Character: Dilandau Albatou
Anime: Tenkuu no Escaflowne
Worn At: V-Con 2002, Halloween 2002
Status: Active

Introduction:
The moment I got into cosplay, I knew I HAD to cosplay Dilandau. His casual outfit being pretty basic, I decided to make it. But after deciding I loved Dilandau too much to not make the complete thing, I decided to do just that. I finished the casual costume, and from there, started working on it to make it complete.

How it was Made:
-Jacket: I used a basic jacket pattern. I made the sleeves narrower so they hug my wrists and narrowed down the waist. The red peices were handsewn in place. Gold lining and zipper were also handsewn.
-Gold Designs: These were done by cutting black pleather peices and handsewing them and the gold lining onto the jacket. The gold buttons were handsewn on.
-Shoulder Pads: Drawn on the red pleather, cut, sewn and stuffed. The black designs were done with felt.
-Skirt Peice: Made the pattern, sewed on the red and handsewed the hems and gold lining. Then the skirt peice was sewn onto the jacket.
-Pants: Used black, low-cut pants my mom bought for me.
-Tiara: I made the basic pattern with gold satin, glued on the jewel and sewed velcro on the back. To hide it, I flipped my hair over it.
-Boot Covers: I used my boot cover pattern from my Celena costume and altered the leg peice for Dilandau.
-Belt: Cut two strips of red pleather, sewn them together and then sewn on gold satin on the tips. Gold rings were then sewn onto the belt and looped together.
-Dog Tag: Bought a dog tag from a cheap jewelery store.
-Sword: Picked up a prop katana from Toys R Us

Hardest Task: That's a toughie... I can't pinpoint one specific part of the costume that was difficult. A whole lot of it was! Definately my hardest costume by far! The black pleather was annoying, it wouldn't go through my machine so I had to do a lot of handsewing. Favorite Aspect: The overall costume! It all fits perfectly and looks so awesome! I'm overwhelmed by how good it turned out! Flaws: Originally the boots were constantly slipping down, which obviously pissed me off. I attempted to fix it by making them tighter. It worked, but I made them TOO tight so they're not 100% comfortable... Also, over 50% of the sewing on this costume was completely done BY HAND. That's what happens when you use black pleather that sticks to your machine. >_<

Horror Stories:
Finding the black pleather took 8 months! 8 out of the 11 months spent on this costume was looking for black pleather! Also, I ended up spending well over $250 on this costume, though most of what was bought was never used. Another ow. Not to mention all the blood I lost because of stabbing myself with needles and pins constantly. >_<