SHERYL NOME
Macross Frontier
Photographer
Why I chose to make this costume:
This gallery actually contains two costumes I made from Macross Frontier.
I dressed up as Sheryl Nome at the Grand International Cosplay Ball in London for my stage performance, which was to sing "Diamond Crevasse" live. My idea was to do a costume change 1/3 into the song, so I had to pick two costumes that could "fit" into each other and still look decent.
I decided on Sheryl for the ball after going through a few other options because ultimately my love for the Macross series, as well as Yoko Kanno's music for Frontier, won over.
How I made this costume:
The outer costume is based on Sheryl's concert outfit in episode 6. The dress has over 20 yards of fabric and chiffon and it is removable via Velcro. I styled Sheryl's wig by combining a blond and pink wig into one heavy mass of curls. I also made the hair wreath containing hand painted roses, leaving a gap for a separate rose hairpiece that clips into the wig and would remain for the entire stage act.
I deliberately did not use gloves as I had to hold a mic, get around the long hair against my back as well as mess with Velcro to remove the dress within a few seconds.
Instead I made a matching wrist corsage with a purple rose.
The costume revealed underneath is from the 2nd Opening song, "Lion"—I opted for it because the color scheme matched and because it fit perfectly underneath the overdress. I made the bodice, which is lined, reinforced and boned, as well as the skirt and accessories. Sheryl's skirt is a simple circle skirt from what I can tell but I made it into a 3 tier skirt for the stage. I really like it this way.
The flower on her collar is supposed to be red, but because I wanted to match it to the outer dress, I kept it purple.
The rose wrist cuff worked for the Lion costume as well, instead of using gloves.
Lastly, I also made Sheryl's signature earring using various beads, cubic zirconium and jewelry findings which took a lot of running around to find. I am still improving on the elements of it.
Thoughts on this costume:
It was exciting to plan for a stage performance again. I haven't had that pleasure in years since I am usually judging the contests and shows that I am able to attend. I think Sheryl is a wonderful character—vivacious, playful, with a warm heart and a deep soul. I relate to her in some ways. Also, dressing and singing as Sheryl Nome made me feel nostalgic about the times when I cosplayed another Macross idol singer years ago, namely Sharon Apple.