Photoshoots: YinPhoto
Completed: August 2024
Debuted: San Japan 2024
Awards: Best Masters Craftsmanship (San Japan 2024)
Why This Costume
Sometimes you encounter a piece of media and immediately go, “That one,” and that was absolutely the case for me with Nyx. If my logo didn’t give it away, purple is my favorite color, and I absolutely adore both her cool demeanor and ethereal design elements.
How I Made It
Most of the fabric bits for this costume were constructed by draping directly on my dress form or flat patterning. The base dress is a heavily modified version of Seamwork’s bias-cut slip dress, Grace. The front panel and shoulder drapes were draped directly on top of the base dress. I pulled inspiration from this design from Madame Eta Hentz’s Evening dress and made outfit as two primary pieces – a base dress from poly taffeta and a pleated chiffon skirt. The cape is also made from poly taffeta and lined with black peau de soie. The gold trim is handmade bias tape made from silk dupioni. The arm bands and wrist cuffs are also made from bias cut silk dupioni and attach to the base body stocking with clear snaps.
The chest and shoulder pieces are 3d printed using files from The Dangerous Ladies. After my usual sanding and finishing, I spray painted them gold and dry brushed them with oil paints. The gems were detailed with nail polish. The epaulettes are mounted to a shoulder peg that’s attached to a harness that runs under my dress.
The wig was an absolute beast. I leaned heavily on MalindaChan’s Nyx tutorial for this one, so I won’t rehash too many details beyond what I did differently. For my base wigs, I dyed a base light blonde lace front wig black and then hand sewed wefts from an Arda Delilah for length. I wanted the batwing to lean into the galaxy vibes of the character art. The structure is made up of a translucent foam with fairy lights glued in, wire, and Worbla for additional support. Black felt is adhered on top of the Worbla to create a base to glue the wefts on. For the underside, I hand painted the galaxy design with acrylics and added rhinestones. Wefts were also glued around the edges to blend out the edges.
I used CCBeauty’s Bodypaint for my face and chest (though I’ll probably get a higher necked bodystocking for future wears). It held up super well, especially considering I wore this in San Antonio during late summer.
Thoughts on This Build
I’m very happy with how the first iteration of this build turned out, though I still have lots of details and tweaks I’d like to make for future wears, including lots of detail work, a more flexible collar, and a con-floor friendly wig.
The Geeky Seamstress 