I don’t remember how or when I became aware of Harley Quinn, but as a big Batman and Superman fan in my childhood, it was inevitable. She stuck in my mind, I loved her look, her personality – so of course when I got into cosplay, she was right at the top of my wish list.

Fast forward to 2007. Our local Armageddon Expo announced the line up of guests, which included none other than Harley Quinn’s co-creator Bruce Timm. Well, I was not going to miss out on an opportunity to meet him and get my Harley Quinn comics signed – so why not dress up as well?

I was still quite new to cosplay and sewing at this time. I had only sewn three costumes since I first started cosplaying in 2004 – a Jedi Knight, Padme’ Amidala’s lake dress, and Barriss Offee.

Here’s my original description of how I made my Harley Quinn costume –

• Black Lycra undersuit –
  For hiding undergarments, and just giving a ‘smooth’ finish to the costume. I used Kwik Sew 3052, a pretty good pattern that needed only minor changes to fit me better. I used Nylon lycra, with a small zip in the back.
• Black and Red bodysuit –
  Again I used Kwik Sew 3052 – it was well suited for Harley Quinn because of the front seam. I ended up making it from the ‘bottom up’, with black and red ‘Manhattan knit’ fabric. I sewed it up with the bottom colours being right, then worked out where the cross seam would sit on me, then cut it at that point, then sewed the top up in the correct opposite colours, then sewed the two halves together and added sleeves. The diamonds were carefully cut out and applied with 3M spray adhesive – this held incredibly well, allowed the two layers to stretch together and meant I didn’t have to sit for hours handsewing them all on! The bodysuit does up with a small zip at the back.
• Red and black gloves –
  I knew because of the red, I couldn’t just buy red and black gloves – the colours wouldn’t match, and it’s pretty hard to find red gloves that aren’t satin. I tried using a Vogue glove pattern, but my hands are too small. Instead of spending ages adapting the pattern, I simply traced around my hands and sewed them out of my manhattan knit – worked well.
• White Collar –
  Spent a while drawing squiggly shapes on newsprint and holding it around my neck in the mirror. Just a progress of seeing what looks right in terms of shape and size. It took a while, but I’m very happy with the shape. I originally planned to make it from white satin, but it didn’t sit flat at all – so I used a white cotton drill. It ironed completely flat, and looked great. It is made as two identical shapes – front and back, sewed together across one shoulder, and it closes shut on the other shoulder with little snaps. I hand sewed small pom poms I bought to each ‘squiggle’. To finish I sewed a small strip around the inside neck so it would form a little collar around the neck.
• White writst cuffs –
  I took a strip of white cotton drill and sewed it into a tube inside out – this fitted exactly around my wrist. I then did the same with a really long strip – and sewed it in a zig zag onto the small wrist band. This took some time to do with my machine, but I love how it turned out. They dome close around my wrist with little snaps.
• Black and Red soft boots –
  These took me ages. I originally tried to make them from vinyl then cover them with my bodysuit fabric, but the vinyl sat horribly. In the end I cut 2 ‘v’ shapes out of vinyl, and covered them with the red and black fabric – they dome closed around my ankles, as a separate piece to the boots. The boots are basically pointy toed socks made in three parts – sole, top right and top left. I cut the sole again out of vinyl and placed this inside the sock to give some flatness to the shape. It all worked surprisingly well.
• Red and Black hood –
  One of the most important aspects of this costume for me was getting her hood right. I already had a basic hood shape (from my Barriss Offee costume), but Harley’s had to fit tigher, and has a ‘flat top’ to the face opening. It took a few tries, but I got a shaped that worked well enough (I didn’t get the ‘squarish’ angles around the face that I wanted, but it looks okay). The ears were sewn up like cones seperately, stuffed with polyester toy fill and hand sewn onto the hood – took help to get the placement right. The pom poms were slightly larger than the ones on the collar, and hand sewn onto the ends.
• Accessories –
  For her mask I bough a cheap white plastic face mask, cut it to a more correct shape. I stretched the black manhattan fabric over it, and glued it in place, folding it over the edges. I used thin clear beading elastic to hold it in place. Kryolan white makeup and black lipstick finish it off.

