Yes, I'm a nerd, and yes, I'm a big fan of Halloween. Did I mention I have crazy fugue states in which I compell everyone around me to question my sanity?
I usually decide early what I want to dress up as, so that if there are unforseen complexities I can still have a nice costume ready on time.
This year was a toss-up. I was either going to do Shane Vansen from Space: Above and Beyond, or Kaylee from Firefly. Kaylee won out, only because my sweetheart replied to my e-mail with, "That would be PERFECT!".
Others have trod this path before me. Apparently Kaylee is a popular choice among fellow female geeks. One girl has her notes on making the costume here, and Serenifly has screenshots of everyone in the cast and notes for some of the costumes worn on Firefly and Serenity. I will probably not worry about the jacket or parasol. The shirt I'm going to substitute something from Urban Outfitters.
Something tells me that this will be a project not unlike the one I half-heartedly started for Arwen's chase habit one year (and left undone - it would have been financially disasterous).
So for others who wish to venture into the abyss with me, this is what I've found so far:
Kaylee's Teddy Bear Patch - this is the "correct" bear patch to use, but the site requires a $65 minimum order. I ended up getting some trim and eyelet for future projects - I might end up making my own translation of her "Prairie Harpy" dress (except I would use a blue floral print and probably different lace). I'll probably E-Bay the other 9 bears that I won't need. I tried to contact Trim & Button Expo (mentioned on the how-to site), but they're out of stock.
The Bead on Kaylee's Necklace - This is as close as you will get to the bead in the promo photos; Murano glass is very individual. This site also wants a $20 minimum order, but if you like jewelry making this won't be hard. I bought two extra beads to make matching earrings.
The character on her right pants leg is the "xi3" from "xi3huan", which means "happy": 喜
I think the character near the teddy bear is "ai4", which means "love": 爱 (simp) 愛(trad)
The characters on her pocket are a puzzle. The top one looks like it might be "ping2" from "ping2jing4", which is one of the two translations for "Serenity" they have on the show: 平静 The middle character doesn't look like "jing4" to me though. The bottom character has "tu3" ( earth - 土) for the radical but I can't make out the rest of the character to try looking it up in a dictionary.
My mother (who is suffering from empty nest syndrome) offered to make the jumpsuit for me, so I'm squared there. I don't care for Kaylee's jumpsuit in Serenity, but I really love the embroidered flowers on it. My mom mentioned painting the flowers on, which seems more in line with Kaylee's character. We'll see what happens.
For those who are just altering a jumpsuit, I recommend getting a military surplus one (in cotton, not high tech fabric), cutting off the arms and finishing the edges on the armholes, and putting the patches and writing on. If Mom does end up making the jumpsuit from scratch, I'll see if I can post photos of the pattern pieces.
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The beads arrived today; they're way too big/heavy to make earrings out of though. At least that's my opinion. I'll probably eBay the extra two.
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