Frozen Elsa's Costume W.I.P

Frozen Elsa's Costume W.I.P

• 1.10.2014

I know that i've been rarely updating blog recently due to work but i realised this year one of my resolutions is to make my blogposts to be more meaningful (even if it's part of my job lol).

Been meaning to share this W.I.P (work in progress) photos of my Elsa costume, not one of the best but at least i see a huge improvement compared to all my earlier costumes.

I'm so proud of myself, for once i actually prepared a draft instead of doing my usual free hand cutting (a VERY bad habit of mine) ohoho~ 

Also it's because i received an email all the way from UK and also on my facebook page enquiring about my how i made my costume, it might be a small achievement to many big shots out there but having people different parts of the world reading your blog/page is a big thing to me. :-)

Thank you all for the support!

Guess the 3 years in college studying fashion really paid off and all the stuff i learnt really came in handy. Honestly I am so glad to be standard size, not boasting about it but it makes my life so much easier(really) as long my mannequin can fit i know i won't have a problem fitting into it..well.. except for bust area la since I'm so flat lol.

Same goes if i am creating a collection of my own 8D

But time to get a new dummy form though as mine isn't standing quite right anymore, which affects the measurements most of the time. This guy served me well for 2 years, thanks buddy! :')

As mentioned, i only watched the movie Frozen like a week before Comic Fiesta 2013 with my siblings, thanks big meow for bringing us. (^・ω・^ ) 

We weren't one of the earliest to catch the movie when it was first released but heck it was still awesome, watch later always lesser crowds :-P

Disney will ALWAYS be a classic, i mean...growing up watching all these movies never once i expected them to adapt Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tail : The Snow Queen.

By Puffin Classics

Also been a bookworm all my life (still am and proud to be!) so you could figure that i spent my entire childhood reading Grimm Fairytails, Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew..etc. If I'm not mistaken i still have all those books back at my mom's home if she have not donated them away, will take a picture of it when i visit her soon lol.

After coming out from the cinema i was still in awe with the spectacular show Disney has created, in fact all their shows are awesome (♥ω♥ ) ~♪

So first i did upon getting home is to draft out Elsa's costume, a week before CF and I am going to do this shit no matter what.

This was the initial elaborated pattern draft but due to time restrictions i had to modify it slightly to be more easier and lesser pieces.

Couldn't really find much reference pictures of her costume since the movie was just released 

Got this amazing reference from Firefly Path, 

if only such beautiful materials can be found here in KL :-(

One of the woes of being a designer and a cosplayer because we are lacking of resources.

Even my initial plan wasn't to debut at CF because i didn't want to do a rush job on such a beautiful costume, even if it wasn't for me to cosplay i just wanted to make such a beautiful looking costume to keep and stare at (~*w*)~ *kira kira*

Spent a whole day sourcing for material all over KL, tiring but fruitful because i manage to get all the materials i need and please don't ask me how much it costs TT^TT

Thinking about it still breaks my heart. On the haberdashery items, sequins and gemstones itself already cost me more than RM100.

So much for saving if making your own costume eh? Let me tell you this. Bullshit.

Was actually crazy enough to hand sew on the sequins one by one but it was seriously time consuming, i did an error by sewing in the inner lining of the dress before sewing on the sequins. Stupid me.

As for the wig, since it's a week before CF and ordering from taobao isn't gonna reach on time despite using the fastest & most expensive courier services i doubt it will arrive on time lol so why risk it?

Might as well start sourcing the local wig shops i found in KL though they are not one of the cheapest options around, not to mention lack of variety but when it comes for desperate measures like these that is when they come in handy. Because they are all ready stock!!

Usually these shops sell in bulks for mannequin displays (at bulk price) but they do sell individual as well.

I always thought synthetic wigs, such as satura fibre brought locally were always hard to maintain due to their plastic like texture but i was wrong. In fact they are actually the most closest looking material to our original hair (except for nylon <---plastic 100%).

We cosplayers usually pride ourselves in having the best quality wigs ordered from China ensuring it it heat resistant, tangle free and easy to manage.

Trust me even if you do manage to find a wig that fits that criteria i doubt it would make any difference if you don't know the proper way to care for wigs -_- #truestory 

Spent nearly an hour in the wig shop trying to find a suitable shade under the dim shop lighting, was even close to just leaving with disappointments till i came across the back section of the shop where they were clearing off their old wigs, hanging there wig some tangled so badly makes me wonder who would even buy it lol.

Hallelujah! Found a similar colored wig that allows me to comb the fringe backwards without it revealing my widow's peak.

despite the length was about 65cm+ and the volume wasn't thick enough, bought some 80cm extensions from the shop to sew it in :)

Yep, I sew my wig as well not only my costume.

It ain't cheap but boy i am so glad it was at the 50% discount corner. The full wig alone was already RM180 before discount and per full head extension is RM50 a piece. Imagine the price wei...totally reminds me of the earlier days when wigs from ebay costs us that much.

Now it's dirt cheap and easily available from taobao (lucky younger generation..pffffttt..)  

Overall results of the wig i am pretty satisfied, i just used normal wax (for curls) and hairspray to hold it in place. 

Sorry i ain't a pro when it comes to styling wigs but i do try my best.

You can easily find the tutorials on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7No-S07VaNc

Another thing to add into my stress is moving house the night before my first day of work, really wanted to just break down and cry.

Been staying in this house in a storeroom at a rundown condominium for 3 years with a great city view despite the horrible building maintenance and unfriendly housemates.

It was time for me to move out, honestly if given a chance i would rather not..guess i will save that story for another blogpost instead : )

Gemstone arrangements were somewhat suppose to be like this and spreaded out to her shoulders, guess it didn't work out since the inner piece is screwed up. Shall try remaking a new piece since the fabric is so delicate @_@ Wore once and i accidentally over stretched the material. 

So much for not wanting a rush job..fml. Half of the sequins is double sided taped on and completed at 2pm on CF day 2 >.< That was one of the reasons why i was late too.

Showing up less than 2 hours was more than worth it, managed to greet some very old dear close friends, took some photos and making little kids happy :-)

Tired but WORTH IT!

Thank you Jason kor for always being there for me, helped me carry my long train as i ran in through the halls. So many people step on it till i want to cry liao T^T

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! :)
Wish me luck for tomorrow too, if everything works out i might be able to pick up another dream project this year *excited*

XOXO,