Worn at – Armageddon Expo Auckland 2007

Matt made Harley’s over-sized gun for me. The handle part is from a cheap toy gun but the barrel etc is made from pvc pipe and styrene. He then sprayed it silver, and hand painted the grip black. It looks great, and I found it so much easier to pose with a prop to hold.

I had the crazy notion of performing a skit for the cosplay competition. I had been watching the Batman animated series episodes with Harley Quinn in them on repeat, for costume reference, so hearing her voice all the time, I thought I might be able to perform as Harley on stage… yikes! I think back and wonder how on earth I had that idea and courage!

To complete my ‘Mad Love’ skit idea, we made one more prop – the Joker’s ‘Death Of A 100 Smiles’ blueprint. We bought an A3 sheet of blue card stock, and Matt hand-drew the blueprint using a screenshot as reference. After nearly 13 years, we still have this simple prop stored safely away.

I wish I took more photos during the construction process, but rushing to get the two costumes finished in time, I only took a couple of quick progress photos. I’m still amazed it all came together in time, and I had such a great day in costume at the convention.

I didn’t really figure out too many poses for Harley Quinn, so I stood the same way in most of our photos that day. That’s okay, I love the photos we got, and cosplay photography wasn’t the same back in 2007! The photos we took are great memories from an awesome day.

I love Matt so much for being the Joker to my Harley Quinn. We were still newlyweds at the time, but he grew his hair long for me and let me dress him up as the Joker. It felt so romantic to spend the day in our ‘Mad Love’ cosplay – something different to our usual Jedi and Stormtrooper costumes.

I had so much fun being Harley Quinn all day, it really helped going into the cosplay competition that afternoon. With just a quick run down with Matt of what I needed him to do for the skit, we headed into our performance.

The winners were announced later that day – and to my honest absolute surprise, we won Best In Show! I had put so much work into our costumes for the love of the characters, so it was just the most amazing bonus!

I learnt a lot about sewing these costumes, and someday I hope to remake my Harley Quinn classic costume, so I can improve on all the areas where I was still learning sewing techniques.

It was so exciting to finally meet Bruce Timm in my Harley Quinn costume. I was so shy – I’m sure he meets scores of Harley Quinn cosplayers every year, and I was such a novice seamstress, but it was a dream come true.

I took along two of my favourite Harley Quinn comic books to get signed – with Bruce Timm cover art of course! His ‘Mad Love’ cover is still one of my all-time favourite Harley Quinn artworks, it was such a dream come true to get them signed in person!

The post Harley Quinn and Joker Costumes appeared first on Villa Varykino.

This weekend marks 17 years that Matt and I have been together as a couple. 17 years of adventures, travels, costuming, collecting, and all around geek fun.

When I first met Matt, he costumed as a Stormtrooper with the 501st Legion, and I costumed as a Jedi Knight with the Rebel Legion – and ever since then we have been dressing up in all sorts of fun costumes together. From local troops and conventions, to international events like Star Wars Celebration and DragonCon, we have so much fun together as a couple.

I am so blessed to have a best friend and husband to share Star Wars and costuming with. Our home is full of Star Wars collectibles, and our days are full of Star Wars fun. The last 17 years have been filled with love and adventure, and I can’t wait for what tomorrow will bring with Matt by my side.

Happy Anniversary Matt!

The post Seventeen Years appeared first on Villa Varykino.

I enjoy monthly social media challenges, so when the annual ‘Fall For Costume’ Instagram event rolled around in October this year, it was a great opportunity to dig through older photos and share some of our favorite costume memories.

