As a general rule, I only cosplay what I love. It makes it easier to do the work, and the love shows through in the cosplay. This was an easy one because Terry Dresbach’s costume design on Outlander is 100% over-the-top perfection. Her costumes are as much a part of the story as any plot-point.
The Paris Dress - the brown floral fabric that Terry Dresbach found at Britex in San Francisco for this dress was vintage, and no longer available. So to make this dress, I started with a foundation of warm brown kona cotton, and then collected floral curtains, appliques, sheets and material to create the floral repeat. Each piece was fused to adhesive backing, cut out, and assembled into the same repeat 8 times across nearly 25 feet of fabric for the skirt. it was then pleated down with inverted box pleats inside of box pleats. In the show, the jacket was pieced together from the remaining fabric and has pregnancy lacings on either side, so when I drafted my pattern I took that into account. The underskirt is curry colored kona cotton to create a consistent appearance with the overskirt. The pocket hoops and large (10’ circumference) oval grand pannier were made using pvc and some of the floral fabric left over from the construction of the fabric. The hat was made from a straw placemat, shaped with heat and steam and then decorated. I made hat pins and dyed the gloves with turmeric to match the curry colored underskirt. I also made a shopping basket, lined with the same floral material as my hoops - to carry my stuff at the con. I have over 100 hours in the construction of the dress alone.
Outlander fans were totally in love with the costumes. I have had people chase me down for photos several times in each dress. Many people thought I was Mary Poppins in the Paris dress - I guess it’s the flowers? To be honest, I didn’t know how much recognition to expect - these are kind of niche costumes - kind of “costume-lover costumes” because they aren’t flashy, but technically very complex and interesting. Not the kind of rush for pictures as I get when I’m in armor, but as I said, I only do costumes I love, and I do them for me. When other people love them too, that’s icing on the cake.
Costuming is a wonderful outlet for my creative, maker spirit. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with innovative low-cost solutions to big-budget costume problems. And I love to recycle old things into new cosplays! Armor builds are really my first love in costuming - I have built many large complex armor suits. I have also met many amazing, creative, lovely people in the costuming community. I have found the cosplay community populated with solidly decent human beings with a love of making - it’s my kind of community.
I strongly encourage people who are thinking about costuming to get started and make something! I do a lot of outreach, mentoring and volunteering in my local maker community, especially with younger people, getting them fired up about making things with their hands. Everyone has a fandom that they are passionate about - and to me, one of the best ways you can express that passion is through costuming. And “making” offers a lot of great life-skills, on top of getting a cool costume out of the process. There are many great resources out there to help you get started making - and I offer my assistance to new cosplayers at every panel I do. So, if you are thinking about costuming, jump in! It’s awesome!
—- Foxy Roxy’s Cosplay Forge
Photo : In the Long Run Designs
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