LEI FANG
Dead Or Alive 3
Photographer
Why I chose to make this costume:
Since I became a fan of the game Dead or Alive and Lei Fang, I have wanted to make one of her regular Chinese dresses. When it came to deciding which color dress to choose, well, I had not seen the blue dress cosplayed personally, and thought that blue and gold would be a wonderful color combination.
Plus, I cannot believe I had all the materials needed for this costume! All I had to get were the gold closures and bias tape for the trim.
How I made this costume:
I made the dress using a rich blue brocade and pale yellow bridal satin for the lining.
I created two phoenix designs for this costume and they are painstakingly appliquéd on the front and back. With gold thread, I satin stitched the outlines and all the feathers over a period of two days.
I also added hundreds of iridescent and gold sequins as well as rhinestones for glamour and depth.
The dress is fully lined and boned for structure and was tailored to fit me like a glove. The high-cut slits made me a little nervous at first, but they really are necessary for those crouching poses lol.
The arm cuffs snap on and I re-used my Lei Fang wig from my other costume. I plan on sharing the wig between the costumes so the hair ties will remain gold to match!
The only thing I am not happy with are the shoes. I ran out of time to shop for the right strappy sandals and used a pair of gold wedges I owned.
Thoughts on this costume:
I had a really fun time wearing this outfit. It was comfortable, easy to move in, and so cute. The awesome Kasumi in some of the photos below is Fira from nocturnam.org! I hope to take this costume to multiple cons because it is very easy to pack as well!
