looking for Zoe costuming suggestions

[bookofblues]

Hi there, new friends!
I'm hoping to throw together a half decent (or better) Zoe costume for Dragon Con this year. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, unloved pieces to sell, encouragement, etc. ? :) Thanks in advance for any input! Cheers!

Comments

[goodwolf]

It depends on a few things.

Are you going to wear it more than a couple of times?
How much are you willing to make yourself and how much are you willing to spend on what you don't?
How accurate do you want it to be?

Generally speaking, if you're gonna wear it more, you'll want to spend more on it, and you'll likely want it to be more accurate.

As an example... My buddy Badger runs the Firefly Archive. He owns a ton of the props actually used in the show, including a lot of the leather pieces. He also makes replicas of those pieces for sale. His Zoe rig currently sells for 335 USD shipped, and the hardware is all cast from the original piece. It's accurate. See it here: http://www.fireflyarchive.com/badger/replica/zoemaresleg.html Note that it doesn't include the actual mare's leg pistol though...

If you decide to order tell him Goodwolf sent you.

Browncoat fashions sells a pretty good resin Mare's Leg for 120ish...

And there are lots of other places out there as well. I think you'll find you'll spend the most on the leather stuff, followed by the "hardware" and then the actual clothes.

Of course, if you're not gonna wear it but a few times, you can get away with spending less on the details.

[electricsoup]

um, that holster might be the finest replica i've ever seen, and i've seen a lot! once i get out of the new baby funk and back into making costumes that's first on my orders list.

the mare's leg is my personal moby dick - i look everywhere for it. i found an airsoft one but the people never sent it :( i should start looking again.

thanks for sharing your friend's site -- i'll be a customer no doubt soon enough :P

[goodwolf]

*grin* Yeah, Badger prides himself on accuracy in his props. And they should be accurate, since he does own just about everything worth owning from the show.

I can't promis you anything, since I don't work for him, but if you tell him Goodwolf sent you, and if he's in a good mood, he might cut you a deal.

But even at full prices, his work is definitely some of the best out there and very reasonable.

[bookofblues]

Well, first I must say that the Zoe rig your buddy sells is absolutely gorgeous.
These are great questions you bring up! Thanks for the insight!
I intent to wear the Zoe setup once a year to Dragon Con. Besides that I don't have many opportunities, sadly. I'm afraid as of now I only have about $300 allotted for the whole outfit, which I am mainly thinking will need to go towards the vest and some sort of holster. The boots and pants i think I have close approximations of. I can make the necklace, and the belt and shirt I am slightly more flexible with.
I would be willing to make anything myself but I have absolutely no sewing skills sadly. So, I guess that means basically I'm limited in what I can make. I do follow instructions really well though! heh.
I'm sure if it comes out well enough I'd make myself find places to wear it. :)

[goodwolf]

This will chew up a good portion of your budget, but abbyshot makes good stuff too.

http://www.abbyshot.com/products/ps-zoe-vest.php

But, keep in mind that the vest is the "gotta have" piece for the outfit. Long as you're wearing that, people will "get it," even without the mare's leg.

And, if nothing else, you can always get stuff that's good enough to get by and upgrade as you can afford to. It's how my brother did his Darth Vader outfit. :)

[roonil_wazlib80]

You're about in the same boat I was, so you might want to talk to this guy, who just made mine:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26783998

It was about $215 altogether, and while there are some minor differences (extra leather backing to the bullet loops in the back, complete slot for bottom of gun instead of a U-shape), it's preeeeeetty gorram awesome. Not cast from originals, of course; for pure accuracy you can't beat Badger's. I'm also using my rig for part of my steampunk ensemble, so I'm not terribly worried. Hell, if people actually spot the differences I'd be very impressed.

You might also want to talk to this girl on etsy:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7213813
re: the vest. She offered to do me one for $60, in a faux leather. Seems very nice.

Tell them leemelo sent you, if you decide to use them.

[bookofblues]

What did you do for the gun and bullets? The ones on that etsy link of course looked awesome. heh
I like the Abbyshot vest alot! I could almost swing the cost of that vest and the custom holster you had done, then fudge the rest of the pieces.
I'd definitely be up for upgrading as I can afford to!

[goodwolf]

Oooh I like the idea of using the holster with other stuff, like steampunk. :) And I can spot the differences, but only coz I hang out with a bunch of frea... I mean friends who are passionate about props and Firefly.

I think we all have problems with part of our brains missing. ;)

The bottom line is, of course, to have fun, not spend tons of money.

I think as long as you get the vest, they'll get the rest.

[bookofblues]

Well, ideally I'd like the more accurate stuff but I may have to skimp on the holster. I'd like to know more about the gun used in that pic on the etsy site. If push comes to shove for now I can just get a toystore gun and saw it down and paint it I suppose.
I'll probably get the abbyshot vest. I looked at the ones at Browncoat fashions and while I do like their Zoe Serenity vest, I like the abbyshot one from the series better I think. They're all lovely though.

[roonil_wazlib80]

I agree - the browncoat fashions one is too orangey for my taste. You could always go the wide belt route for now, and upgrade to the full vest later. I got the blanks and pre-made gun from browncoat fashions, and he built the rig to fit that.

[goodwolf]

Like I said... I honestly think that as long as you have the vest nailed down, the rest will just be assumed.

Get the vest, make everything else passable, and you have another year to work on it after Dragon*Con. A lot of times, costuming is a gradual process. Very few people can afford to go out to the different places and put together screen accurate outfits at one go.

As I pointed out earlier, the holster is kind of optional to me if you're in a budget crunch as long as you have the vest. But that's just my opinion. Rather than spend the money on something that you might feel to be substandard, I'd get the vest, and work on the holster and mare's leg for the next year's outfit.

[bookofblues]

I agree. The vest is the crucial part. Luckily I've already got the hair and approximate skin tone naturally. hehehe

[roonil_wazlib80]

Hahaha. I'm not a props person - I'm not good at building them, and so I don't notice much on details. I'm much more of a textiles gal.

And yeah, I'm super excited for my new steampunk outfit - getting custom pieces from Damsel in this Dress to mix with things I already have. I play a physician from Manchester (so creative - I'm a doctor IRL too) - taught medicine in London - who was abducted by air pirates and now serves as medic. I have her before, proper outfit (Queen of all Londonium and wears a shiny hat?), and now I'm putting together her after "I kinda like this pirate thang" outfit. I think the gun'll be perfect.

I was trying to figure out how to do a steamy stethoscope and just went with my actual stethoscope for the last event I went to, but it's so boring. I personally was very disappointed that in Ariel they used regular stethoscopes, and cheap, two-tubed ones at that. I'm thinking of using an old fashioned fetal stethoscope and adding something to it.

[goodwolf]

Totally off topic, but I love the Mancunian accent.

And I didn't used to be all that detail oriented when it came to props, but hanging out with the guys I do, it sort of rubs off.

[roonil_wazlib80]

Me too. I went to uni in Lancester and hung out in Manchester a lot, and lived with a bunch of Mancs. One of the guys in my residency is from Manchester too. Gotta love it.