized, to wear the gorgeous green gown which I had thrifted a year ago and never had an opportunity to wear. Cinderella premiere = perfect opportunity. :D

I promise I'm not immature okay maybe a little; I just have a huge thing for dressing up and movies and so cosplay works pretty well for me. ;D

It was so great - Amber in pink, me in green... we made the perfect evil stepsisters: Anastasia and Drizella, respectively. xD

So, my younger sister and her friend also decided they wanted to get in on the dress-up action, and, with the addition of my older sister and Emily (who both refused to dress up, because they're just not cool enough, apparently ;D), we had a perfect little group to go see Cinderella!!!

Yes, I am well aware that we didn't go on the ACTUAL premiere night -- schedules, schedules, schedules! But dressing up Saturday night was still plenty fun, and all the stares and compliments and waves from little girls were well worth it. ;) Plus, the movie!!! Can I just say... such. cuteness. Loved it to pieces. AnElvenPrincess trivia (BAHAHHA I'm terrible): Cinderella was my favorite Disney princess growing up.

(Now a days I prefer Belle, but that's a different story... one that will be told March 17, 2017... mhmmm Beauty and the Beast is the next Disney princess story to get a live action remake, peeps!!! Aaaand I'm already totes excited for it. Did I mention that Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman to us Hobbit geeks) is playing Gaston?? Yes, yes he is. I'm cracking up at that. It's gonna be great. xD)

One little glitch in our plans occurred, when we attempted to buy our tickets for the 5:30 showing, and were greeted with "Sorry, it's sold out." O_O SO, we instead bought tickets for a 6:30 showing. A bit bothersome, but this turn of events ended up being for the best (doesn't everything? That's God for ya - hah! ;D): we decided to walk around the mall to pass the time.

Note: Walking around a mall in costume is always a good idea. ALWAYS.

Plus, we found some Cinderella posters to pose with. ;)

Danielle (my younger sis) described my attempt at posing like Cinderella as "surfing on a pizza."

Definitely accurate.

Welp, I hope you liked le pics and hearing about my latest costume exploits! ;D Oh, and I must apologize for my not-very-regular posting habits of late... I've had so many cool things to write about, but not enough motivation or time or skills to write about them. For instance... revamped Captain America cosplay for AoU is in the works, with new fabric and new design and everything. And I MUST tell you about it because it's making me so excited. So, that's coming. I promise. Soon, my friends. Soon. ;)

Until laaaaater. *wink*

P.S. ...I'm not very good at endings... ;D

I Need Your Help For the #HobbitChallenge!!

"The beacons are lit. Beth calls for aid."

I need your help. You saw the previous post where I told you about the #HobbitChallenge, and now the fan voting period has arrived and you can help me and my friends win it!!! It will only take a minute, and you have no idea how much it would mean to me. Like, literally. You'd completely make my day.

The short version: click on this link here and click the "vote" box below our video. Yes, that's literally all you have to do! No signup or anything required. :D It should come up with a "Thanks for voting!" screen -- if it doesn't, try searching for AnElvenPrincess and voting from that video. :) You can vote every day for the next five days, so if you really want to be amazing you can bookmark the page and vote every day!!

Now, the long version. ;)

The video at the bottom of this post is my and a few of my friends' recreation of the "Good Morning" scene from An Unexpected Journey for the contest that The Hobbit is hosting, the Hobbit Challenge.

The gist of the Hobbit Challenge: fans had the opportunity to make a video recreating one of 3 scenes from AUJ, DOS, and BOTFA (we chose this one because of how fun it is -- and I wasn't really up for taming a dragon or dealing with ringwraiths), and then upload it to Youtube with the hashtag #HobbitChallenge and submit it on the Hobbit website. Then the videos will go through a long judging process: the first round is fan voted, which will determine the top 30 videos in each eligible country. In the 2nd round, judges will select the top 10 of those videos. The 3rd round will narrow it down to 20 finalists, one from each country. And then, of course, one winner will be chosen from those 20. And the prizes??? Ooooohhhh boy. Each of the 20 finalists will win $1,500 worth of various Hobbit memorabilia, and the grand prize winner gets a 5 day trip to New Zealand. (I can't believe I can say "been there, done that" xD) So, yeah. Pretty amazingly awesome.
Of course, our odds of winning are pretty slim. But you better believe I'm not going to give up hope until we're eliminated from the contest! I love the Holman Christian Standard translation of Colossians 3:23 - "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men..." Ya'll, that's what I'm doing, or at least trying to do. God's going to get whatever glory I/we gain from this, whether that's just from people seeing our video on Youtube, or winning first place.