Hosted by redthreaded, the challenge lasts for the month of October – which is often associated with costumes as Halloween season. There is a different word prompt for each day, which you can interpret anyway you like, to fit your costume range. For us, our costumes are predominately from Star Wars, comics, and science fiction – check out our daily posts below –

#FallForCostume 2019 Instagram challenge hosted by @redthreaded

• Day 1 ‘Intro’ – Padme Amidala and Republic Commando

Hello ? We’re Kristy and Matt Glasgow – married Star Wars fans and costumers. Star Wars is how we met, and is a huge part of our lives. ⠀
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Our costumes include some of our favourite Star Wars characters, like Padme’ Amidala and Republic Commando Boss. ⠀
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We love to travel, and attend international costume events/conventions like DragonCon and Star Wars Celebration

• Day 2 ‘Red’ – Legend Of The Seeker Sister of The Dark

The tv series Legend Of The Seeker was filmed in NZ – Matt was an extra for several episodes, so we’re quite fond of the show. ⠀
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They auctioned off most of the costumes and props after the series ended, and we managed to get this hero Sister Marissa costume. ⠀
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Matt made my dacra weapon, which survived the international trip to DragonCon and back!

• Day 3 ‘Soft’ – Clone Wars Micro Series Padme’ Amidala

It’s simple, but my Snowbunny cape is one of my favourite things I’ve ever made. ⠀
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I love the soft white fleece and blue marabou trim, it’s so cuddly and warm

• Day 4 ‘Structured’ – Captain America Dancing Girl

My Captain America dancing girl outfit is my most structured costume, in both construction process and technique. ⠀
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As well as following the detailed sewing instructions to match the group, it was also my first attempt at hat-making. ⠀
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It was a last-minute costume that stressed me out to finish on time, but I had such an awesome time with my fellow dancers at DragonCon

• Day 5 ‘Inside’ – Tonner Dolls Deliciously Deco Renee’ Devereaux

I’m not confident in my sewing abilities to be brave enough to show the inside of anything I’ve made, but this dress at least has an interesting story. ⠀
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For some reason I was hell-bent on making this costume with less than two weeks until DragonCon! Unable to find proper fringe anywhere locally, I bought a huge amount of black cord…. ⠀
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Of course having all the cord ends along the seams makes this dress very scratchy on the inside! Lesson learnt – don’t do last minute projects unless I have the proper materials ?

• Day 6 ‘Outside’ – Republic Commando Boss RC-1138

The weathering on my Republic Commando took a lot of paint layers to achieve. ⠀
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The metallic silver weathering isn’t painted on, it’s an entire paint layer under the white topcoat, and worn down in selected areas. ⠀
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A time consuming process, but now any addition wear from scratches and scuffs will only add to the effect

• Day 7 ‘Machinery’ – Vac-form table (Padme’ Amidala Holster)

For my Clone Wars ‘Snowbunny’ Padme’ Amidala costume, we wanted to replicate the animated style – which meant custom accessories.⠀
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We made our own vac-form machine, and used it to make a custom blaster holster, belt pouch, and the blaster. ⠀
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I really love the cute cartoon look, and creating props via vac-forming was a neat process to learn

• Day 8 ‘Black’ – Star Wars Imperial Officer

In 2005 I joined the 501st Legion with a classic Imperial Officer costume. Matt has been a member since 2001 with his Stormtrooper armour, and I decided to join him on the Dark Side. ⠀
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A novice seamstress back then (and still), I bought all the fabric components, while Matt made my belt buckle and rank badge. ⠀
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ID-947 and TK-944 – Troopers In Love ?

• Day 9 ‘White’ – Gentle Giant Animated Maquette Princess Leia

I love the Star Wars animation style statues by @gentlegiantltd – the Princess Leia & R2-D2 statue is one of my favourites in my collection. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
So when I was invited to join a group of GG Leia’s for a local convention, I jumped at the awesome opportunity. We had so much fun together! ⠀
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I’m still not great at patten drafting, sewing, or working with wigs, but I love my GG Leia

• Day 10 ‘Past’ – Austin Powers Dancer Girl

Throwing it back to the 60’s for this one – my Austin Powers dancer girl. ⠀
I joined a group of friends for the 2011 DragonCon Masquerade, picking this bright orange and pink outfit from the opening sequence of the first film. ⠀
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Custom printed fabric, custom earrings, a very hastily made hat, purple stockings, and bright orange go-go boots. ⠀
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A little bit rushed, as my DragonCon costumes tend to be – but I had so much fun dancing on stage with my friends ?

