Polaris X-Factor Cosplay

I did this cosplay back in April and still haven't blogged about it! Oy!

Above you can see my reference pictures of the original costume. The character is Lorna Dane/Polaris, daughter of Magneto. Former X-Man, now leader of X-Factor Investigations. I originally disliked this design, but it grew on me so much that I decided to create my own version for C2E2 2013. As you can see, I opted not to mess around with spandex. I got a blue cotton knit for the majority of it, so that it would be comfortable and breathable. The green is just costume satin for a bit of shine, and the black is honestly just the cheapest black stretch fabric I could find.

I really lucked out on the wig, finding this green beauty for just $40. It looked surprisingly good for a colored synthetic and I was pretty happy with it.

It's not a perfect match since Lorna's hair isn't curly, but I think wigs with a slight curl tend to look better anyhow. And yes, it was VERY long, but I trimmed it up later.

I can totally wear green hair, right?

Make-up was fussy. I've done some different things with make-up in the past, but never colored lipstick. Thankfully some of my friends were able to give me some good tips.

Basically I combined green eyeshadow, liquid mascara, eyeliner, and clear lip gloss to create the look you see here. The lipstick had to be reapplied every time I ate or drank water, but it held up better than I expected.

Weird look to get used to, but once I did... wow, it was cool!

Because I was shipping some stuff ahead, my wig was already gone by the time I got the make-up. So I had to photoshop two pictures together to get an idea of how it was all going to look.

Then there was the costume. I'd never done a bodysuit before, so I basically took a knit top and jeans and used them to create a mash-up pattern. I then cut around the torso to create the duel tones. After sewing the seams, I fine-tuned the fitting.  The jacket was rather simpler, but I ended up sewing it all in a rush, with half of it being handsewn the day before con. It was intense!

X-Belt made from foam and acrylic paint.

First look at the full thing!!! (here you can see the rippling on the piping. There was a stretch to the satin and I didn't have time to go slow enough. But it looked pretty cool anyhow.)

With my friend Alicia as vampire Jubilee!

With Mazzie as Rogue! I created a utility belt out of pleather and used it to store essentials like phone, camera, wallet and make-up.

The group!

It was a really fun cosplay to pull off, but the wig was a nightmare to wear as combined with the intense noise and visual stimulation it gave me quite the migraine. Still, I'm glad I had the experience and I intend to wear it again for a short period for costume pictures.

Now would also be a good time to mention that... I don't do superhero commissions. Why? Because working with a tightly fitted bodysuit or spandex is really fussy work and just not my skillset. There are plenty of costumers who will help you out with that, and if you need something more structured, send me a line!