Debuted at Connecticon July 8th, 2011
X-23 is the female clone of Wolverine created to be a perfect killing machine. She was featured in X-Men Evolution, NYX, Uncanny X-men, New X-men, X-Force, and her own mini series. Now, X-23 is a playable character in the Marvel vs. Capcom video game. She has many of the same abilities as Wolverine, because she was created from his genetic material such as his accelerated healing abilities and retractable claws in her hands and unlike Wolverine, in her feet. X-23’s claws are coated in adamantium, but she escaped the facility where she was created and trained before her entire skeleton could be bonded with the nearly unbreakable metal. X-23’s healing factor is so advanced, that she is immune to most toxins and diseases, and can even regenerate severed limbs.
I choose to make this costume because I love the X-Men. I think the series as a whole is fantastic! I wanted to cosplay a badass character with a power that was easily expressed visually, and there are very few things more visually badass than retractable metal claws. X-23 also has a small build like me, and is totally one of the coolest characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which is the particular incarnation that I chose to create.
Now onto how I constructed this outfit. Lets start from the top with the wig. I bought this kanekalon wig on ebay for a good price. The wig was too long when I got it, so I trimmed it, thinned it, and put in a few shaggy layers to give it movement. I angled the front dramatically, and trained the bangs to stay out of my face. Training this wig took a lot of work. At first I thought that I had been sold a heat resistant wig by accident it was so unresponsive to heat! So I took a scrap of fiber and tested it with a hair-straightener on the lowest setting. No, I was not sold a heat resistant wig, it was just really stubborn. So I just worked at it for longer and eventually got the fibers trained away from my face and sprayed them in place. I also used a wig lusterizer to give the wig a little more shine and prevent tangling.
All of the clothing was made from two-way stretch PVC. That stuff is very difficult to work with. Ugh. You can read more about working with PVC under my tutorials. The necklace was relatively easy to make. I glue-hemmed the PVC into two strips, and sewed one in a loop around another. To clasp the necklace, I used one black hand-sewn snap. The pendant is made from polymer clay; I used a mix of “jewelry gold,” yellow, and beige to get exactly the color that I wanted. After the clay was baked, I sanded and polished it, and coated it in an air-dry resin glaze and glued it to the necklace.
The gloves were not much of a headache either. I have made gloves out of spandex before, and though PVC is not as stretchy as spandex, I basically knew what I was doing. I traced my hand as a guide and took in the glove a little at a time until both were the perfect fit. The pants and shirt were not as easy to make. The pants needed to be fitted slowly. I was not using a pattern for anything so I had to take it one seam at a time. Getting the waistband to look nice was also a challenge. PVC is very difficult to hem neatly so I had to really work at it to minimize any bumps or puckers.
The belt buckle was made just like the necklace pendant; from polymer clay coated in an air-dry resin glaze.
The shirt was a real issue for a while there. Mostly because PVC is a plastic and not really a fabric. When you poke holes in PVC, either with pins or your sewing needle, the “fabric” does not heal itself like a woven fabric would. Instead you end up with permanent holes in the fabric. Because of this, it’s not a good idea to take out a seam. In other words, mistakes are not allowed. But of course, I did not get every seam of this extremely fitted garment perfect the first time, and I had no choice but to take out a seam. Not good. I did eventually come up with a solution to reinforce the area and cover the holes left from the rejected seam, but I spent a good hour or so fearing that I had ruined my costume!
Now for the fun part (or at least they look like they were fun), the claws! At first I tried to make the talons out of pine wood coated in resin. But I had issues with the resin, and the claws did not come out how I wanted them to. So I started again using only pine wood, and whittled the wood into the exact shape needed. Each claw was meticulously sanded, then primed, painted, and finished with a glossy top-coat. They were then mounted to a rigid stack of pellum, upholstery fabric, and a heavy cotton with both glue and a metal rivet. That rigid stack of fabric was then mounted to “gloves,” that I made removable with velcro straps. The claws are extremely durable, stable, and I can still use my hands while they’re on. Though, if I needed to, they were very quick to take on and off.