• Day 11 ‘Present’ – Heroes Claire Bennet

I loved the early seasons of Heroes. I put together this quick Claire Bennet costume when Zachary Quinto was announced for a local convention. ⠀
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Unfortunately he cancelled, but I’m still glad I made the costume. ⠀
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I took it along to DragonCon 2011 as a comfy change between costumes

• Day 12 ‘Future’ – Anovos Star Wars Original Series Costumes

Kind of a sad story for this one – years ago we bought these @anovos premier Star Trek costumes, for a future DragonCon trip. ⠀
The trip didn’t happen because of life’s hurdles, and we had to sell the costumes too. ⠀
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We still love Star Trek, and still plan to costume together from the original series… just not with these costumes. ⠀
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Life has certainly thrown some ‘adventures’ our way these past few years, but we’re looking toward the future with hope and optimism

• Day 13 ‘Space’ – Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter Pilot

We have quite a few costumes that fit the ‘space’ theme, but a space pilot seemed to fit the best. ⠀
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When we met, we had one costume each, on opposite sides – Matt had his Stormtrooper armour, I had my Jedi robes. ⠀
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Since then, we’ve both crossed to ‘each other’s side’, and now we both have costumes for the Light Side and the Dark Side. From a Stormtrooper to a Rebel Pilot. ⠀
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Someday I’ll finish my X-Wing pilot costume so we can match ?

• Day 14 ‘Stitching’ – DC Comics Harley Quinn and The Joker

I made our Harley Quinn and Joker costumes for @armageddonexponz Auckland 2007, as HQ co-creator Bruce Timm was a guest. ⠀
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We also entered into the Cosplay Competition – and won Best In Show! The one and only time I’ve had the confidence to perform a skit, complete with animated-style Harley Quinn voice. Matt even grew his hair long for me so I could paint it green. ⠀
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Despite being quite basic by modern cosplay standards (this was *12* years ago!), I am still proud of them. The most hand-stitching I’ve ever done – I got so obsessed with making the Joker costume and accessories that I nearly didn’t get HQ finished in time!

• Day 15 ‘Blue’ – Star Wars Battlefront II Darktrooper

For Armageddon Expo Auckland 2017, Matt debuted his Darktrooper armour, from the original Battlefront II video game. ⠀
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The trooper armour is a unique shade of blue, which really stands out alongside classic white stormtrooper armour. ⠀
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Made by Oota Goota workshop, the armour is made from vac-formed plastic, and custom fit for Matt. We are big fans of the original Battlefront games, so it was a great experience to get to debut a new costume build of a unique armour design from the game

• Day 16 ‘First’ – Star Wars Jedi Knight

One of the few photos of my first costume, completed in April 2004. It started by finding a custom wool robe online, and was soon followed by custom leather boots, FX lightsaber, and figuring out how to sew. ⠀
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Halloween wasn’t even a thing here in NZ when I was a child, so Star Wars was my first introduction to costuming. ⠀
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I learnt so much making that first costume, I remade the tunics pretty soon after (and a few more time after that). ⠀
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My sewing skills still have a long way to go, but I’m so happy for all the amazing friends I’ve made through costuming and cosplay ?

