G A R N E T " D A G G E R " T I L . A L E X A N D R O S
Final Fantasy IX
B E A S T
Black Butler: Book of Circus
The Inspiration
It's already been established that Kuroshitsuji is kind of my guilty-pleasure series. I suggested that for Fanime 2012, we use it for our masquerade skit. We chose the Circus Arc for it's colorful cast, and potential for big performance. I ended up taking Beast because I was only interested in cosplaying one of the girls, and at the time didn't have a preference of her or Doll, and let Rynn choose.
I loaned this costume to Kayla in 2013, and the last few photos in this gallery are of her wearing it. (I think she looked better in it than I did, even though it was kind of big on her.)
The Build
The wig is out-of-the-box, a lace-front ringlet wig that I purchased on ebay. I only had to trim a couple of the ringlets and it was good to go. The bodice/collar/skirt are all made from JoAnn's costume pleather. The bodice is fully boned with steel and spring boning, interlined with duck clothe, and lined with cotton. It opens and closes up the front with Heavy Duty Anorak snaps, which were a pain in the butt and required being hammered in. I sewed little spring-loaded claw clips at the ends of the bodice 'tails', to hold the red fabric scarves, which were just half-circles cut out of a glitter-covered red spandex. The same glitter-spandex was used for the red sash around the hips, and on the headbands. The skirt is a pencil skirt that I drafted myself because I was too cheap to buy a new pattern when I couldn't find mine. the gloves and stockings were purchased online, but I sewed the Venice lace onto the gloves by hand. The garters are made from casa satin, with diamonds made of black satin with a black lace overlay, and satin-stitched on. They feature the same Venice lace, and are actually permanently sewn to the garter belt, and just hang in the right place for the thigh-high fishnets. The boots and whip were purchased on ebay.
I know it's not perfect or accurate, but by the end I was so frustrated with the costume, I just wanted it done. I actually hated how I looked in it, and refused to wear it again.