I made a worgen cosplay a few years ago when I was in the middle east and wanted to go to the local comic con in Bahrain. I was excited but I didn’t have access to my sewing machine and I didn’t want to buy too much for it because I was coming back to the States soon after.
I had a few things ordered from Amazon and went about putting together something that actually turned out pretty cool. I started with a net petticoat and a basic costume chemise. Then a pirate coat that I took the sleeves off of. I borrowed a top hat from a friend of mine, put some extensions in my hair and finally drew on my own face paint. I also put in fangs and attached the Alliance flag onto a broomstick handle.
Everyone at the convention loved it. It was a huge success and I felt like this one cosplay really helped me remember what I really loved to do. Even in the middle of the desert, I was making a cosplay and wearing it around.
The Updating Process
I wanted to keep something of the original cosplay. I pulled out what I had left, which wasn’t much. Just the chemise and the petticoat. I can work with this. I then looked through my patterns and put together what I thought would fit the aesthetic. As well as looked through my fabric stash. I had a lot of really interesting fabrics from the bazaar in Bahrain.
I started with the Victorian Corselet from Truly Victorian. It was an easy process with only 4 pieces. I had a black woven material with bamboo and cherry blossoms on it. This fit perfectly, I fully lined the corselet, punched in the grommets and laced it up. It turned out great!
Here’s a picture of the full corselet before adding the lining and the plastic boning. Always iron your work! It really helped with this form fitting piece.
Next was the overskirt. I had made this pattern a while back for my steampunk ballroom outfit and decided this would be a great choice. I used a silky purple/magenta fabric with dragons and phoenix on it for this part.
Since it was such a lightweight fabric, I fully lined it. Then used the left over fabric from the corselet to make the back sash on the over skirt. This really helped to pull the outfit together.
Here is the back of the two pieces. I feel like they come together very well. I also put together a cloak. Pictures of that to come and eventually pictures of the Ren Fair.
Future Upgrades
I plan on making a foam armor shoulder piece, a pauldron. Along with a weapon of some kind. I play as a Worgen Hunter but I don’t really want to do the whole bow and arrow. So I might go with a cross bow. And finally change up the chemise and petticoat to something a little more…player character like and less npc like. Here’s a picture of the patterns that I have for this cosplay. When I have more time I’ll add the buckles and top hat.
Cosplays are always going to be a work in progress. Even if you strive to recreate an exact replica from the source material, there’s always going to be a way to make it better. That’s what I enjoy about the art of creating such works, that it isn’t a static piece like a painting.
In the end this Worgen Cosplay will be my first cosplay that I have redone from a previous work. Hopefully not the last because I feel like if you like a character and you enjoyed wearing it the first time, it would be great to change it up and experience that all over again in a new way.
So what cosplays are you updating or redoing? How has the process gone for you? Feel like it turned out better the second time around?
Bella Phoenix 