• Day 17 ‘Last’ – Star Wars Twi’lek Jedi Historian

The last costume I made for myself, the latest in a series of 5 different Jedi costume variations I’ve made since 2004 – Jedi Historian. ⠀
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This is my original concept, based on Jocasta Nu from AOTC, and Atris from KOTOR2 – I finished and debuted the costume in 2011.⠀
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The tabbard designs are all hand drawn in fabric marker on both sides, based on a template Matt drew for me (a mix of patterns from both Jocasta and Atris). ⠀
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Comfortable, fun to wear, and I can wear it with or without the lekku headpiece – made by the wonderful @twilek_pam 

• Day 18′ Historical’ – 300 Spartan Warrior

Matt and I joined the @300dcspartans forums in January 2008, and debuted our Spartan and Queen Gorgo costumes at a local convention that year. ⠀
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In 2009 we made the journey to DragonCon to meet up with our Spartan friends, and had so much fun, we returned in 2011 and 2012. ⠀
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Someday we’ll make it back again!

• Day 19 ‘Fantasy’ – Disney Tinkerbell Wings

A work in (very slow) progress – Tinker Bell ? I got these gorgeous wings from @fancyfairyangela many years ago, and have stored them safely away ever since. ⠀
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I grew up with Disney, and have loved Peter Pan ever since I was little. ⠀
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As a little girl I dreamed of flying like Peter and Tink, and while that particular fantasy can’t come true, the sight of these beautiful wings gives me so many happy thoughts

• Day 20 ‘Big’ – The Chronicles Of Riddick (Screen Used)

Our biggest costume purchase – this screen-used Vin Diesel costume from The Chronicles Of Riddick. ⠀
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The screen used costume includes the top, pants, boots, belt, arm guards, backpack, and breather prop – we sourced and/or made the knives, backpack straps, and goggles. ⠀
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Funny story – I was halfway through making a Riddick costume for Matt when we bought this real one! I never did finish making my version….

• Day 21 ‘Small’ – Twilight New Moon Bella Swan

My ‘smallest’ costuming project was my Bella Swan cosplay for DragonCon 2011. ⠀
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The costume and jewelry are licensed replicas, the Vans shoes and headband are screen accurate. ⠀
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The only bit of sewing I did was to crop a cheap black cardigan a little shorter to match. ⠀
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Easy to make, easy to wear

• Day 22 ‘Green’ – DC Comics Poison Ivy

A popular costume idea, but I had a spare corset I didn’t need for my wedding dress, so of course I was going to use for a quick and easy costume. ⠀
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Cheap red wig, green stockings, green heels, lots of fake leaves, and boom – Poison Ivy costume. ⠀
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I’ve worn it a few times, and made some upgrades for DragonCon 2011. Still need to upgrade the wig (and drastically improve my makeup skills) but I love this comfy costume ?

• Day 23 ‘Steam’ – 300 Queen Gorgo (Secret Meeting)

The problem with long haul flights for overseas conventions – my costumes get so creased in my suitcase! ⠀
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My little handheld steamer doesn’t work on US voltage, so I leave it at home. Really wish I’d been able to steam my costumes at DragonCon, especially my Queen Gorgo – but I really didn’t trust the hotel room iron that year. ⠀
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In the future, I’d like to find a cheaper steamer in the US, so I have that option for conventions

• Day 24 ‘Tools’ – Star Wars Femtrooper

The costume we used the most tools to create – my Star Wars femtrooper armour. ⠀
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Debuted in 2008, the armour is vac-formed, with a custom fibreglass chest piece sculpted over my chest cast. ⠀
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The ‘fem’ style armour isn’t common any more, but I still love this costume

• Day 25 ‘Warm’ – Star Wars Barriss Offee

I have a few costumes with cloaks, but the warmest is my Barriss Offee costume. ⠀
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Full length dress with turtleneck collar, long sleeves and hood, with two layers of velvet over the top. ⠀
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Somehow I always end up wearing this costume in warm places – Anaheim, Atlanta, Orlando…. ⠀
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I need to wear it to a convention somewhere cold so I can get decent photos where I’m not sweating off the intricate diamond pattern makeup!

