I debuted this costume at Anime Boston 2012, but because I was sick that weekend I actually didn’t get to wear it that much. Therefore, at Connecticon 2012 I re-debuted the costume with a few modifications.
About half of this costume was purchased, while the other half was made from scratch. The tights and shoes I ordered online, and the tutu I borrowed on long term loan from my Princess Tutu friend. This tutu is very poofy, so I tacked the layers together to make it look a little thinner. The shoes in these pictures are also borrowed from Tutu for our photoshoot, but for most of the day I was walking around in typical ballet flats.
The bodice pattern I drafted myself from scratch. The bodice and plate are made from black taffeta, so that it has a little bit of sheen without being shiny on camera. There is a stretch panel of lycra in the back, so that the bodice can fit snugly, while still allowing for plenty of movement. I did all of the beading by hand, added a built in bra, and boning throughout.
The wig was ordered online, and cut and styled by me. I made the feather hair piece from scratch as well.
The tutu plate was my own adaptation of the dvd art: I used appliqué, hand beading, glue-on studs, and feather trim to embellish. The plate is very heavy and made the tutu sag unevenly the last time I wore it. So this time, I added a metal hoop, which worked wonderfully!
That’s about all there is to the costume! Princess Kraehe is a notoriously difficult cosplay to pull off; many people either get caught up in the impossible construction of the bodice (which has been named by the cosplay community “the bodice of doom”), or get too far away from the reference. I took a lot of design notes from real ballet costumes which were stage ready. I wasn’t going to do backless, or a super deep plunge neckline, if it wasn’t going to stay on my body. I modified the cut so that is it actually wearable, and used a flesh tone fabric, accentuated by beading to maintain the look of a super deep plunge neckline. I can even dance in the costume.
I am no ballerina myself, but I do a lot of yoga and have pretty good body awareness, so I think I pulled off the poses alright. I did have a lot of direction from my wonderful Princess Tutu and our photographer who was also a dancer. I even went on pointe in this costume, which was an exciting little personal accomplishment.
[…] accompanying Princess Tutu. You can find more details on the construction of the costume on the Princess Kraehe Page! So be sure to check it […]
Very sweet! You did great detail on the whole costume, and I love that you posed en pointe despite no ballet experience! I couldn’t tell the difference based how well you posed on pointe! Absoulutely amazing! ^_^
Thanks! I really appreciate it.