6 of Spades ♠︎ - #10

eyelash applicator, heel shields, gel spots, tigh high tights,
and skin coloured shorts (which happen to be shapewear too)

Let's talk about comfort, OK? Even the most comfortable costumes usually have an uncomfortable aspect, be it the infamous shoes, tge cosplayers bane of existance, or a long heavy wig. My most comfortable costume is La Andromeda Promethium, even if I wear shapewear and a long heavy wig. But the dress is floor length (I can wear the shoes I want), in a knit fabric, and the crown really stays put on my head.

This Card Girl is simple and supposedly comfortable, but there are a few issues. The tigh high tights and the shoes.

I'm tall, so most tigh highs I've owned, end above my knees. And I have thick thighs, and tigh high socks or stockings tend to roll down. Besides, I chafe between my tighs. For this costume, I didn't want mousse tights, more of a sock knit, but long, very long. At the second try, I managed to find very long cotton knit tigh highs.  The first ones I bought were mousse, and not that long, but these were advertised for 1,85m tall men. So I risked it. They are indeed high, sadly a bit too tight on my thick tighs... But its solvable. I own a shorts skin coloured garter, but I never liked them very much, the waist elastic cuts through my skin. I avoid chafing on my inner tighs, but end up chafed on my waist... And it's a pain to put on. I also recently bought two pairs of XL dance tights, which are even big for me. But I don't want to ruin them for thigh highs (need to buy on pair of white ones). Who would have thought these things would be available at AliExpress, where a while ago all clothing items were in tiny Chinese sizes? Even shoes, would end at size 38, 39, the most. So, AliExpress to the rescue on the tigh highs, and I will eventually order a black pair too. The new shapewear shorts (the only ones that come in skin colour, I found at Primark, finally! These are thick mousse bum lifters, hahaha! But they are good for anti-chafing and for pinning tigh highs. I'll explain. Primark also had some "anti-chafing" shorts, but only in size S. Yeah, the size that has the most inner tigh chafing xD, and also only in black... I still prefer these thicker ones, and they had them in many skin tones too, which is unusual. So these will be good for keeping my inner tights safe, and I'll tack the tigh high socks to them, so they will stay put and not roll down. I'm not going to completely sew them to the shorts for two reasons, 1, I'll eventually need the shorts for other costumes; 2. It's likely the seam would rip while I'm wearing them, so I'd rather have gaps, but keep the socks up.

The shoes. They're flat, which is fine and less tiresome than heels. Flat shoes also behave better in the Portuguese cobblestones, sometimes known as "heel killers". And I'm also very clumsy with my shoes. So, they're comfortanle, right? Not entirely. They're patent leather, which is cuter but less flexible, so they hurt me a bit on my heels, and the right shoe bites my feet where my bunion is. Again, Primark to the rescue! They're the only shop that regularly and consistently carries silicone feet protectors. Pharmacies sometimes also carry them, but not always, and Chinese stores sometimes do too, but again, not always. Plus, they're cheap, as they usually don't last long glued to the shoes. But they'll be life savers, even if my new socks are a bit thicker and will protect my feet more than mousse tights.

And, I bought a "false eyelash applicator" too, for me and one for Carol, as she's very clumsy applying eyelashes. I need to give her a crash course on putting fake lashes on. I never tried these, I usually use normal tweezers, but I was always curious if they really help. The weekend before next I'm going to visit Carol, I guess besides helping her with the finishing touches on her Bianca costume, I'll teach her how to put fake lashes on.

+ All the things that go underneath of even a simple costume.

- There are a lot of layers, and I'll eventually be hot. But better a bit hot than bleeding.

THE CUNNING PLAN 

Tack the shorts to the stockings, glue the silicone pads to the shoes, and sew the ♠︎ buckles to the shoes.