Construction Details:

Completed November 2012 This costume was fairly easy, aside from working with fabrics I'm not very well-accustomed to! I made a mock-up of the dress to get it fitted towards the top and flared a bit more towards the bottom. I didn't want too much flare though because I wanted to give the illusion that I'm taller than I actually am - let's face it, Maetel looks pretty tall and I'm just 4'11", so I had to be really careful with fit and proportions for this costume! I used velvet (the Premiere quality at JoAnn) for the main dress. The dress and mantle are both fully lined in a gorgeous satin lining. Since the fabricated figures of Maetel show her hat being made of a shorter pile of fur than the trim on her garment, I went with two different fur fabrics for the hat and trims. The hat was flat-lined with a stiffer fabric except for the top piece of the hat - this way it kept its shape without looking TOO stiff. It took a while for me to find a fur I was happy with for the trim! I finally settled on a nice long pile fur that is very soft and doesn't have too much of a synthetic feel, which I can't stand. All of the trim was hand-made from this fur and applied to the dress and mantle by hand, which took forever to make sure it was nice and even and the velvet was kinda slippery to work with. The boots are a stretchy velvet, which is a personal touch I rather like because it matches the dress material. The fluffy balls on the mantle are made of rabbit fur, and I used cording from an old con badge (ah, ingenuity) to attach them to the mantle. I was happy with the pair of lashes I found, they work so perfectly for Maetel and add a lot to the overall look of this costume and portraying her character.

Personal Thoughts:

What can I say, I love classic anime. The Galaxy Express 999 TV series is just amazing. It so beautifully portrays the human condition, mortality, and what makes life so precious. Maetel is one of the most mysterious and intriguing characters I've come across - I adore her, and hope to do her justice. This costume is also very comfy and perfect for colder weather - the fabrics make me feel so regal, too! Though the weight of the fabrics is rather heavy, especially when adding in all the fur used.

Styling Notes

Wig is from Epic Cosplay. I added in extra wefts that clip onto my hair under the wig for the swoopy strands on the sides, and the bangs were trimmed short and separated. The wig quality is amazing considering it goes past the knees - it doesn't tangle too much and only needs to get brushed out now and again while worn. I am thinking of adding in more wefts though, to get it to be a bit thicker. When sprayed with Motions Oil Sheen, it does become a lot more manageable, too.

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