Your Fantasy Costume

Faerieworlds is an event taking place in Eugene (Oregon, USA) every year that gather lovers of fairy culture. Promoted by Woodland and Imaginosis and hosted by Brian and Wendy Froud, is one of the largest events of this kind in the world, and certainly one of the most magical because of the enchanted environment it takes place.

I’ll be this year there (already packing to go ;-)) as guest and performer (as I’m myself an illustrator and singer songwriter) and will be performing on the main stage in the good and bad fairy day along with bands like Woodland, Qntal, Trillian Green and many others…!!

Do not hesitate…

if you read often this blog you will see it’s about fantasy costumes… there’s no better place to do it!!!

Live the  legend!! And of course, show off your fantasy costumes!!!

“Every time a fairy is born in a tree it becomes a dryad”

Dryads and forest nymphs are one of my favourite topics overall… and they’re often portrays as part tree with leaves and branches. This is a drawing I made myslef of one dryad… of course anything with leaves, green wigs, leave pendants and other extras will help, and we’ll cover that in precision very soon… but today I wanted to share specifically these lovely wings I found and that would fit so well your forest nymph design.

Art of wings have designed a wide range of wings, of all kinds from feather to fairy but I would highlight for their uniqueness precisely some beautiful wings made of faux branches that will fit perfectly this dryad mood. You can find them with or without flowers, and also with ice white crystal that will do perfectly for a snow queen or winter mood. Meghan, the crafter, has really made them affordable and quite stunning… These are some examples. I’d love to have the white ice and the simple mossy green one.

The Princess Leia’s slave bikini has been indeed very popular in fairs and conventions… It’s very sexy (for those fortunate girls that can wear it (not me right now ;-)). I remember when I first watched the “Return of the Jedi” movie in which actress Carrie Fisher was wearing this infamous and rather scarce of fabric costume, that she looked absolutely great, and it’s in fact I wish I had that body (sigh!). Still if you need to refresh your memory… here you can find the old star wards trilogy and The return of the Jedi movies

You can read a tutorial to make your own in this website “make your own princess leia slave bikini” and also read a lot of the background story of this garment in the star wars wikio page

There’s even a website to this specific Leia’s garment called Leia’s metal bikini. There you´ll find tutorials and also you can find a costume (aprox 350 $), a must see resource for lovers of this garment.

If you want the most accurate replica, Metalbikini2002 ebay store can make you one, then It takes 2-4 weeks to get one of these but it’s indeed amazing, it’s only for the hard parts casted in resin, then you’d have to manage to add the fabric parts, but still the detail of the replica worth in this option. It includes also the boots parts :). Click on the picture. You can also  customize the color and some other options. It costs around 400$

Another high quality option for your Princess Leia costume below:

Polishing details you can add this handmade collar with chain included… to accent the “slave mood” in a precise way.

And even some hair extensions with a long braid that you can match with your own hair color if you’re not wearing such long hair.

And you could be freak enough to wear your dog as Leia? hmm maybe YOU are ;-). I personally found this so extremely cute and I cannot resist to post it here… awwww! You can find it in fact in several sizes :)… though poor creature….!

And to finish this article I wanted to remind you about an earlier article about the crafter “Organic Armour”, that offers similar yet very different models of bikinis of this kind, not exactly the Leia’s one but in a very similar mood.

Jim Henson’s Into the Labyrinth is one of my favourite movies. When I was a little girl of course like many other women in my generation I was deeply in love with Jareth the mighty Goblin King (sigh!!) Yes, Jareth was one of the best and coolest characters ever… and we, the girls wanted every prince of our dreams has his bitter spice, or be Sarah… to end the movie quite differently (evil green). Isn’t he sexy?

So to start with…

Do yourself a favour and rent or buy Labyrinth dvd… it’s pure magic…! That way you’ll see the different garments The Goblin King uses, as he changes quite often… still we’ll cover in this post a few basic elements of his character…! And if it’s a guy reading this… be aware that we girls raised in the eighties think that Jareth is the hottest thing on earth… so take note!

There are several versions of Jareth’s pendant out there for collectors, the cheapest and easier to find option is the one below, a not so high quality replica, but will do for your costume and for collectors as the official “toy replica” of the Goblin King pendant…

If you want a version of the pendant made by a crafter of if you are a labyrinth lover, you’ll be amazed by this site, EYEFEATHER, this crafter not only list several models of the pendant but also the most gorgeous labyrinth masks (including the one that Jareth wears as well as other characters from the movie) with incredible accuracy and detail! Just check yourselves in awe! These are the best Laby props I’ve ever seen! Judge yourselves!