• Day 26 ‘Cold’ – 300 Queen Gorgo (Farewell)

Perhaps not the coldest to wear, but the first costume I think of – my Queen Gorgo ‘farewell’ dress. ⠀
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I made this for DragonCon 2011 – August is the middle of winter here, and this dress is all about draped fabric…. ⠀
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Which meant spending many hours pretty much naked in my sewing room, while I draped fabric around myself, sewing it in place, trying it on again… ⠀
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I had the curtains and doors closed, the heater blasting on high, and it was still really cold! Worth it though – that dress fit like a glove

• Day 27 ‘Purple’ – DC Comics The Joker

I made our Harley Quinn and Joker costumes for @armageddonexponz Auckland 2007, as HQ co-creator Bruce Timm was a guest. ⠀
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A good friend wore his Batman costume that year as well, so we got some fun group photos. ⠀
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Matt’s costume was inspired by the animated series, with the Joker voiced by Mark Hamill – this was a year before ‘The Dark Knight’ film was released, so Joker costumes weren’t as common back then ?

• Day 28 ‘Romantic’ – Star Wars Padme’ Amidala

In 2006 Matt and I traveled across the world to visit the Star Wars AOTC filming location in Italy. ⠀
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Two weeks before the trip I had the crazy idea to make Padme’s lake dress, with my very basic sewing skills. ⠀
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No pattern, drafted the dress with bedsheets wrapped around me, and used fabric paint… but I think it worked out okay. ⠀
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The best part – Matt surprised me by proposing in the spot Anakin and Padme’ were married ?

• Day 29 ‘Spooky’ – The Chronicles of Riddick (Screen Used)

The ‘spookiest’ costumes we own – screen used Necromonger captain and convert costumes from The Chronicles Of Riddick. ⠀
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We bought these from @prop_store back in 2005, our first ‘couple cosplay’ – it was so exciting to own costumes from the first film we ever saw together. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
I’ve worn my Necromonger convert costume several times, at different conventions around the world – but Matt’s captain costume won’t fit in a suitcase, so we wear them together at local conventions ?

• Day 30 ‘Beginings’ – Star Wars Stormtrooper

The beginning of our love of costumes – Matt’s first costume, Star Wars stormtrooper armour. ⠀
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He bought it from the US in 2001, and joined the @official501st that same year. ⠀
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A few years later, I made my first costume, a Jedi Knight. We soon found each other through our shared love of Star Wars, collecting, and costuming. ⠀
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Passions we still share to this day, after 12 years of marriage and still going strong

• Day 31 ‘Endings’ – The Chronicles Of Riddick (Self Made)

As I’m sure most costumers can relate, I have a few costume projects that have been put aside for one reason or another, waiting to be finished someday. ⠀
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This Riddick costume is an odd one out from my stash, in that I’m pretty certain I’ll never finish it. ⠀
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I got this far before I ran out of time for DragonCon 2009 – made the shirt, arm guards and shoulder harness, and finished it off with store-bought boots, pants and belt. ⠀
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The reason this will never get finished? We now own a real Vin Diesel screen used Riddick costume! Doesn’t seem much point to keep sewing the rest of this version, when it could never compare to the real one we have

We really enjoyed the nostalgic look back at our costuming highlights, and look forward to participating in the Fall For Costume challenge again next year!

The post Fall For Costume 2019 appeared first on Villa Varykino.

As big fans of The Chronicles of Riddick, Matt and I had dreamed of owning costumes of the main characters since we first saw the film. We were able to purchase screen used Necromonger Captain and Necromonger Convert costumes in 2005, but we missed out on any Riddick or Dame Vaako costumes.

In early 2011, The Prop Store of London listed the black/gold Dame Vaako dress, worn by Thandie Newton. It was expensive, but it had been years since I had seen one of her outfits come up for sale. I knew I was a similar height to Thandie Newton, so we decided to take the leap and buy it. Took a few months to pay the installments, and a frustrating delay at customs, but it arrived in time for DragonCon 2011.

The sleeveless dress is made from black mesh fabric, covered in gold latex scales, with an invisible zip up the back. As fate would have it, I actually had a swatch of the fabric used for other Dame Vaako gold dress (thanks to a wonderful friend), so I was able to compare the fabrics and colours between this black/gold dress and Dame Vaako’s classic gold dress. It’s interesting to see the difference in colour and texture.

