Wednesday 4 December 2013

Group Cosplay Ideas: The Women of the Ace Attorney Universe (Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney)


So, I just finished playing Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, and it was amaaaazing! Seriously, if you haven't played it yet, load up the Nintendo 3DS store and buy it right away. Anyway, that was the inspiration for this post, a guide to dressing up as the women of the Ace Attorney universe: Trucy Wright, Ema and Lana Skye, Maya Fey, Franziska von Karma, Iris and Dahlia Hawthorne, and Athena Cykes. Each of these costume ideas is great for fancy dress and conventions generally, but its always fun to get your friends together and go as the whole team.

Maya Fey Costume

Maya Fey Costume
Every Ace Attorney fan is familiar with Maya Fey, Wright's spunky genki girl side kick and spirit-medium extraordinaire. She's a tonne of fun to cosplay as, and I've found a costume above that I particularly like. You can also get a version with more shiny, silky material here. I've also found some similar shoes to Maya's sandals to match it here. I've yet to find anywhere than consistently stocks her Magatama necklace, but I recommend searching on eBay as there is always somebody selling various replicas and Magatama jewellery there.

Maya's hair is quite difficult to pull off, so here's what I recommend doing. Buy a very long haired black wig like this one, and tie a small topknot in it to match the one on the top of Maya's head. Tie a purple ribbon around the base. Next up, create the large bead in her hair by painting some Styrofoam balls or large ping pong balls purple, and make holes large enough to thread a section of hair at the front through. They should stay up on their own, if not, use a small bobble or a bobby pin the same color as your hair to keep them in place.

Emma Skye Costume

Costume Phoenix Wright
Ace Attorney Ema Skye
It's time to do some scientific investigating! Forensics to be precise, with the wonderful Ema Skye. She's Lana's sister and the sidekick of the final case of the first game, as well as a recurring character throughout the series when she later becomes a detective. 

Lets start off with her outfit. On the left is a very cute Ema Skye replica costume that is perfect for conventions and parties which comes with everything you see in the picture.

Next up, you'll need some accessories to finish of the look. An easy way to get her look hair-wise is using this cute Ema Skye wig, and you can pick up glasses that look very similar to hers here.

Franziska von Karma Costume
Franziska von Karma Costume
Franziska von Karma is one of my favorite characters in the whole game, and her's is definitely my favorite outfit. Check out the gorgeous costume above, in all its amazing excessively large ascot glory; perfect for a Franziska cosplay. The same website also makes sweet replicas of Franziska's boots here that you can pick up. Also, here's a fake whip. You already know why. As for her hair, Franziska has a short crop of silver-gray hair, and I think this wig looks quite close and would compliment the costume nicely.

Trucy Wright Costume

Trucy Wright Costume
Woo! Trucy! Trucy is so unbelievably adorable, and is a perfect cosplay idea for younger and older fans of the games alike. Plus, magicians are really cool. I won't hear anything different. Trucy is Phoenix Wright's daughter, and she debuted in Turnabout Trump, the first episode of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Her outfit is as colorful as her character too.

This costume on the right is just perfect for any budding Trucy cosplayer. You get everything you see here in the picture, including the cape, ascot, cute little strapless dress and the bag, which is everything you need! If you don't naturally have short brown hair, fret not, because you can find a cute Trucy Wright wig here to finish of the look.


Athena Cykes Costume

Athena Cykes Costume
Athena Cykes is the latest addition to the Ace Attorney roster, a bright and enthusiastic new lawyer who is both a sidekick and a protagonist in her own right depending on the case. She rounds of the list of primary colors when it comes to our defense attorneys - Phoenix is blue, Apollo is red, and she is a summery shade of yellow. Above is a costume made to look just like hers, so check it out!

Her hair is going to be incredibly hard to replicate, unless you have the good fortune of being a red-headed anime character with crazy hair yourself. Nevertheless, you can always get that look with an equally crazy wig. Check it out here.

