Why I chose this costume:
Jelfish and I loved the costumes in the game Bravely Default and decided to really push ourselves and tackle the Spell Fencer looks of the main characters, Agnès Oblige and Edea Lee. This look is very dainty and full of jewelry, though in-game it uses Sword Magic which can imbue the weapons of the characters for ten turns with elemental damage or magic effects. We love magic!
How I made this costume:
I bought a bra on sale from a Victoria’s Secret outlet store and then ordered a matching bikini bottom online. The rest is all handmade! I bought 6 yards of royal blue silk fabric and cut a circle skirt for the bottom skirt, then cut a small triangle for the face covering. I also used mitered corners for the gold trim around the circle skirt and I love how that came together! I used an additional 3 yards of light blue silk for the wrap that she wears as well.
This was the first cosplay that I used my brand new serger for. I had been terrified to thread it or even use it but I knew it could help me serge the ends of the silk fabric and prevent fraying. I watched a few YouTube tutorials and looked up websites to help me better understand which settings I needed to work with silk and suddenly I was serging all the things! You can see this clearly on my face covering if you want to check out the finished look.
The jewelry was all thrifted and bought at outlets on sale. I took everything apart and remade the pieces to better match the Spell Fencer designs, which was a lot of fun! I love playing with small details and making things that have my own flair added while doing my best to convey the original character design. I think I pinned something like seven or eight iterations of jewelry across the bra before I liked a look well enough to sew it in place permanently. The necklace has added embellishments as well. The arm bands and bracelets completed the look.
The shoes were also a bit jingly with jewelry and that was fun to walk around with. The wig was only mildly styled but I love the length and how it looks in the photos.
Thoughts on this costume:
Fun Fact: The skirt does not open at the waist and I had to put it on over my head, which was a wild and very silly thing to witness. Overall, I loved how these came out. The weather was perfect to wear them in the summer heat of Los Angeles, California, too. Jelfish and I had a great time posing together and nodding to anyone who recognized us.