Whatever happens, I'm so glad we made this little vid because we had the absolute best time with it, and I hope you like the finished product. Now, go to this link and vote for us in the challenge and DON'T FORGET let me know that you did in the comments below so I can personally thank you!!! :D

A few last minute troubleshooting tips:

When you click "vote" a screen should come up saying "Thanks for voting!" If it doesn't, try searching for AnElvenPrincess and voting on the video that comes up there.

Also, I believe only U.S. residents will be able to vote on our video, so if the link doesn't work and searching AnElvenPrincess in the search box doesn't bring it up either, I'm thinking that would be the reason. :)

#HobbitChallenge Beginnings

This past weekend, a few friends and I got together to film a video. What kind of video? A very nerdy video. A video entry for the #HobbitChallenge!!! :D

In case you didn't know, The Hobbit is hosting a contest where the contestants have to film a recreation of one of three scenes: "Good Morning," from An Unexpected Journey, "Hide and Seek with Smaug" from The Desolation of Smaug, or "I Am Not Alone" from The Battle of the Five Armies.

About two weeks ago, when the scenes to choose from were released, Karis (who I've mentioned several times before on here, and who blogs over at The Horse Nextdoor) and I decided we should attempt the "Good Morning" scene, between Gandalf and Bilbo. We knew it would be so much fun, no matter how it turned out or how well we did in the competition.

And so we began the preproduction process for our little video. :D

First was brainstorming, along with casting. This part was easy -- Karis is short, so she gets to play Bilbo. I'm tall, so I'm Gandalf. End of story. ;)

With this in mind, we decided to really play up the "feminine" flip on the characters. For instance, Bilbo sips tea instead of smoking a pipe, and Gandalf doesn't have a beard and wears a skirt. Oh wait -- he already does that... "No! It's a tunic!" ;D

The brainstorming continued for our set location, props, film angles, etc., and we began putting together our costumes. No, neither of us made any part of the costumes (except some alterations I made to Gandalf's hat) since we had a deadline to meet (February 1st), but the costumes still turned out much better than I was expecting them too, which I was so happy about... considering costumes are one of my favorite things about movie making. :D

Next began the actual production, which took place on a cloudy Sunday after church. Karis and I recruited our friends Amber and Emily to be our "film crew," and so we all congregated at Karis' house for a 2 hour shoot. Before we could do any filming, however, Emily and I combined our efforts to curl Karis' very straight hair, set up our location for the scene, and prepped the cameras.

Which was actually rather amusing -- we had four cameras during the shoot. We used mine for filming, Amber's for production stills, Karis' DSLR for character shots and her little point-and-shoot for a behind-the-scenes vlog. (We didn't use the DSLR for the cinematography because it didn't have as good video settings as mine.) This multiple-camera setup was great, and totally made us feel all professional. Like, literally, the whole production of our video has been exactly like professional movie making -- just without moolah involved and on a super small scale. ;)

So, the shoot went quite well, and took about two or three hours. It was seriously cold, and windy, but thankfully the rain held off until we had wrapped, and then it started pouring (which was totally a God thing). Poor Karis was getting hypothermia, though, since she was wearing hobbit clothes fit for a warm, spring day. (I lucked out with all my costume layers!) Just goes to show how dedicated we were. Hah!

As for the scene itself... we got alot of great footage. We also got alot of not-so-great footage, like when Gandalf forgot what kind of morning it was, or when Karis' ponies came over to crash our party. (We're going to have a very long blooper reel.)