Iris Hawthorne Costume

Iris Spirit Medium Costume
Iris Hawthorne is a figure from Phoenix Wright's distant past, a quiet and demure young girl living in the shadow of her psychopathic twin sister Dahlia. As a member of a Fey branch family, she is also a spirit medium (albeit not a strong one), and her most famous costume is a variation on the Fey medium costume. There's a cute costume based on it which you can check out on the left. 

Iris' hair is also simple to style yourself if you have long hair - just tie two french braids on either side of your head. If you don't have long hair or not the right color, pick up an appropriate wig and style it in the same way. 

Dahlia Hawthorne Costume
Dahlia Hawthorne Costume
Dahlia is one of my favorite villains from the series; she's just so unrepentant and evil! Part of her charm is how beautiful and gentle she looks until you set her off, and the outfit above captures that perfectly. To style the hair, do exactly what I advised for Iris' hair, except use a red haired wig rather than a black one.

So there you have it, all my favorite women from the Ace Attorney series, hero and villain. I hope you have a lot of fun cosplaying as these characters with all your friends. If you enjoyed this post and want to see more, be sure to check out the rest of this blog for even more cosplay ideas and costumes for all occasions. Remember to practice your chords of steel!

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Group Costume Ideas: Axis Powers Hetalia

Japanese Anime Axis Powers Hetalia Cosplay Costume
I am a huuuuuge fan of Axis Powers Hetalia; it is one of my favorite anime of all time, and I think both the original Japanese and the dub are great. There's a wide variety of characters from the show to cosplay as, and if you have an international group of friends, you can each dress up as your home nation-tan! If not, each of you can pick your favorites and go to town. Included below are the costumes for most of the characters, plus matching wigs and accessories if they are available. Enjoy!


Axis Powers Hetalia America Independence War Cosplay Costume

That's not all! There's a couple of rarer costumes based on variations of character's outfits, like America' revolutionary outfit and Chibi Italia's maid costume that he wore when working for Austria. They are pretty cute so check them out if your looking for something really unique to cosplay as.
So there you go, all the costumes you could possibly need to crash a convention with a huge group Hetalia cosplay. Hope you found everything you need and have a great time! If you liked this post, be sure to check out the rest of my blog which has many more cosplay guides as well as lots of fun costume ideas for Halloween and other events. Have fun!

Sunday 10 November 2013

How to Cosplay as Oerba Yun Fang

Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most visually stunning video games I've ever played, which makes it an excellent muse for character cosplay. Oerba Yun Fang is one of my favorite characters from the game; she's good looking, bad ass and she has a really awesome outfit. If you are looking to cosplay as Fang for a convention of Final Fantasy themed party, look no further. Unless you are shopping from the UK or EU, in which case you need to click here.

Final Fantasy XIII Cosplay
Oerba Yun Fang Outfit
First of all, you'll need Fang's iconic blue sash outfit, and I've found a beautiful and faithful replica on the right. It comes with everything you see in the photo, but sadly doesn't include any boots. Fret not though, as you can pick up replicas of those here. They're pretty cute!

A must have accessory for any Fang costume is her cool arm tattoo that you can see in the picture above. EileenGalvin has made a stencil design of the tattoo that you can use. Here's a guide on how to use the design on a piece of paper to create your own realistic looking temporary tattoo. Be sure to have some rubbing alcohol on hand in case you don't get it right first time. 

Oerba Yun Fang
Cosplay Wig
Once that is done, you'll need to style your hair like Fang's. Her hair has quite a unique and distinct haircut, which can be hard to replicate even if you already have long black hair, but I've found a wig that pretty closely resembles it which I've featured on the left.

So there you go, a cute Fang costume for your convention or party. I hope you have a tonne of fun dressing up! If you liked this post be sure to check out the rest of this blog for even more fun cosplay and costume ideas for women. In particular, I've done a number of guides on how to cosplay as various characters from FFXIII and it's sequel, including Lightning, Serah and Vanille, so if you are looking for a fun group costume theme, check them out! Pairing up with a friend dressed as Vanille is especially fun. 

