~Freya~

     From: Chobits

Worn at: Anime Weekend Atlanta 2003

    And here we have the very first costume I entered in a cosplay contest. It was actually a pretty grueling experience, AWA hadn't yet steamlined the process, so it was an all day ordeal. Mostly waiting...and waiting...then waiting to wait...and you get the idea. I had huge lumps on the sides of my head where the headband dug into me all day and sores on my heels from my shoes rubbing me. I was tired, smelly and generally achy all over. I swore I'd never enter another cosplay contest again. Never say "never", kids =P

    For the dress, I bought a strapless evening gown pattern to use as my base. I mostly stuck to the original design, with the exception of the hem line and the lining. The pattern didn't call for a lining, so I had to figure out how to work it in. It was a little confusing for a beginner, but turned out reasonably well. For the Fluer-De-Lys, I cut the shape out of my satin which I had backed with fusible interfacing. Then my granny appliquéd it on for me because I was afraid I'd mess it up ^_^;  I fudged on the sleeves by making them separate from the dress. That kind of pattern alteration was a bit advanced for me back then. The persacom ears were made from craft foam like everyone else's. Dunno what I was thinking with the dark red lipstick. I probably won't go back and make this costume again as I'm often tempted to do, but I would like some decent pictures of it someday. For now, I have these: