Arwen – Lord of the Rings (Chase Dress)

Made for: Halloween 2002

Background: I saw someone wearing a beautiful Chase dress at Dragoncon, and I really wanted one of my own.

Journal Entries: Read more at my Arwen Chase tag

Patterns Used: Simplicity 9891

Dress: I found this blue suede on sale at the fabric store and bought it – once I got home and got to work on it I realised this is totally not the colour of the dress. But I went with it anyway (and from then on out carried references with me TO the fabric store instead of going on memory!). I used the Simplicity LOTR-esque pattern.
For the ties on the front I dyed some cording to match the underskirt. The lace overlays on the collar I dyed and attached. They’re not accurate, but then… well, by this point I was considering this “My” version of the chase dress instead of an accurate version, LOL.

Skirts/Pants: I used a lighter blue suede for the underskirt – it closes with a hook-and-eye on a waistband. The pants were my Beatrix pants.

Belt Buckle: My belt buckle my dad helped me make out of sheet metal, based on early drawings from the Alleycatscratch site of what they believed it looked like, it has a foam backing.

Accessories: I already had the pants and the boots – I made dark green boot covers for the boots. The necklace I bought.

History: I wore this at a handful of cons and actually won 1st place in the elves division at the LOTR costume contest Dragoncon 2003! I’ve always loved this costume even if it’s not screen accurate – it’s comfortable and fun to wear. I’ve always played around with the idea of remaking it one day…

2024 Photoshoot: In 2024 I shot 4 costumes from 2002 on the white backdrop and this was one of them! This one was actually in REALLY good shape, it just needed a good steaming. The only reason this one hadn’t been shot on the backdrop prior to this is that I did not think it fit anymore. I was so excited when I tried it on a few weeks ago and it fully zipped! My one conundrum was the hair – for the original, I used a pre-braided hairpiece I could just put on. Well I didn’t have that hairpiece anymore. I try to keep these old costumes true to the original build when I shoot them, so I was torn on what to do. In the end I used my Rogue as Ms Marvel wig (with the white stripe removed), braided. Turned out pretty decent, and I thought it was a good substitute considering that probably would’ve been my move if I’d worn this again soon after dcon 2003. (Also, I just used a random sword in the original pics, so I continued with a random sword in the new photos – at least it’s LOTR this time!)

                       

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