How to Cosplay as Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII is widely regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time, and that's even taking into account the aged graphics of the PS1. One of my favorite things about the game was its strong cast of female characters, from the gentle and feminine Aeris to the tough and hard punching Tifa. This post is for the Tifa Lockhart fans out there who want to dress up as her for a convention or party - lets look at the basics you'll need to pull off the look. Oh, if you are shopping from the UK or EU, go here for Tifa costumes.

Fantasy Girl Costume
Video Game Super Hero Costume
First of all, to cosplay as the character you'll need Tifa's outfit. On the right is a costume based on the outfit she wore in the game. This cute outfit comes with the tank top, the mini skirt, the belt, the snap on suspenders and the gloves. Unfortunately it doesn't come with Tifa's shoes, but awesomely enough, Cosplay House makes replica version of her shoes from the games which you can find here. With those you pretty much have a complete outfit.

If that costume is outside of your budget and you want an alternative and cheaper way to put this particular Tifa Lockhart costume together, I would recommend a combination of this skirtthis tank topthese suspendersthese brown fingerless gloves and these black fingerless gloves. If you can find a miniature shield  or buckler to stitch onto one elbow, all the better, but the costume should be very recognizable even without it. This combo should look just as good, and you save a bit of money in the process. Pretty neat!

Jamcos Final Fantasy VII Cosplay Tifa Outfit Costume
The second option for cosplaying as Tifa is with this costume, based on her outfit in Final Fantasy Advent Children (which is an awesomely fun movie by the way, see it if you haven't). It comes with the vest, the jacket, the unique shorts, a belt, a pair of gloves, and cuffs. The Tifa Lockhart replica shoes will also go well with this costume.

Tifa Lockhart Wig
Once you have the perfect costume to dress up with, you'll need to style your hair like Tifa's. If you aren't lucky enough to have long black hair, fret not because you can pick up a wig like the one on the left to replicate the look pretty well. 

There you go, one awesome Tifa Lockhart Final Fantasy cosplay for conventions and Final Fantasy themed parties. I hope you found everything you need, and have a lot of fun dressing up! If you liked this post and want to see more ideas, be sure to check out the rest of my blog for even more costumes and cosplay ideas for women. There's lots more Final Fantasy costumes under the Video Games section. 

Saturday 9 November 2013

How to Cosplay as Serah Farron from Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2

Final Fantasy XIII-2 FF 13-2 Serah Farron Cosplay Costume
I'm on a Final Fantasy high at the minute, just finished playing the awesome-ness that is Final Fantasy XIII-2. This post is going to be looking at all the essentials you'll need to cosplay as Serah Farron, little sister of Lightning and protagonist in her own right of XIII-2. Cute and girly is Serah's style, and if that appeals you, read on and find out how to pull it off. If you are shopping from the UK or EU, go here for Serah costumes.

Final Fantasy FFXIII 13
Serah Farron Cosplay
Serah has two different outfits to choose from, the one she wore in Final Fantasy XIII, featured in costume form on the right, and in the sequel XIII-2, featured abover. Both of these awesome costumes come with everything you see in the pictures. They've also made some awesome replicas of her shoes from FFXII-2, which you can find here.

Next up you'll want some accessories to enhance the look. If budget is no limit, I definitely recommend you check out this awesome replica of Serah's engagement necklace

Final Fantasy Serah Farron
Long Pink Cosplay Wig
Finally, no costume is complete without styling your hair like the characters, which can be a little tricky in Serah's case since most people don't have pink hair. Luckily, this cute wig on the left is an easy way to achieve the look without having to dye your hair pink. 

There you go, one quick and easy Serah Farron cosplay. If you are going with friends to a convention or party, why not convince them to go with you as Lightning Farron, Fang or Vanille? Final Fantasy makes a great group theme - you can go as the whole crew! Either way, I hope you found everything you need. If you enjoyed this post and want to see more, be sure to check out the rest of my blog for all the cutest and sexiest costume and cosplay ideas for girls. 

