Candy W. Ardlay - Uniform St. Paul's #3

the boots, royal and sky blue
velvet ribbon, and the harmonica

I didn't think I would be posting Candy so soon, but the items I ordered from AliExpress just arrived. Yesterday the velvet ribbons arrived (and the lamps for my lava lamp), and today the harmonica and the boots. It usually takes longer, these took under 2 weeks to arrive.

The Ribbons
The colours aren't exactly the same, but they were the closest in the available colours. The royal blue could be a little bit lighter, and the sky blue should be a periwinkle. I ordered 5 yards (a bit under 5 meters) of each colour in 1cm, 1,5cm and 2cm wide. The great thing about velvet, besides looking awesome, is that it photographs a different tone, depending on the light. So, it's a bit like computer screens, each shows the colours differently.
I plan to use the wider ribbons (2,5cm) on the skirt hem, the medium (1,5cm) on the collar, the back bow, and maybe the cuffs, and the thinner (1cm) on the belt, and maybe the cuffs. I'll see which width fits better each part of the dress later, when the dress is made, as I'll sew them by hand.

The Harmonica
It's a bit on the small side, I think I bought a kids harmonica. But it's fine, it's just a nod to Candy's bond with Terry.

The Boots
Designwise they're awesome! And really very comfortable. I believe I can endure one con day fairly well with them on. But the pleather isn't very thick or good quality, and I need to add grommets to the lace holes. I'll probably also add a strip of rigiline boning to the back seam, so they don't slide down. They're too warm to test them around the house for the next few months, but I'll do it once it cools down. When I go buy the blue and grey shoelaces, I'll ask at the hardware store if they have those hook rivets, and I'll add some to the top part of the boots. Besides looking better, they're more practical. And, oddly enough for modern cheap boots, these don't have a side zipper.

first try on, didn't have the patience
to tie them all the way up,
but they feel very comfortable to walk in.

I like these boots for Candy, because they are a bit bulky. The girl's legs in Candy Candy have a very weird shape, no ankles and very short feet, that's why I went for these, also aiming for comfort, and I think I nailed it.

I was organizing my cosplay Pinterest secret boards, where I add all sorts of cosplay resources for each costume, and I already had the boots there, but a link from Wish, instead of AliExpress, where I eventually bought them from. It was a good idea, as I had many more Black Uniform pictures there than I found the last few weeks.

sketch for the white uniform 

overlay with the black uniform 

Meanwhile, I made my usual technical sketch for both uniforms.  First I just made the white uniform and all the accessories, but when I decided to add the black uniform, I traced the uniform sketch into a new piece of paper, painted it, and cut it out. then I glued a sheet of acetate to the original sketch, and, with it folded over the sketch, I glued the blach uniform sketched to it, on top of the white uniform. This way, it's all contained, and I just need to flip the acetate to change the uniform. 

I'm adding to this post, again, because it's just a small addition, not worth a post of itself, and I don't want to wait until I buy more items.

wide pink ribbon

The other day I went to Mega China, a Chinese trinket shop nearby in search for stuff to finish Lum's Yukata, and they had this 7,5cm wide hot pink satin ribbon, and I bought it. I'm not a huge fan of these ribbons, for many reasons, some of them being, it's only satiny on one side, it creases too easily and it doesn't have enough body. But I liked the colour, even if it's a hotter pink than the original, and I like the Idea of the hair bows being actual ribbon, So, the plan is, to add some thin but stiff interfacing, like horsehair, and then sew two ribbons together, with the satin side to the outside, and make the hair ribbons from 3 pieces, the bow, the knot, and the flaps.

+ everything I needed to order online, except the wig, has arrived, now I need to resist starting this costume before finishing the Foxy Lady.

- only when I get paid for my last job, I'll go downtown, buy the white and black twill fabrics, and try to find the pinks, and the maroon, preferably offcuts. If I find an offcut of grey velvet, I'll buy that too.

THE CUNNING PLAN
After buying the rest of the fabrics, start making the patterns. But not right away, I still aim to lose a bit of weight, I'm going for my pre-pandemic weight, so I can wear all my other costumes and feel better in this one. And, whenever I get another money boost, I'll order the wig from Coscraft.