I hope you're getting the impression of how much fun we had with making this thing. ;)

Anyway, after filming, our little movie crew went through all the footage and pictures, which was just great. Lots of hilarity and some surprisingly good footage as well.

Now it is Wednesday, and we're in the final stages of postproduction as Karis edits the 2 minute clip. It'll be up on Youtube by tomorrow, and once it's there I'll be posting the link on my Facebook and Twitter pages. (Yes, those are both fairly new developments, and I hope you'll go and like/follow me! I love talking and interacting with you guys, and FB and twitter make that a bit easier. :))

Buuuut... in the meantime, enjoy this little "behind the scenes commentary" from Karis and I. :D

P.S. I promised you guys some more pictures from my battle Tauriel photo shoot, aaaand they *are* coming!! I've just got so many things I want to blog about, and no time. Hopefully within the week there will be a post featuring them -- it's in my drafts folder currently, just waiting for edited pictures. ;)

Where My Cosplaying All Began - Arwen

Ok, it's about time I write this cosplay up. I've been meaning to do it ever since I started this blog almost a year ago. So, here it is.

My first ever cosplay project: an elven dress to be worn to the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

It was the year 2012, and I had just gotten into The Lord of the Rings. About 6 months before An Unexpected Journey was to be released in theaters, I caught wind of the fact that Peter Jackson was turning The Hobbit into a movie -- 3 movies, in fact.

Playing Lord of the Rings music of course. ;)

At first, I was very skeptical. I wasn't sure whether this was a good idea, or if I would even want to see the movies. I hadn't even read The Hobbit yet, having heard from my older sister, Alissa, that it was just a prequel to LOTR and wasn't that great anyway. (Since then I have learned not to fully trust her judgement completely when it comes to movies and books -- we have very different tastes, needless to say. ;D)

And besides, I'd never been to a movie theater for a movie I was really looking forward to seeing -- and I could count the times I'd even been to a theater on one hand. It just wasn't something my family or friends were in to, so I just kinda went along with that.

However, after seeing the trailers and promotional material, and then finally reading the book and absolutely loving it (EXCEPT FOR THE ENDING), I became very excited to see An Unexpected Journey. VERY excited. ;D

And then eventually I came up with the idea of sewing a medieval dress, based on Arwen's "blood red" dress (from The Two Towers), and going to the midnight premiere of AUJ dressed up as an elf -- complete with the ears, of course. :D

Looking back, and even at the time, it was a rather hair-brained idea, really. I'd barely sewn anything in my entire life, let alone a medieval dress, complete with a corset back and pretty intense sleeves. However, I'm pretty crafty, and knew that if I really put my mind to it, I could do it. My older sister Alissa also offered her help if I got stuck (though she wasn't much more experienced than myself ;D).

I documented the "making of" the costume on notebook paper, drawing designs, jotting down measurements -- writing down all the developments pertaining to the cosplay's making, basically. :) And I'm so glad I did, 'cause now I have something more {than just the dress and pictures} to look back on -- especially since it was my first cosplay! ;)

So, after months of "work," I and several friends went to see An Unexpected Journey -- though not the midnight premiere. xD Due to scheduling, we ended up going to a matinee the day after it came out (Saturday) -- but we still dressed up! xD Yes, we got more than a few odd looks, as I recall. ;) We even walked through the mall in costume afterwards. It was so great. ;D

Oh, and of course, we all loved the movie. ^_^

The same peeps I went to see Desolation of Smaug with. :D (minus one) Yes, I know. The guy's wigs are hilarious xD

Then in February, for my 14th birthday, I had a LOTR themed party, and had all le friends dress up and do a little photoshoot, which is where I got most of the pictures you see here from. :)

So yes. My first cosplay was so much fun, and a great learning experience to be sure. Yes, there's alot of things I would change about the costume looking back now, but for my first cosplay it wasn't too terrible, right? ;)

And voila! That was the adventure of my first ever cosplay project, Arwen.