How to Cosplay as Oerba Dia Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII


Alright! More Final Fantasy cosplay, coming right up. This post will be looking at everybody's favorite Manic Pixie Dream Girl from down under, Oerba Dia Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII. Her outfit is a lot of fun to dress up with since its cute, sexy and colorful with a hint of tribal flair, plus sometimes a girl just wants to show off a little stomach. For all you Vanille fans out there, lets get started with the basics on how to pull off the look. Oh, if you are shopping from the EU or UK, you need to go here.

Oerba Dia Vanille
Cosplay Costume
First of all, you'll need the costume, and I've found two versions for you to check out. The one on the left is more complete and true to the source material, but the one on the right is also a lot less expensive, so good for cosplayers on a budget. I love how coloful the right one is, especially on the bead work. It's well worth the money in my opinion!

With the adorable costume on the right you get the yellow skirt, the furry apron, her fanny pack, the sash accessory and the pink top. You can pick up matching yellow fur trimmed boots like Vanille's here

Final Fantasy XIII Oerba Dia
Vanille Cosplay Costume
Next, Vanille wears a lot of very colorful tribal jewelry all around her costume that you'll need to complete the look. This tribal choker is similar to the one that Vanille wears. Under the choker she wears a tribal style pendant like this one. The rest of her jewelry is rather elaborate and best replicated by threading your own beads and tying the ends to your tribal pendant after wrapping it around your back, as well as making a long hanging part at the front with bigger beads. Finish off the look with some fun tribal bead bracelets like this one.

Dreaming_Cosplay Final Fantasy
Oerba Dia Vanille Wig Cosplay
Finally, you'll need to style your hair till its as bouncy and bright as her's. Now, since most people don't have salmon pink hair, they've made a cute wig on the left that can be used to achieve the Vanille look nice and easy.

And there you have it! One sweet Vanille cosplay for conventions, parties and just general fun. Check out the rest of my blog for even more fun cosplay and costume ideas for women. In particular, if you are interested in going to a convention as a group of Final Fantasy XIII characters, be sure to check out my posts on how to cosplay as Lightning and her sister Serah, as well as Fang. Have fun!

Create the Perfect Daenerys Targaryen Costume (Game of Thrones)

Game of Thrones Khaleesi Blue Warrior
Princess Costume with Wig
Game of Thrones Daenerys
Targaryen Mother of Dragons
Dress Costume Cosplay
I've been waiting for quite a while for official Game of Thrones costumes to come out, and they took their sweet time! But, at last, they've started to trickle out onto the net, and here's one of my favorites based on one of the iconic outfits of my favorite GoT character: Daenerys Stormborn. Check out the teen/young woman's size above, which comes with the matching wig. You can get a women's version here, but note that it doesn't come with the wig. Here's a wig that goes with it well, and here's another one that looks like Daenerys' hair.

UPDATE: We have an update! Specifically, we have more Daenerys costume goodness to celebrate Season four coming out! On the right is a replica of the beautiful grey chiffon dress that she wears in the later series, and here's the beautiful blue number she's wearing in season four, and here is another version which comes with the matching capelet. Daenerys looks great, but man does that girl need to get herself a suit of armor already. How she hasn't been riddled full of arrows already I will never know. Maybe full plate mail would weigh down the dragons too much.

CosplaySky Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen Dress Costume
So there you go! Most of these costumes are available in the UK and EU as well as the US, though not all the time. Check here for availability. If you are interested in more Game of Thrones costumes, be sure to check out my Catelyn Stark costume post. Have fun Cosplaying, and be sure to have a look at more of my posts if you are interested!

