Construction Details:

UPDATED, August 2011! :D I used bridal satin for the bodice and plate. The bodice is kept up using spirit gum; and then I have a clear strap in a halter-style that I wear when I'm walking around a convention, juuust to be on the safe side! The tutu is my baby, though. At first, the feathers were too heavy and it drooped ridiculously, so I hooped, tacked, and starched it. I was determined to get that semi-bell shape that Kraehe's tutu has, as opposed to a classical tutu. The feathers are attached to a removable tulle layer which is sewn to the top layer of the tutu. (The feathers I used are turkey hen wing rounds. There's 125 of them on the tutu!) The shoes are actual pointe shoes. Neither myself nor CourtoonXIII are ballerinas at the level required to go en pointe, but we still really wanted to have accurate shoes. However, they've been altered to the point (pun unintended) that they're not functional pointe shoes in the slightest. For both my shoes and Courtoon's Tutu shoes, I deshanked them and completely crushed the toe boxes. So they're pretty much a step below demi-pointe shoes now; they're as comfortable as ballet slippers, but they have the shape of pointe shoes. So we get the look, but the shoes don't allow us to go en pointe, which was extremely important to me. Because wearing full pointe shoes when you're not a ballerina is just plain stupid. (For more info on what I did to the shoes, I made a vlog explaining it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWHNbry4HTA) [NOTE: As of Fall 2011 I've started taking ballet again, but it'll be years before I'm back en pointe, and chances are I'll be done cosplaying Kraehe by then... But who knows~! Maybe it'll give me a reason to bring the costume out again in the future! :D] Other than that, I can't think of anything else to say about the construction! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them!

Personal Thoughts:

Kraehe has been a dream costume of mine since I first watched Princess Tutu (actually, since I first watched the "Hal Om Mig Nu" video before that!). I fell in love with her character; her relationship with Mytho is so beautiful and tragic. Her default costume made me a little skeptical at first, but after a lot of thought, I decided to just go ahead and do it! And I'm so glad that I did, because I've never, ever had so much fun cosplaying before. Everything about our Tutu group just felt so right. We're planning to do all of their alternate outfits now! Also, just going to give a shout-out to my Tutu cohorts. I love you all so, so much! Thank you for helping this dream cosplay group become a reality! I can't wait for all of the different versions we have planned, and all the shenanigans we'll have at future cons together! Love you guys~! And finally, thank you to Elemental! I know I've said it a million times already, but I'll say it again- thank you SO much for the amazing photoshoot at Youmacon '10! I want to cry just looking at how gorgeous the photos are every time I see them! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We'll definitely be coming back to you for our next Tutu shoot! ;D

Styling Notes

For my new wig, I used a Jeannie from Arda Wigs - and can I just take a moment to tell the lovely ladies of Arda how much I adore them? Seriously, I don't know what I'd do if they hadn't come out with this brilliant updo wig of theirs! The cowlick is basically the base ponytail of the wig slicked upwards with copious amounts of got2b Freeze Spray. There's also wires woven into it to give it some more support, and the feathers help with that, too. There's duck, rooster, and ostrich feathers in the wig; the turkey feathers were too long and looked a little silly.

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