Bronwyn, which is the name of this talented crafter, has also some other “goblin mood masks” like the ones the people wear in the labyrinth ball, and also other characters from the movie…! she has even the cute worm in real scale that you can wear on your shoulder!!!! I want them all…..!!!!

Jareth hairstyle is pivotal to make the character recognizable, for the wig, making a search for “punk wigs” or “Tina Turner” wig will do like one below, using some temp dyes to add some blue highlights will do the rest.

At this point, you’re getting within the character… and of course, what would impress everyone? Jareth was always messing with some crystal balls, they were symbols of his magic powers… so adding some contact juggling balls and a few lessons (there are dvds to teach you the basics and inexpensive acrylic balls) will provide depth to your representation… besides.. It’s so cool!!

The Dark Angel Shop (previously featured in its own article) features a “Jareth vest” a double breasted waistcoast and some shirts and cravats in Jareth mood to choose from
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In time for a final touch…. ? You should know that Jareth has mismatched eyes, one green-hazel brown and the other one blue…! We previously covered some fx contact lenses so all you have to do is to purchase a single blue and green and get that magical odd look of his! One recommended site is this one: FANTASY CITY CONTACT LENSES, and check the “Venus collection”

Then your pair of black leather gloves and ready to go! I recommend this site to get some high quality ones “Revival clothing”

There is simply so much about Labyrinth, Jareth, Sarah and its creatures that one single post is not enough, not even for a first approach… but well we´ll follow soon with more about this movie…!

Of course one of the best options to go and show your labyrinth-inspired garments is the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball that takes place every year in LOS ANGELES!

Paul Hersey’s Organic Armor is a company that makes props that looks like ancient metal, bone and leather but are not, lightweight, comfortable, and he has an amazing catalog including one of a kind peaces. It all has a pagan, ritual, warrior look.

You’ll find chokers, head pieces, arm bands, bracers, horns, helmets, goddess crowns even sexy bustiers set in viking or tribal  Xena, even  for Slave Leia’s costumes mood. You can even find pieces to customize your pet.

Paul as an artist has been developing them for long time and he makes stunning unique peaces.

Some examples:

Isis is a Goddess of Ancient Egyptian mythology  and  often is  represented with this wings… thus the name of “isis wings” commonly used in bellydance. But even if you’re not a dancer, this element will make your costume astounding!! A fairy, a goddess… its movement and ethereality is amazing.

In one of my performance I shared the stage with my friends the Karinae Tribal troupe and as I use an opaque black isis wings they went on with organza black ones… of course they were amazing with them….! and I fell in love with these wings. In this picture you can see me performing with the Karinae wearing the isis wings.

Souldancewings isis wings gallery (based in Canada), i’m in love with the dragonfly model, they have different colours in organza, a bit pricy but looks wonderful. This is my favourite, I’d love to see them flowing on stage.

Audrena Isis Wings, she has an amazing range, shimmery and large, they’re a bit pricy (around 150 $)  but  check the pictures at her site, they’re absolutely fabulous.

Here’s another shop with affordable prices and wings in lame and organza called Bellydance with K Boutique

In ebay there are some affordable and in rather lovely colors in the store world of Bellydance. Click in the picture to visit the store. They’re about 50 $ each plus shipping.

Ebay also lists the most classic models of isis wings. Usually made of shimmering gold or silver metallic fabric. I’m really more fond of organza and opalescent less striking models though a basic if you want to go for a “egytptian goddess” look

I might be getting eventually a pair for my show in green organza, and white and black are on my wish list too (sigh). They’re just so lovely! Though I guess the best thing would be to get the great advantage of this wonderful item and try to get them move as they’re intended to… I admit I’m no good dancer… but there are dvds and youtube is plenty of tutorials.  Below I give you the link to  a DVD with tutorials.

I finish this article with one of the many videos you’ll find in youtube to show them in movement. this one in particularly is badly recorded but i thought the performance was rather ghostly and inspiring.

Example video:

If you’re good at sewing there’s a tutorial here with  instructions and pattern… I’m sorry but it’s only in spanish, still you can see and follow the diagrams.

Here is a link where you can read an article about the fan through culture, including the feather fans. these accessories typical of the elizabethan era and so used in Masq

uerades. In one of our previous article about feathers you will find materials if you feel able to make one which is actually not very difficult if you pick a nice selection of ostrich and peacock feathers.