As with buying any screen-used main character costume, it can be a big risk buying an expensive costume that you hope to wear without knowing if it will fit. The mesh fabric has a little bit of stretch, but it fits me like a glove! I was so excited when it finally arrived, I tried it on straight away for a few quick photos.

It was such an amazing experience, trying it on for the first time and finding that it fit me perfectly. Even with heels on, the hem of the dress is a little long on me – but it appears to be quite long on Thandie Newton in the film too, as you can’t see her shoes/feet when she walks in it. All of Dame Vaako’s dresses seem to be designed to ‘pool’ on the floor a little – very glamorous and dramatic.

Unlike the other Dame Vaako costumes, this outfit doesn’t have any accessories – no jewelry, spine/back decorations, belt, or even shoes. It appears Dame Vaako does not wear shoes with this dress – her bare feet are seen very briefly when she falls on the floor in one scene. So, this dress is a complete screen-used outfit by itself. To complete the look to wear at DragonCon, I wore nude colour underwear with this dress (as it is visible through the mesh fabric), and a pair of black heels.

As I don’t wish to wear this costume barefoot at conventions, I decided to find out more information about the footwear used for the classic Dame Vaako long-sleeved gold dress which was also sold through The Prop Store. The website listing for that costume pictured a pair of high heel shoes, with the brand name ‘Peter Fox’ visible on the inner sole, and described as US size 7. Doing some research on the brand, the shoes are the style ‘Dorothea’, which were then covered with the same gold scale mesh fabric as the dress.

After a lot of hunting, I finally found a pair in my size, which also happens to be the same size Thandie Newton wore. My original plan was to have the shoes dyed black to match the dress (as they are dye-able white Italian silk bridal shoes), but it appears Peter Fox no long produce shoes, so I am keeping them in their original state for now.

For this outfit, Dame Vaako wears her hair in a long fishtail-style braid down her back. For DragonCon, I made a long braid from a synthetic wig, but it proved too heavy to wear for long periods of time and it never clipped in as well as I had hoped. When photographed from the front, the braid is not seen so I took it out for comfort and wore my hair tied back in a short ponytail. I plan to source a better braid for the next time I wear the costume.

This outfit was a very exciting addition to our collection of The Chronicles Of Riddick costumes. The dress feels amazing to wear, and I love the train. I am so happy I took the chance and bought it! Now that Thandie Newton has appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story, I own a costume worn by a Star Wars actress!

Worn at – DragonCon 2011.

The post Screen-Used Dame Vaako Costume appeared first on Villa Varykino.

In 2011, I entered into the Star Wars Costume Contest at DragonCon. I wanted to experience as much of DragonCon as I could, and entered the contest for fun. I decided to enter my Princess Leia costume, which is based on the animated maquette statue made by Gentle Giant – I refer to the costume as ‘GG Leia’.

I had entered the competition for fun and to support the contest, so it was a surprise when I won the Infinities category! It was really quite exciting – while I had entered a few costume competitions locally in New Zealand, it was a fun experience entering a contest in the US. I especially loved the award – a replica of the Yavin medal Princess Leia gives out at the end of A New Hope!

As it turned out, I had my photo-op with Carrie Fisher shortly after the costume contest – but because I had won a prize, I had to stay a little longer. Checking the time, we decided not to risk running back to our hotel room to change. While I hadn’t planned it, I ended up wearing my Princess Leia costume to our photo shoot. We were the last in line (phew!), so it worked out that Carrie stopped and took the time to talk to me about my costume, and congratulate me on winning a prize. It was a really special moment, one that I’ll treasure forever.

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This female Necromonger Convert costume from The Chronicles Of Riddick was my first foray into the world of screen-used items. It was purchased from The Prop Store UK in 2005, complete with certificate of authenticity.

