Living a Fantasy

Today we went to go see the Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic exhibit at EMP.  It was a group outing for members of the Beyond Reality Costumers Guild, and so of course there was some dressing up for the event!

I was toying with several outfits that I've worn previously, but then remembered I had a particular outfit sitting in a box in the basement. I'd made it with plans to wear it for the Masquerade for Norwescon in 2012, but didn't get everything quite together in time.  Then I ended up not going to Norwescon this year because I had to attend a conference for work that week, and I'm already committed to a super secret group entry for 2014.  So I decided what the heck, I'd take it out for a spin.

The original concept was to be the acolyte for the high priestess of a religion that never was or should have been.  It was entirely centered around a pair of deer antlers that had been left behind by the previous owners of our house.  No pictures of them as they used to be, but I sanded and painted them, a gold base paint, then a sparkle coat, and then clear sealer.





Of course, there had to be crystals:



The horns are drilled at the base and then wired to a metal headband.  There are two wigs involved, a full wig and just the front part of a second wig, which is sewn onto the metal headband and hides it when worn.  I don't really like this particular wig, and will be looking for something better for the next go-round.

As we're walking from the car to the museum, I heard a "pop" and one of the horns started feeling wibbly wobbly.  One of the support wires broke, so I spent the day with one horn dipping downward and waving a people as I walked.



For the outfit, it's a bodice and pantaloons with a front placard.  There's a layer of gold lame fabric, then a sheer with sparkles, and ivory lace on top.  I found a gold and peach ribbon with which to edge the bodice.  The sleevelets have strings of iridescent beads dangling as well.  Having made it over a year ago, I had to take a couple of emergency darts in the front of the bodice yesterday.  Yaaaah new diet.





Click here for a closeup of the talon nails I made for this outfit.

Here's a tutorial on how they are made:



And an action shot:



Here's the full outfit:



And as an added bonus, the exhibit currently has a replica of the Iron Throne from HBO's & George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones miniseries.



No costumers were killed in the taking of this picture.


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