Also in “Saphire and sage” specialized in Renaissance Era reproduction Accessories. They have a wealth of models some even reversible, that will delight you and will add a final touch of nobility into your masquerade set. These ones are not only gorgeous , they’re also customizable so you can decide the colour of the beads, color of wood, type of feathers and many other details. I’d love to have one of these in plain black raven mood… (sigh!)

Sometimes if you have a look into ebay stores you can be lucky and find some lovely ones, but it’s better to approach to an specialized shop like the one before, they’re not so expensive and have really lovely models… still if the pocket is tight you can always try to look ebay stores for . There are always a couple Feather fans models available, among a lot of hideous fakes, though you have to be aware of looking from time to time for the listings.

I have quite a few garments from this lovely shop that I’ve used quite a lot in my performances. The Dark Angel is an international company that ships world wide exquisite fairytale clothing for women, men and children. It also keeps a regular “bargain or best offers” section which is reason alone to bookmark it. Beside the models listed they also have a couture line that you can ask about for special events like weddings or prom balls. They are actually increasing catalog and working on new models and I’m yearning for their new red “Avalon dress” and the red gothic fairy dress made also in ivory. But for men they keep also a wide range of lovely coats capes and shirts, to give that vampire, poet, or pirate look. As it names suggests The Dark Angel has a spice of Dark into it, and many of the models would switch perfectly that “Interview with a vampire” look.

Below I show some pics of the garments from them I already own and use for my own performances.

Of course they look much better on the model than in me, but still i was so happy to give them use on stage and some photoshoots, Dark angel are very comfortable, even their corsets will not really cinch your waist but put things in proper place and very wearable. My advice is to get even if they are made the actual size, always a size a little smaller than your actual one as they tend to be loose (most of then have though laces or straps to make them adjustable). I have the three gowns posted above, and a few corsets as well but be sure to check the rest of their shop. The white fantasia dress has a lot of fabric and feels heavy in a lovely way and you can see me in a you tube video performing with it here. The damselle dress is a rather simple medieval mood garment but fits like a glove, will make you feel slender, it has really a gracious shape. Below you can see a picture of myself in a photo shoot with the Purple gothic fairy dress that you can watch above.

Priscilla Hernandez with “Gothic Fairy Dress” by Dark Angel.
Photoart and wing design by Priscilla Hernandez

I’m adding some pics of me featuring Dark Angels items in my gallery so be sure to check it out.

In one of our previous featured videos you saw how to make your fairy wings with stockings, here is another alternative way of making them, maybe a little bit more fragile using wire and cellophane. Cellophane and vinyl gives those transparent effect that makes the wings look more like an insect than a butterfly. If you’re good at crafts there’s quite a wealth of tutorials that will teach you to make them. If not there are some affordable models around the net that will delight you as well.

In this Karenwhimsy website you’ll find some free templates you can use … though I recommend to design your own wings… after all it’s what they will make them special

If you’re good at crafts Faerie Muse show you a step-by-step guide about how to make them. Please click on the picture to see her website.

You can also download a pdf from this another artist performer website of how to make cellophane wings here (pdf)

This other site offers paid tutorials (rather cheap though) to make different kind of wings, looks like they’re focused on doll wings but the techniques would be useful in any case and they have tons of pictures too to inspire you

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If you want to go a step further and have not time to make your own but want an outstanding pair of wings made of cellophane and thus affordable, then you can visit my FAVOURITE website about fairy wings that in fact we´ll cover with its own article very soon: Enchanted Costumes that has also a cellophane wing section much more affordable than the ones made of fabric. Aren’t this amazing? And they have a reasonable price too. I’m afraid they might be delicate but they look absolutely gorgeous. I have a few custom-made wings from Tammy and they’re amazing, I shall cover them in other article, so far we’re focusing on the cellophane wing models.

Another website with similar wings, in this case made of vinyl and not cellophane is Fancy fairy, a site devoted to fairy wings and fairy gowns. I confess I wouldn’t mind to grab a clear iridescent pair of Kira’s model (inspired in my favourite movie The Dark Crystal movie), though I’d like to see them close first, but of course also in my wish lists. You can buy them in different vinyl colours, from clear and purple (my favourites) to yellow and green. You also have ones with copper/brown structure and others that have them plain black. Click on the picture below to see their wings store.

Fancy fairy also keeps an ebay store where they sell affordable fairy dresses to go along with their wings and from time to time some wings auctions. I hope you had fun!! of course there are more articles about wings of all kinds coming soon!