Thursday 7 November 2013

Dressing up as Watchmen's Silk Spectre

The Watchman Secret Wishes Silk Spectre Costume
(Available in the UK and EU here)
Alan Moore's Watchmen is widely regarded as one of the best superhero graphic novels of all time, if not one of the best period. I loved the film adaptation of the book too, and thought they did a great job with the costume designs, making the bright, colorful and often 'silly when you think about it' comic superhero look actually look amazing in live action form. This post is going to be looking at dressing up as Laurie Juspeczyk, a.k.a the second Silk Spectre. 
DC Comics Watchmen
Silk Spectre Deluxe Wig

Secret wishes does an awesome Silk Spectre outfit that comes with pretty much everything you need to cosplay as the character, featured above. It comes with the iconic costume romper with garters, the silver belt, plus the boot tops. Next up you need Laurie's hair. If you already have long brown hair, you can get away with your regular look with a bit of straightening. If you don't, don't fret, because on the right is a cute wig designed to look just like her hair in the movie, which saves you the trouble of cutting yourself a fringe.

So there you have it, its very easy to put together a gorgeous looking Silk Spectre costume, and these are all the parts you need right here. If you liked this post, be sure to check out the rest of my blog for even more cool costumes for women, especially the comic book section for more convention cosplay ideas.

Create the Perfect Princess Peach Costume

'Video Game Princess' Costume
Sexy Video Game Costumes for Women
When you ask who is the most iconic princesses in popular gaming culture, you are going to get two answers: Princess Zelda, and Princess Peach. For fans of the the Super Mario game series, Princess Peach is a fantastic costume ideas for conventions and costume parties. This post is going to be looking at my favorite Princess Peach costumes and how to pull them off with style. If you are shopping from the UK or EU, click this link for perfect costumes for you. If not, read on.
Pink Princess Costume

First up you'll need Peach's iconic pink dress. The one above is a short and sexy one that is one of the most popular ones on the net, and comes with a matching princess crown, but you can also get a similar one with a slightly longer skirt for a bit more modesty, featured on the right. That one comes with a pretty crown and the matching cute white gloves.

Women's Mario Brothers
Princess Peach Costume
If short and sweet isn't your style or you just want to stay close to the source material, you might want to try out a full length Princess Peach ball gown instead, in which case, check out the costume on the left which comes with the crown. Whichever costume you pick, consider picking up some white tights or stockings to add to the look, plus it'll keep your legs warm if you are partying in the winter months.

To give these costume dresses a bit of lift and shape (as often they are quite flat), consider buying a hooped petticoat, or if you don't like those a fuller non-hooped petticoat. Those are the petticoats for the longer dresses, if you are going for a medium length dress like the one on the right, check out this petticoat, and for the really short costume above try a white tutu instead.

Video Princess Wig (Standard)
Next up, you'll want to style your hair to look like the princess'. If you don't naturally have long blond hair, there are a number of wigs you can pick up to replicate the look. My favorite is the one above, which is styled to look like the hair from the game and does a fantastic job of it. This cute curly wig also works well if you want a lighter blond.

Pink Battenburg Lace Parasol/white
Fabric/color Embroidery
Finally, finish off the costume with some cute accessories. Most famous of all is her parasol, and the lace parasol on the left would make a great addition to any Peach cosplay. Inflatable mallets are also a fun choice, or maybe some cute mushroom plushies or an invincibility star

So that's my guide to the perfect Princess Peach cosplay. I hope you have a lot of fun dressing up and found everything you need. If you liked this post, be sure to check out the rest of my blog for even more beautiful costumes for women. 

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Create the Perfect Jessica Rabbit Costume

Red Metallic Holiday Christmas Gown
The one thing that everyone remembers about Who Framed Roger Rabbit (aside from the nightmares induced by Judge Doom) is the iconic beauty that is Jessica Rabbit, one of the most famous sex symbols of all time. She's not bad, she's just drawn that way, and she's a lot of fun to dress up as for fans of the movie. If you are shopping from the UK or EU, you can find Jessica Rabbit costumes here. US viewers, read on...

