Completed: June 2023
Hours Spent: 15-ish??? IDK, I made it in about a week before Fan Expo
Debuted: Fan Expo Dallas 2023
Why This Costume:
Much like my Lounge Byleth costume, this was born from a desire to have a “cosplay” (is it cosplay or is it nerdy fashion? IDK) for days that I’m working or want to dress up but keep it comfortable.
Purchased Pieces:
- Shoes: Amazon (painted with Angelus leather paints)
- Wig: Arda Gwendolyn
Patterns Used:
Super Helpful Tutorials:
How I Made it:
The top half of this dress is a Franken-pattern monster that bashes together Yaya Han’s ultimate bodysuit pattern with lots of blended out seams and color blocking for Gwen and the hood portion of the Seamster Avacado Hoodie (though most hoods would work just fine. That’s just one of my favorites). I cut the pattern off at the waist to add the skirt and just below the elbows for a 3/4 length look. I used neoprene from my scrap bin, so I opted for a shorter length sleeve to keep myself from overheating. The sleeve is one piece, so I also cut that apart to play with color blocking on the upper and lower sleeves.
The skirt is a half circle skirt that I cut into a hi-low hem. I went a teeny bit too short with this hem for my liking, so it’s definitely one that I prefer to wear with tights or leggings. I also realized I cut the bodice a teeny bit too short, so I added a waistband to lengthen everything out a bit.
Initially, I played with drafting a slash pocket so that more of the spiderweb print (from Spoonflower) would be visible, but the jersey was a little too lightweight for this to sit effectively. Thankfully, inseam pockets are still cool.
What tips this look into “cosplay” for me are the shoes and wig. I repainted my Venus shoes Gwen’s signature turquoise with Angelus leather paints. A while back, Arda had me model their Gwen wig for their website. For this look, I did some light restyling by loosening up the curls and dip-dyeing the tips of the wig pink with RIT Dyemore.
Thoughts on this costume:
Honestly? I’m here for this. It was so comfortable and I loved how much fun it was with the wig. It’s just nerdy enough for people to notice, but not so costume-y that I feel uncomfortable wearing it out for regular human stuff, like watching Across the Spiderverse. Guess I need to revisit my love of nerdy fashion more often!
The Geeky Seamstress 