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
L U N A
Sailor Moon Super Movie
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The Inspiration
When it came down to picking costumes for SakuraCon 2016, I knew only one thing -- I wanted to cosplay with my room-mate. She had decided she wanted to make Super Sailor Moon, so I looked for a costume to go with her. I debated between Nehelenia and Luna, but ultimately decided on Luna because it was simpler, easier to wear, and I could use all of the beautiful yellow shantung leftovers that my room-mate had from her Erika costume. She didn't end up finishing SuperMoon for us to wear together though.
The Build
The wig is an Arda Silky Claudia in Blackberry. I meticulously combed out all of the ringlets into the big fluffy mass that it is now. Each of the 4 buns were made by hollowing out styrofoam balls, wrapping them in matching fiber extensions, and then filling the bottom with felt. Each of them is attached to a small plastic comb, making the wig easily adjustable. (Bonus: Arda was having a 50% off sale on Silky wigs, so I got a really great deal on this!)
The yellow dress is made from a satin-back shantung, and drafted using a combination of an out-of-print McCalls bodice pattern, and then attaching a square 'circle skirt' to the bottom. The dress is lined with a strength layer made of duck canvas and heavy duty zip-ties in places of boning. The black skirt worn underneith is made from 2 circles of casa shimmer sheer (a slightly 'sparkly' organza), with the waist offset to make the skirt longer in the back and short in the front. To make it extra fluffy, I wore a black tutu underneith, in place of a petticoat. In order to keep the skirts light and floaty like in the illustrations, none of the edges are conventionally hemmed -- I satin-stitched the edges of the black and yellow skirts, trimmed close to the edge, and then used a candle flame to carefully singe/melt the edges of the fabric. The 'flower puff's on the front and back of the dress are made from more of the same skirt organza, mixed with some shiny black tulle for added texture. Each one is secured to a pin backing and pinned to the dress, for easy removal if I need to wash it.
The neck ribbon was made from matching strips of the yellow shantung. For the jewelry, I struggled to find the right style of chain, so eventually I caved and decided to make it by hand. The necklace and anklet are made from a single strand of alternating gold seed and bugle beads, accented with larger gold filigree beads. After struggling to find a good sized moon pendant, I eventually sculpted one out of polymer clay, sanded, and painted it by hand. The crescent moon on my head is a plastic rhinestone, which I painted to match my pendant.
