I need to pause here to do a big shout out to Nancy over at Hemlock Emporium and Valerie over at Antiquarian Boutique for making my Melisandre costume for me!

Nancy’s doing the dress–I’m headed to Raleigh for final alterations today, it should be ready just in time to pop into my suitcase for Dragon*Con!  I might save the final reveal until the convention so don’t expect any photos, I really think that this costume is going to be special so I’m trying to keep the whole thing a surprise.  This dress has been quite difficult–it took Nancy a long time to find an appropriate pattern, and she likens the top layer of fabric to cobwebs, but it looks like it will come together gorgeously.  I’m a big fan of Nancy because she shares my general costuming viewpoint: try to capture as much of the general look and feel of the costume as possible without forgetting that this is a garment that needs to be worn in the real world.  She’s great at offering suggestions on how to make a piece more wearable, and she also doesn’t look at me like I’m nuts when I ask for changes.  This is my third Dragon*Con with a costume that has been made or altered by Nancy.  I’m so glad I found someone local who I like and who I know will be able to help me with my costuming needs!  Everyone in the Raleigh-Durham area should go get costumes from Nancy, she’s the best!

Valerie I found on the Game of Thrones costuming group on Facebook (yes it exists).  I was publicly bemoaning the difficulty of Melisandre’s giant neckpiece, and she quickly offered to make it for me and I happily accepted.  A few months later I received, in the mail, a handmade full neckpiece complete with the shoulder parts, and a belt, and they are great!  The pieces are very truthful to the screen version but they are light weight and fairly easy to wear.  Again, no close-up pictures from me yet, but Valerie took some good pictures that you can see in this album.   She really did an incredible job with a complex, highly-detailed commission.

Thank you so so much Valerie and Nancy!!! I’m so excited to put all the Melisandre pieces together!  This is going to be such a baller costume, I can feel it.  For the night is dark and full of awesome!