Cosplay Made Easy: Black Lady

Alright~

So apparently, a lot of hits to my blog were from the last 'Cosplay Made Easy' guide for Vanellope von Schweetz. Since it was so popular and I wanted to do another, here goes:

This one is going to be from a more legendary/antique character in the anime/manga world: Black Lady, from Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon series. If you haven't heard of it, then chances are you don't fancy anime/manga. In which case, this probably won't suit your interests.

I've always wanted to cosplay Black Lady. Why? Because even though she is a antagonist and I hated her for trying to steal Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, she looks awesome. I mean, Mistress Nine was just as sexy in terms of character design, but Black Lady was just very appealing to me. I can't quite put my finger on it either. I mean, I really didn't like her character when she tried stealing Damien and getting in the way of Usagi and Mamoru's blossoming relationship.

Anyways, this cosplay guide might be a little more expensive than usual(not to mention it might take a few crafting and sewing to get it done halfway decently), but let's just try to make the best with what we've got, m'kay?

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that these are supposed to be for a low-budget cosplayer, and the costumes may not be 100% accurate. Just remember: I've never tried cosplaying, so don't hang on to my every word. If you do decide to follow my guide, please tell me how it goes! Sends me pictures if you want so I can post them on my blog! :)

Cosplay Guide: Black Lady (Sailor Moon)

As I mentioned before, Black Lady is a antagonist from the shoujo anime/manga series, Sailor Moon. She is the daughter of the main protagonist, Usagi Tsukino (Serena in the English dub), and comes from the future to ask for help in saving her future world . She also later goes to the past in order to help her teenage parents fight crime and maintain justice.

Art by Rin54321 on DeviantArt

In any case, when Chibiusa (aka Rini) is first introduced, she goes through a strange mental crisis where she is very protective and affectionate for her father, and very mean towards her mother. This obvious invokes the jealousy of Usagi, who is barely a adult and is in no way ready to take care of her daughter from the future with Mamoru (aka Damien). Because of Chibiusa's naivety she is easily coerced by the evil forces, the Dark Kingdom, and is brainwashed into being one of them. She uses these powers to fight Sailor Moon and her friends, and to also kidnap her father so that he will be hers and hers alone.

Her character design is very elegant and refined.
As you can see by her image on the right, she wears a long black dress with slits on the sides, with a sheer turtleneck underneath. There is a jeweled black choker and wristbands attached to this turtleneck, and she has a long pink shawl. This, of course, covers just her costume and not the makeup and wig/hair products required.

As usual, I did some digging around and found some neat things we could do/use to cosplay her. If you've any other suggestions or great finds, please don't hesitate to share!

80 Slinky Black Dress (Price: 30$)

The main black dress is the most important part if you want your costume to look good. Why? Well, aside from it being the MAIN part of the costume, it has to be long and form-fitting. Black Lady has a thin waist, and her dress accentuates that (black makes you thinner, remember?), so you want a dress that is tight, but still comfy.

I've found many black dress with slits, but some are either too short, or don't have the design I need. If you look closely, Black Lady's dress is surprisingly simple. It doesn't have frills or ruffles, nor does it have sequins or flowers. In fact, you can buy a long, tight black dress and cut slits for yourself. Easy as pie.

The only tricky thing about portraying her accurately is the fact that your black dress has to be in a v-neck shape, and the cut has to be somewhat frilly. Of course, beggars can't be choosers so if it comes down to it, as long as you portray the general idea of Black lady (a long, slinky black dress and a mesh turtleneck top), I think you'll be fine. But I'm a stickler for details so chances are, I'll keep looking.

Black Semi Sheer Long Sleeve Turtleneck Top (Price: 15$)
When I first started looking into options for this costume, I kept trying to find a black dress WITH the mesh top already sewn into the costume, thinking it'll be an easier option. However, while it MAY be cheaper to but a black dress with mesh fabric already on there, it is insanely difficult to find these things. In fact, I don't even know if it exists outside of cosplay stores.

Fortunately, I found what I was looking for on good 'ol eBay. The turtleneck looks scrunched, but that's nothing a pair of fabric scissors can't take care of. All you need is to put the slinky black dress over top of this top, and it'll look halfway there. The only thing you'll be missing are the accessories.

Earrings and Forehead stud (Price: 28$)
These are the beautiful earrings that all the members of the Black Moon clan wear. After Chibiusa becomes a part of their clan, she wears similar ones, and also has the moon on her forehead inverted upside down and turned black, like the rest of the other members.

Of course, the earrings are too essential, and you can really wear any black, dangly earrings you have. But these look more authentic. The moon on your forehead could also be easily painted instead of gluing on a black gem. Much less work, I'd imagine, but pictures often reveal interesting detail that you might overlook, so it'll be up to you. 


Shoes (Price: 10$)
In the anime, she has red heels, but I prefer black ones. You can really find any kind of heel to go with this costume. If you're looking for cheap ones, here are some 10$ heels. They give you some nice height, if I may say so myself.

Pink Shawl (4$) 
Again, any shawl should do just fine, even if it's just a long pink strip of fabric left over from whatever.

This guide is flawed! This is my idea of how to make the wristbands and choker.
Now, I realize that when you buy all these items (or items similar to it), you will be missing a very core piece of your black Lady cosplay - the wristbands and the choker. My solution for this would simply be for you to buy black fabric (you don't need much, jsut enough to make the wristbands and neck piece, and then get some crystal bling to glue or sew on the black fabric. Then, sew the wristbands and neck/choker you've completed onto the black mesh top you'll be wearing. Use either velcro or zippers if you want.

This is obviously just one solution, and I have no idea what your wallet size is, but it shouldn't cost more than an 20$ for this craft project. Once you're done, everything should be in order (mostly). 

EST. TOTAL COST: 85-90$ (without wig and accessories)
I make no guarantee that this is exactly how much you will be spending. It is a estimate of the costs from the products above, give or take. If the products above are sold out or out of date, I apologize but I can do nothing about it as they are not associated with me in any way. 

Actual Cosplay Dress: 82$ (without accessories)
In reality, it might be less work if you bought the dress itself from online, as it comes with the mesh to, dress, choker, and wristbands in one package. But it doesn't come with shoes, earrings, or the moon sticker on your head. You'd still have to go out of your way to buy those. But with this official cosplay costume bought, you'll be spending around 125$, and you'll probably need a wig as well.

Perhaps you don't even need to wear a mesh top!

Also, I rather enjoy looking at fanart and the like when I browse the internet. I found quite a few good works I can cosplay off of. After all, Yaya Han did a art nouveau Chun-Li based off a art piece she found on DeviantArt, so why can't you do the same? :)

Here are a few more ideas that might help. They aren't the original costume for Black Lady per say, but they give some nice twists to the character design without actually ruining her aesthetic.

I really like the choker and shoes she has on in this one.

So there's my cosplay guide post!
As usual, suggestions are welcome, and I look forward to seeing requests!

Hope you enjoyed reading, comment and suggestions are welcome, as always!
-ADL