Candy W. Ardlay - Uniform St. Paul's #2

Candy in the Black Uniform

I've been obsessing with the costume and Candy Candy the last few days, and I've always loved both uniforms. I think I even prefer the formal black uniform more and, because this is a rather simple cosplay project, apart from the wig, and a big date, I decided to make both... Yes, I've been rewatching the series and reading the St. Paul's chapter in the manga. I haven't been that crazy anyway, the plan is to make the white one first, and then make the black one, using the same patterns. So, a little breakdown:

• black twill dress, with grey velvet cuffs and sash.
• maroon taffeta bow with, preferably woven, black stripes and gold star

crystal stars vs. gold stars

Because of that, I think I'll make the white bib on both in a thinner white cotton, a voile maybe? I chose twill for the main fabric to keep the budget down. It's also generally available at local stores. Also, while I was looking for something else in my storage, I found these "crystal" acrylic stars I bought a looong time ago and never used. I decided to use these for two reasons, they're a bit bigger than the others, and more sparkly. I already cut and filed the loop from one of them, and added a gold backing to the back centre, which is flat. To be coherent with the white dress, I decided to make the cuffs in grey velvet, and I will also get matching grey boot ties. Everything else will be the same.

Meanwhile, I went shopping for the velvet ribbons, and found nothing. The shop where I used to buy trinkets and beads closed, and now they only sell in bulk. Not finding the ribbons, I didn't buy the twill. Yet. So I searched AliExpress, and found pretty cheap velvet ribbons, in several widths, the grey velvet, and the boots (as I said in the previous post). I also found a cheap harmonica, which I think I'll order too. I plan to make the Ardlay pendant, and a locket with Terry's picture. Now I need to choose a pretty and broody picture of him. Those will be hidden, but I don't care, they're part of the character's backstory.

I also found a nice twill at Divazus, an online fabric store, but it's 100% polyester. I'll probably buy a cotton mix locally, either at Tavares & Tavares, or Ouro Têxteis. 

+ at least I can pick the stars from my stash, sadly the bow on the white uniform is more pink than red, so I can't use the fabric from my stash. I'll have to stalk Feira dos Tecidos for it.

- two dresses is double the work, almost. But I'm not making them at the same time anyway, and using the same pattern.

THE CUNNING PLAN 

Order the ribbons, boots and harmonica. Make the patterns, even if I'll need to alter them later (I'm currently too fat, I really need to loose weight for this one. The after pandemic took me down).