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

Cosplay Made Easy: Vanellope von Schweetz

Hey there, guys!

I've always been a huge fan of cosplay but have never really gathered up the guts to do costumes myself. This is partially due to the fact that I don't have the required money to buy materials, and I'm not confident in my sewing skills yet. I don't like spending hundreds of dollars on a costume that looks crappy however, and I think the best costumes are always made by hand. I have many cosplayers that I like, and many of them I follow almost ritually. It is a wonderful thing to see people enjoying themselves and having a great time.

I often find myself shopping online and finding something really sweet that I think might be a good asset to a costume for a certain character (nerdy, I know). But the thing is, if you get the correct items and alter them a little, you might be able to pull of a great cosplay look that you would have spent hundreds of dollars to achieve! This is why I'm sharing all the things I find online. Hopefully, some of these will be worth it.

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! :)

Today's cosplay outfit will be simple: Vanellope von Schweetx from Wreck-It Ralph!

Vanellope is from the recent animated movie, Wreck-It Ralph, a movie filled with video game references and cyber culture. It is a awesome movie, so if you get a chance please go watch it! I watched it when it first came out in theatres and loved it. You definitely need to watch it more than a few times to get all the references, which is a quality I think about movies.

Anyways, the movie is about arcade game characters. The main character is Ralph, the 'bad guy' in his own game 'Wreck-It Ralph'. The citizens of his video game never invite him to any parties or gatherings because he's the 'bad guy'. In actuality, he's not a bad guy. But everyone reveres fix-it Felix as the 'good guy' and refuses to let Ralph prove that he also deserves to be in on the fun.

So Ralph decides to go on a journey in order to get a medal and prove his worth of 'heroic ability' to the citizens in his game. However, he needs to go to another game in the arcade to do it, so he goes on a journey to do so. Along the way, he meets a young girl called Vanellope, who is from a candy-themed racing game. She wants to win the races in her game so that she can be on the official roster of playable characters in the game, and so that people will stop calling her 'the glitch', due to the weird bugs she experiences when racing.

Along with Felix and a hulky female soldier (whose name I forgot), Ralph and Vanellope ultimately help each other out and save the arcade world from disaster. It's a typical children's movie, of course.

Anyways, from what you can see here, she's fairly simple in terms of design. You won't need Victorian bustle skirts or a feathered mask. She looks somewhat normal here. All you need are striped stockings, a minty green hoodie, a black skirt, and some candy ornaments in your hair. Simple, right?

I did my research and maybe someday I'll actually follow through and cosplay her. But so far, here are the best things I could dig up for a costume like this:

1. Solid Pullover Fleece Jacket (Price: 20.99$)

A minty shade of green for her hoodie, supposed to look like mint I guess. Pullover hoodies are hard to find when zip-ups are so popular. Anyways, this is just one of the many colors you can find on the internet, and many of them are of the same price range as this one.


To make the red string from her hoodie, I suggest you try dyeing the drawstrings, or just replace them altogether with a red ribbon, red shoelaces, etc. I've never tried replacing a hoodie's drawstring before so this is still kind of hypothetical.

In addition, get some thick, wool thread and a needle, then loop the thread around the area where the pocket starts three times to get the right pattern from the picture above. Simple, right? Try it out here!

2. Green and White Striped Tights (Price: 4.99$)
These tights are simplistic and not much else needs to explained for them. Just remember that even if your tights are not necessarily the 'mint' shade of green, the white in the tights makes that color seem lighter anyway.

Since one of Vanellope's tights have purple stripes, I recommend you get a purple sharpie or fabric marker, lay out the tights on a even surface, and draw straight purple lines across every white strip on ONE leg of the tights. It might take a while, and you might need a ruler, but it'll look better than nothing! Get the tights here!

3. Black Pleated Miniskirt (Price: 12.66$)
Vanellope wears a black miniskirt that looks pretty plain in terms of design. Any black, pleated miniskirt would do fine, really. And these can be found almost anywhere.

The is one can be found on Amazon. Remember: what you pay for is what you get, so if there's a skirt you like better than this one, make sure to think about what is more important to you, saving money or the quality of your costume. In all likelihood, this skirt I listed could feel rough and cheap. The point is, make sure you know what is more important.

4. Women's Boots (Price: 10.99$)
Vanellope has these shiny pair of boots that can be replicated by buying any type of boots that are at ankle length. If you don't want them to be shiny, then get fleece boots or whatever. The point is, she wears a pair of ankle-length black boots. The bottom seem to have red springs or something, so if you want you can add some red paint on the bottom. Regardless, the boots are pretty plain and normal, just like the skirt.

These pair of boots can be found on Amazon as well. Remember to put your correct shoe size!


5. Twizzler Hair-tie (Price: 8.83$ -9.99$) 
The Twizzler hair tie might just be the hardest to obtain in this costume. Which really isn't saying too much. There are many ways I've seen this done. Some people go as far as to buy clay to mold into the twizzler shape, while others will use actual twizzlers (ew, imagine that in your hair). For me, using simple cords would be preferably. The hair tie doesn't even have to be functional. All you would need is some red rope to tie together into a knot at the top of your hair.

I would prefer for the cord to be kind of sleek and shiny though, just to give off that twizzler appeal. I've found cord online in bulk, and I don't think it's not sold any other way. There's a satin necklace that looks perfect for the item on here too, but I'll let you decide which you prefer! :)

5. Candy Hair Pins (Price: 4.00$-6.00$ a pair; may vary)
 Lastly, Vanellope has a few pieces of candy in her hair. If you were a real stickler for the real look, then you shouldn't really be following this, as you know by now that this cosplay guide isn't really 100% accurate. I normally prefer very accurate costumes, down to the cosplayer's facial expressions, but since Vanellope looks really plain and simple, almost like a normal girl, I can shy away from details on this occassion.

For the candy pieces, I recommend you look all over the internet for anything that resembles candy and looks cute. I found several good course on Etsy, like some pink bowtie candy pins, candy and cupcake hair pins, and other 'kawaii' pins. Again, this isn't accurate to the photo of her at all, but it's the general idea that counts. If you're interested in getting more accurate pins, you'll have to make your own, or go do some advanced searching.

EST. TOTAL COST: 75$ (without wig)
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.

So here's my first cosplay guide post! There will definitely be more to come!
Suggestions are welcome, and I look forward to seeing requests!
I'm thinking of doing a Black Lady cosplay guide from Sailormoon next!

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