I had made talons for my feet out of flexible craft foam and electrical tape, and secured them to my boots with electrical tape as well, however they were too hard to walk in, and I took them off within ten minutes of arriving at the con. Believe me, it’s not that the talons were not stable; they were plenty durable and flexible to withstand my walking, however they increased the length of my feet so much that I was tripping over myself, stairs, escalators, and other people. So I decided I could live without them. The boots were not made by me, and were purchased eight or nine years ago. My feet have not grown since then. 🙂
This costume was not as chilly as it looks. In fact, PVC is wicked hot. Because it’s a plastic, it does not breath at all. I was fine at night and in the air-conditioning, but I could not go out in the heat for more than a few minutes, lest I sweat the eyeshadow right off my face! Ew. I only survived the weekend because I had so much skin exposed. Keep that in mind before you go and make yourself a full PVC bodysuit. If you’re going to be fully covered, lycra or spandex is the way to go.
Other than the fact that I was sometimes a little hot, this costume was pretty comfortable to wear. The fabric is very stretchy and provides a great range of motion. There were no bulky parts to prevent sitting comfortably either. Wigs and heels always come with a little discomfort, but nothing that I wasn’t very used to already. I did however, miss having pockets. This costume was just too form fitting to hide pockets in. I used my boots to hold money and my ID, but all the big stuff like a phone, camera, and water needed to go in a bag.
Briefly a note on my makeup: I loved wearing this look and it was so easy to translate her makeup in the video game into real life. X-23 has green eyes and a dark personality, so I thought a smokey eye would be perfect. I lined my bottom lashes with green eyeliner to make my eyes stand out a little more, and black liner on top to define my eyes. I used a brown eyeshadow in my crease to make my eyes look more round and deep-set, and then smudged a black eye-shadow across my entire top lid and along the bottom eye-liner working from the lash-line, out. I highlighted with white eye-shadow in the tear duct and under my eyebrows. My eyebrows are naturally brown, so it was easy to get them to black with a sharp, hard, eyeliner pencil and a soft hand. I just drew in black lines behind my own eyelash hairs to darken my brow without making them look thicker. X-23 is too badass for lipstick and blush, so I skipped these steps and finished with foundation and chap-stick.
Overall, this costume was a ton of fun to wear and very well received. I debuted the outfit with my cosplay group Metacosplay, who were also in X-men costumes. Together (and separately) we got a lot of positive feedback from other con-goers. I really appreciated people going out of their way to tell me how nice I looked. I can’t wait to wear this costume again! Maybe for NYComicon?? 😀
I love Laura!!!!
hey, could you share with me the link or the add or the store that you bought your wig plz? my girlfriend wants to make X-23 Cosplay as well and we’re having a bad time to find good wigs >.<
thanks, my e-mail is on the comment, thanks
besides
great cosplay *-* it fits you and I really like x-23 *-*
I bought the wig from an independent seller on ebay. They currently do not have any items for sale, nor do they have a shop. Sorry!
Be sure to check out my tutorials section for advice on working with stretch materials like PVC and Lycra!
So…. I absolutely love you for this… ❤
I need to know how to make and or buy the claws…
I love how you look on X-23 cosplay, it totally fits on you <3! If is not a bother, can you tell me or make a tutorial of how did you hide the claws on the gloves? I want to make X-23 cosplay as well, but i dont to have to be carrying the claws between my finger all the convention xD (Sorry for the bad english)
The claws are riveted to the gloves. The gloves have a sturdy felt interfacing on the top of the hand which supports the claws. Then I stretched black PVC, the same material as the rest of the gloves, over the base of the claw to hide the transition.
You are great !!! I adore !!! (big X-23’s fan) All your creations are a pleasure for the eyes. Congratulations !
Your X-23 cosplay is AMAZING!! Great job!!
Thanks!
I like your costume I want to find out more cheaper way to make it because there a comic con in up state ny