Forplay Women's
Mrs. Rabbit To You
Costume Set
First thing any Jessica Rabbit fan needs is her gorgeous slinky red dress with the thigh cut. My personal favorite is the one above, which while not billed as a Jessica Rabbit costume fits the bill perfectly. If you want a dress with straps, consider this one by California Costumes. If you go for either of these dresses, be sure to pick up some matching purple opera gloves. The one on the right is made of a less shiny material and comes with the gloves, so it's a cute choice too. 

Silver Screen Jessica Rabbit
Sinsation Wig
If you are lucky enough to have long flowing red hair then it is relatively easy to style it like Jessica Rabbits' hair: just straighten it out, part it on one side and tuck that side behind your ear. Place a bobby pin or two behind your ear if you are having trouble getting your hair to stay there. If you don't have red hair or its too short, then there's a very lovely wig on the left you can use to easily replicate the Jessica look. If you want a more red color look, this wig looks great.

Finally, its time to make up your face to look like Jessica Rabbit. For a more demure look you can simply use a bright red lipstick, but I'm of the opinion that this is a good time to go for a really dramatic look, really copy the source material. I've included a great makeup tutorial below on how to do Jessica Rabbit makeup which is just perfect, I highly recommend you check it out. 


How to Dress as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Adult Sally Costume Licensed Costume from Disguise Inc
UK Sally Costumes Available Here
Moving on to some more unconventional Christmas costumes for women based on my favorite Christmas movie of all time (no, not Die Hard); The Nightmare Before Christmas. Specifically, we'll be looking at how to dress up as Sally, everybody's favorite ragdoll. Its a cute look, very iconic and a lot of fun to dress as no matter what the event. It also makes a lovely couples costume, if you get a friend to go as Jack Skellington!

Disguise Women's
Sassy Sally
First of all you'll need Sally's colorful patchwork dress. I've included my two favorite costumes, a longer dress and a short and sexy one. You can also get one like the one on the left in a more glam and figure hugging style if that takes your fancy. Both of these costumes have the advantage of coming with the red yarn style wigs and the stitched style gloves you see in the pictures, so that saves needing to style your hear or buy a wig separately.

Stitched Adult Tights
Black and White
You can also get stitched skin tights to save you the trouble of covering yourself in makeup - they are a fantastic touch to any Sally costume and they look really good. They are handy in that they can be used in other costumes too, like Frankenstein costumes. 

Finally, you'll need to do up your makeup to look like Sally. Its a pretty elaborate look, so it's optional, but if you can pull it off you will look utterly amazing. To this end I've included and excellent video tutorial on how to do the Sally makeup for you to check out below. 



Monday 28 October 2013

How to Make a Na'vi Neytiri Costume (Avatar)

Make the Perfect Neytiri Costume
Avatar is one of the most beautiful, visually stunning films of all time with some amazing character designs and CGI. The look of the na'vi is unique and instantly recognizable even by those who haven't see the movie, which makes it a great costume choice for Halloween and parties. Of course the gorgeous princess of the na'vi Omaticaya clan, Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite is the perfect character to dress up as for the ladies, so lets look at how to put the costume together!

Avatar Secret Wishes
Neytiri Costume

The Outfit and Hair

No need to dunk yourself in blue bodypaint to get the na'vi look, just pick up this gorgeous blue body suit from Secret Wishes, which comes with the attached tail, apron, and a single gauntlet. Its sleek and figure hugging, making for a very sexy and elegant look and feel without baring any skin! Note that if you are shopping from the UK or EU, you can find this costume here.

There are also a number of accessories you can add to finish off the look. Check out for example these cute fangs, or this great looking replica of Neytiri's knife from the movie, complete with sheath, which is a fantastic addition for costume lovers who like big attention to detail.

Next up you'll want the perfect hair. Not everyone has lovely thick black hair they can braid, so here's a wig you can use to get the same look. It comes with matching ears too! If you do have long black hair, you can recreate the movie look without the wig by braiding it into lots of long, beautiful braids.