I feel so much better now that I finally got it posted... ;)

A Quick, Casual "Black Widow" Cosplay

So, of course you remember what I said in my previous post, that I was cooking up another cosplay, and that it had to do with the new "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" movie that releases next Friday. ;)

Welp, it's time to get into all the details! :D

Sooooo after finally seeing the first Captain America movie about a month ago, and Steve immediately becoming my new favorite superhero ^_^, I became totally psyched for The Winter Soldier (which, did I mention, COMES OUT NEXT FRIDAY EEEPPPP) aaaaand, of course, I wanted to make some sort of costume for when I go see it. ;D (I'm not planning on doing the midnight premiere, but hopefully the day of at least. ;))

So. The wheels began turning, and my first thought was to create a "feminine" Captain America costume (I was extremely inspired by this photoshop creation. Because tell me that is not awesome?) However, I decided against that idea after about two days, because 1) I knew the project would be extremely difficult and I didn't even have a game plan yet, and 2) I would have only had three weeks to make said project. (Someday, ya'll, someday...)

UPDATE FROM THE FUTURE: Well, a feminine version of Captain America did happen, one year later. :D

So, like I said, that idea was scrapped. But I still obviously wanted to do some sort of costume. ;)

Enter this picture (of Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow): (also this and this)

(This is, from what I've gathered, the outfit she wears during the final fight scene.)

Aaaaand I thought to myself, "Dude. You could totally recreate that outfit."

I immediately begin scrounging around through my closet and dresser drawers. Then, after finding all the necessary pieces, I try the outfit on all together -- and realize it's actually pretty decent.

Bonus: My cat, Fluffy, wouldn't move. xD

Casual cosplays for the win, right?? ;D The only thing is... I don't have red hair. And I'm too cheap to buy a wig and too chicken to try temporary hair dye. Oh well. xD So anyways, here's a quick breakdown of the outfit:

Shirt - Simple, black, short sleeved shirt. I'm pretty sure the original costume's is a cami, but I don't do spaghetti straps, and I wanted to be able to take off the jacket if need be.

Jacket - (Hehe, recognise this maybe? ;D) Brown, fitted leather jacket. No, it doesn't have all the buckles and straps that hers has, but it works. ;)

Pants - Dark wash, stretch skinny jeans.

Shoes - Slight deviation here. I'm using black, suede boots with a chunky heel. The original uses dark brown suede boots with a chunky heel. Hey, you work with what you have. ;)

So yes. That is my casual Black Widow in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" costume! ;D

And how 'bout ya'll? Any one else excited for The Winter Soldier?? :D

Modern Elsa Cosplay (Because of Le Snow)

Soooooo IT SNOWED.

LIKE, ALOT.

(Cute wittle birdie;)

And I obviously could NOT pass up the opportunity, so, this kinda happened...

Modern Elsa (from Frozen) ;)

Those are literally the only shots I got, because I was FROZEN. eheh. ;)

And also, you can’t really tell, but my hair is braided Elsa-style, and I’m wearing a snowflake necklace and earrings. ;)

Anyways, just thought I'd share this fun little project! Until later! ^_^

Frozen!

Hey all!!

Soooooo I just got back from seeing the new Disney movie that just came out today - Frozen!! First of all, I loved it. It made me laugh, tear up, gasp, and shriek. True story. ;D

Second of all... mkay, you know how I'm kind of obsessed with cosplay? Well, such as it is, I of course had to dress up - in some way or another. ;)

Well, ever since I saw Elsa's, the Snow Queen's dress, (which, btw, is gorgeoussss) I wanted to make it and cosplay her. Buuuut because I'm a little tied up right now with Tauriel's cosplay (WHICH, btw, I will have a post up concerning that SOON!), I wasn't able to make her dress in time for the release. But I'm still planning on cosplaying her sometime! I'm not sure what for, or when, but some time soon I will. :D

However, in the meantime, I decided to do an Elsa-inspired look. Almost a "modern version" of her costume.

So without further ado, here is my Elsa inspired outfit from Disney's Frozen! :D

And yes, I had way too much fun editing that. ;D

P.S. - Thank you so much to everyone who commented on my last post, especially for your thoughts concerning the bracers!! It helped alot. :D As for right now, I think I'm just going to leave them plain. I'll be making a post soon about all that. :)