time completed: Middle of September 2006
hours spent: 25+
worn at: Festival International 2006 (Mexico), 29th CMJC (Mexico), Anime Matsuri 2007, Metrocon 2007

Why I chose to make this costume:
My friend Nene Thomas created this beautiful painting named "Gothic Princess", as well as a sister piece, "Angelic Princess". To my delight, she chose me as the model for both and ever since I've seen the artworks, I have wanted to make one of those costumes. Gothic Princess really spoke to me, I loved the colors, jewelry and wing design.

How I made this costume:
I used a thick red brocade intended for home decor and set it off against a lightweight black brocade in a tighter matte pattern. The corset I made is strong enough to support the wings without me having to use any shoulder straps which was yay. I hand cut black venetian floral lace into the right width and shape and stitched them onto the corset as trim. I also sewed the creamy white floral trim onto the bottom hem according to the reference. Then I began hand-beading fire polished glass beads and white pearls all over the trims on the corset, the billowy sleeves which I patterned myself, and the skirt. I also hand made venetian lace gauntlets and spent quite a long while sewing scattered beads onto them. I think I love those the most!
I made the necklace by centering it around a red jewel, stringing many rows of black and fire polished beads together.
I made the black wings out of turkey and coque feathers - originally I thought about doing fabric style bat wings, but the feathers gave them so much more texture and created the tattered effect beautifully.
The wig I used is a Naomi from New Look which I styled/cut. For the studio photos I used a Scarlett, which also worked beautifully!
I created the headpiece by butchering two fabric roses and combining them into one big flower, and adding multiple strands of hand-beaded pearls. The feathers are pheasant. They are one of the signature elements of Nene's paintings, and one of my favorites.