We were of course aware of the market for screen-used props and costumes, but never thought we would be able to own anything used in films. It wasn’t until we saw photos online of fans wearing super-accurate Necromonger costumes at a costume convention in the US that we started really looking into it. The Chronicles Of Riddick was the first film Matt and I saw at the cinemas together, so it has always had special meaning for us – we never thought we could actually own a costume from the film! To our delight, The Prop Store UK still had screen used costumes available – and soon enough, we were the proud owners of our first screen used costumes. My costume is a Necromonger Convert, worn by a background extra (but identical to the outfit worn by ‘Kyra’ at the end of the film).

The female Necromonger Convert costume consists of a black stretch bodysuit with a shiny black reptilian-style raised pattern, a pair of black fabric knee-high boots, and a distressed sleeveless hooded robe. This costume also came with a separate cowl/hood, but as Kyra does not wear a cowl in the film, I don’t wear it with my costume. The boots are made from a black neoprene-type fabric, with foam soles – to avoid wearing out the soles, I wear my own black stretch fabric boots with the costume at events. The bodysuit has a long black plastic zip at the back, finger loops at the ends of the sleeves, and stirrup loops at the ankles/feet to hold it in place while wearing boots.

The outer robe is made from several different dark/metallic fabrics, which are layered and heavily distressed. There are a lot of holes, created by burning/ripping the fabrics. The hem of the robe has several high splits, so it flares around the legs when walking. Despite the distressed appearance, the robe has a tailored fit, with structured seams built into the base – the robe does up at the front with a single hook and eye closure at the waist. I wear my own heeled boots with the costume, which helps as the robe was made/designed for someone taller than me, so it drags behind me a little if I am wearing the flat costume boots.

Considering the costume was made for someone else, and there were no measurements available before buying, the costume fits me very well! At the same time, Matt also purchased a screen-used Necromonger Captain costume – we debuted our costumes together at the Auckland Armageddon Expo convention in October 2005. In May 2006, we attended the London Expo convention, where we trooped with other members of the Necromonger Legion who also own screen-used costumes. I took my costume, and Matt borrowed some Necromonger infantryman armour (as his own Captain costume doesn’t fit in a suitcase). I also took my Necromonger Convert costume to our first DragonCon convention in the US in 2009 – it is one of the few costumes I have worn in multiple countries.

Worn at – Armageddon Auckland 2005, London Expo 2006, Armageddon Auckland 2008, DragonCon 2009.

Necromonger Convert Costume Gallery

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I first wore this Darktrooper Armour (“Phase Zero” version, from the original Star Wars: Battlefront video games) at the Auckland Armageddon Expo in October of 2017. It is made by Oota Goota Workshop, and this particular kit was the prototype iteration, first of the production line, so to speak (read more about Oota Goota Workshop at their Facebook page, and about the construction of the armour on the SWNZ Message Boards). The weapons (MG-34 and E-11) are also made by Oota Goota.

The Phase Zero Darktroopers first showed up in the classic Battlefront I and II games in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Unlike the Phase I-III Darktroopers in the Dark Forces video game, Phase Zero Darktroopers weren’t droids, but were in fact aged clonetroopers who had been cybernetically enhanced. The design is loosely based on classic stormtroopers, but, as well as the obvious colour difference and the addition of a jet-pack, it is a lot bulkier and heavy-set.

Almost all of this darktrooper costume is made from vac-formed plastic (styrene), including the backpack. It is very lightweight and generally comfortable (compared to some of my costumes) to wear. We rigged it together fairly quickly so as to be able to debut it at the Auckland Armageddon convention, but it was basically assembled in the same manner as standard stormtrooper armour, so the build wasn’t complicated. Being surprisingly lightweight, it was easy to wander around the large indoor and outdoor areas of the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane – while doing so, I was photographed by Nathan Fillion (of Firefly and Castle fame), who was in attendance as a celebrity guest, and although I didn’t find out until someone spotted it online, that photo was shared on Nathan’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

A full gallery of photos taken so far is below. I look forward to my next public trooping event in this unique armour

Battlefront Darktrooper Armour Gallery:

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