The Makeup

Next up you'll need to make your face match the awesome costume. A light blue face paint makes a great base, and there are a number of licensed Avatar face paint color pallets you can buy to paint on the detail: this one is my favorite! If you are having trouble getting the pattern right, you can try using this na'vi face stencils as a guide to help you. Check out the sweet video tutorial below for a guide to doing your makeup with style.


Friday 5 July 2013

The Best Edward Scissorhands Costume for Women

Miss Edward Scissorhands Horror
Sexy Adult Women's Costume

Mrs Edward Scissorhands Costume

Just because your favorite movie character costume is worn by a male character doesn't mean us ladies should ever feel left out. Edward Scissorhands is one of Tim Burton's best known classic movies, and the eponymous main character one of the most recognizable. So when I found an awesome female version of the character's costume, I just had to share it with you all! If you are shopping from the UK or EU, get this costume here.

This costume comes with sexy dress with attached sleeve and loose sleeve, the iconic Scissorhands gloves, the matching wig you see on the model (that's pretty cool, you don't normally get wigs as part of a costum set!), the choker and the belt. All you need to finish off the look are some torn up thigh highs (you could buy these ones and cut a few holes in them) and some sweet black boots. If you don't like the wig that comes with it (some of my friends think it's a little too glam for Edward), check out this alternative.

To perfect your Edward Scissorhands costume, you might want to have a go at recreating the character's unique skin look with makeup. The video below is one of my favorite Edward Scissorhand makeup tutorials on the net - give it a watch!


Monday 1 July 2013

How to Create a Commander Shepard Costume

How to Create the Perfect Commander Shepard Costume
Mass Effect is by far my favorite gaming series of all time, even if it didn't quite end as I might have liked. One of my favorite things about it was its vast cast of strong, independent and interesting female characters, from the book-smart Liara to the wrench wench Tali to the out-of-her-mind but powerful Jack. At the top of the list though is possibly the most awesome woman in all of gaming, Commander Shepard. In this post I'm going to outline how you can cosplay as the Spectre herself. Note that all of the costumes on this post are either unisex or come in both male and female versions.

The Outfit

Mass Effect N7 Armour
Yes people have actually made wearable N7 armor. Yes, it is awesome. And yes, the jet lights at the back are fully functional and light up. This set is made from lightweight EVA foam and is fully adjustable to fit most sizes. Naturally a set this eleborate, time consuming to make and high quality isn't cheap, so if you are skilled at making cosplay props and costumes you might want to try making a set for yourself. It's an adventurous project but a tonne of fun - check out this guide on making your own foam N7 armor. To save you time, it is possible to buy replicas of the helmet and the hand-guard armour pieces. Sadly no one makes/sells FemShep's casual gear, which is a shame, but to make up for that here's a cute N7 themed hoodie.

Weapons and Accessories

Mass Effect 3: M-3 Predator
Full Scale Prop Replica
Next up you'll need some bad-ass scifi weaponry to help you in your quest. The gun on the left is an M3 Predator, but you can pick up some of Shepard's other guns if you search the net for long enough - Etsy often has a few. The Bioware website occasionally sells replicas but they tend to be limited edition and run out of stock super fast - if you see one, pick it up while you can. Its also possible if you are handy with a glue gun to make your own gun replicas: here is a guide to making the M8 Assault Rifle.

Another sweet accessory you can get for your costume is some Alliance military N7 dogtags, which I've linked to below. They're neat since you can wear them in your day to day as a fashion accessory as well as having them be part of your costume.
Mass Effect 3 Dog Tags
Necklace N7 Shepard

Have fun!


And that's a short guide to the Commander Shepard costume in a nutshell. It's not a cheap look to pull off unless you happen to be a costume maker, not by a long shot, but the end result is, at least in my opinion, well worth the money.

If you liked this post and are looking for some more costume inspiration, don't forget to check out the rest of my blog which features all of the best costume ideas for women on the net.