Accessories, Boots & Hairstyle
Accessories For The Chase Dress/Coat Costume :
(There are many elements that go into the overall look of this costume. I'm going from head to toe here)
-Dark Blue Contact Lenses (if you can wear them) See the Pre-Raphaelite Woman Page on Contacts
and Makeup for more.
-Long straight wig styled in "chase scene" style (see below) or your own hair styled in "chase scene"
style.
-Elven Princess Makeup Colors. See Pre-Raphaelite Woman Page on Contacts & Makeup for more.
-Faux "scrape" for cheek.
If you want to replicate that "scrape" she receives on the cheek during the chase scene I have seen faux
"scratches" at the local Halloween where house store when in season for Halloween. They are similar to
a press-on tattoo, where you use water to make it adhere to your skin. Check for these at your local
Halloween where house store when in season, or do a search online with a search engine for
"costumes". You could even re-create it yourself if you know how to, with makeup.
-Latex Prosthetic Ears, Spirit Gum Adhesive & Adhesive Remover (optional: Liquid Latex)
Most Halloween costume shops in your area will carry the ears. The Woochie Small Space Ears work
fine and if you are a man you might want to go for the large size instead. Online retailers abound! Use
the search engine you're used to and type in Halloween Costumes, or just Costumes, and in no time flat
you'll find an online retailer that sells ears. Here are some links though:
Cinema Secrets Carries an "Elven Ear Tips":
http://store.cinemasecretsonline.com/wo311.html
See an officially licensed elf ear tip now available from Rubies
Buy Costumes
http://www.buycostumes.com/
Easley's Fun Shop
http://www.easleys.com/
When you hit these links, type in the search box woochie or ears and you will find them, or look under
category for appliances/prosthetics. I would buy a new bottle of spirit gum and remover each year,
depending on how often you use it up. They are not very expensive ranging from $1.99-$5.00 USD for
each bottle some come in sets with both included, so it would be easy to replace often. I find that the
ears range in price from $9.99-$15.00 USD. An optional item would be a bottle of Liquid Latex. This I
used on the seam between my real ear and the appliance, to build up a smooth border rather than a
huge line between the two, it kind of blurs the line for you, then when you use your normal foundation
liquid makeup, and powder over this, it looks more convincing. Just a suggestion.
-Pendant (You can buy yourself one, or make yourself one like I did see Pre-Raphaelite Woman site for
more)
-Belt Buckle (see Belt Buckle Page) Now, at the Noble Collection site, you can buy a version of this
buckle! It is made of Sterling Silver and costs $75.00 USD, but it only measures 2 inches across, making
it more of a brooch than buckle and much smaller in scale than the original. But you can decide that for
yourself. Check it out at www.noblecollection.com/
-Elbow Length Gloves in Gray Color
I found an online retailer called Finale Gloves. I found that they have two styles of gloves that might work
for this costume. Styles are: Matte Finish Cotton, and Matte Spandex. Neither of these glove styles is
shiny. Since the original gloves worn are probably made of suede leather, you want to go with a Matte
look. I am going with the Matte Spandex, because my upper arms (me being a Pre-Raphaelite woman)
are probably larger than they make most of their gloves to fit. The spandex will stretch. Prices on the
gloves are $28.00-$40.00 USD for the Matte Cotton and $25.00 USD for the Matte Spandex. The
Spandex is "one size fits all". The Spandex has a light gray color called platinum available. I would go
with the 12 button slip on style or longer.
Spandex:
http://www.finalegloves.com/612-612dia.html
Matte Cotton:
http://www.finalegloves.com/cotton.html
I have the gloves in hand now, and they are pretty nice! Made very well. The platinum color is a light
gray color. I plan on dyeing mine to get them darker in color and I'll let you know how they turn out. The
coolest thing about ordering from Finale Gloves is: When you place an order for the one pair of gloves
you get a second pair FREE! So I got a pair of the platinum color and a pair of the same style in white
for FREE. Now I can use those for another costume if it calls for elbow length white gloves. Or if I "mess
up" during the dyeing process, I can start over. Plus, you get FREE SHIPPING. Totally cool. So you get
two pairs of gloves for only $25.00 USD. Very nice indeed.
My forearm right at the elbow measures about 12" around on my right side (the larger side) and these
gloves fit me snugly but comfortably. I can't speak for the matte cotton, if you have arms like mine I'd go
with the matte spandex for comfort. They are not shiny at all, and breathe well. The finger tips are not
poorly made they are nice and uniformly made, very professional. I highly recommend this online retailer.
-Gray Colored Leggings Or Tights
I bought some plus sized white cotton leggings at my local Target store, for only $14.99 USD, I plan to
dye them to match my costume. You can find plus size active wear at Junonia Active Wear, Target,
Wal-Mart, and online at Roaman's too. Roaman's has two items, one is in the regular summer 2003
catalog area, and there is an ad in the clearance area for leggings. In the regular catalog area they
have the leggings in a gray color or white so you could dye them. They have average, petite, and tall
sizes from 14W-40W. $14.99-$18.99 USD. And then in the clearance pages they have some for $7.49
USD! I believe they would be average and sizes are 14W-36W. Grey is available. Check them out here:
www.roamans.com/
-Boots or Boot Tops (see below).
-Sword (optional) *especially if you're making this for a child you wouldn't want a real sword, a plastic toy
sword of any kind would work for a child I am sure for effect. If you're against the sword idea, just skip it.
If you're really into detail You can purchase replicas of her Sword. United Cutlery has announced that
the "Sword of ..." will be released as an addition to the adult collectible reproduction sword line. You can
purchase the United Cutlery Line at Blades by Brown here: http://www.bladesbybrown.com/
(There are many elements that go into the overall look of this costume. I'm going from head to toe here)
-Dark Blue Contact Lenses (if you can wear them) See the Pre-Raphaelite Woman Page on Contacts
and Makeup for more.
-Long straight wig styled in "chase scene" style (see below) or your own hair styled in "chase scene"
style.
-Elven Princess Makeup Colors. See Pre-Raphaelite Woman Page on Contacts & Makeup for more.
-Faux "scrape" for cheek.
If you want to replicate that "scrape" she receives on the cheek during the chase scene I have seen faux
"scratches" at the local Halloween where house store when in season for Halloween. They are similar to
a press-on tattoo, where you use water to make it adhere to your skin. Check for these at your local
Halloween where house store when in season, or do a search online with a search engine for
"costumes". You could even re-create it yourself if you know how to, with makeup.
-Latex Prosthetic Ears, Spirit Gum Adhesive & Adhesive Remover (optional: Liquid Latex)
Most Halloween costume shops in your area will carry the ears. The Woochie Small Space Ears work
fine and if you are a man you might want to go for the large size instead. Online retailers abound! Use
the search engine you're used to and type in Halloween Costumes, or just Costumes, and in no time flat
you'll find an online retailer that sells ears. Here are some links though:
Cinema Secrets Carries an "Elven Ear Tips":
http://store.cinemasecretsonline.com/wo311.html
See an officially licensed elf ear tip now available from Rubies
Buy Costumes
http://www.buycostumes.com/
Easley's Fun Shop
http://www.easleys.com/
When you hit these links, type in the search box woochie or ears and you will find them, or look under
category for appliances/prosthetics. I would buy a new bottle of spirit gum and remover each year,
depending on how often you use it up. They are not very expensive ranging from $1.99-$5.00 USD for
each bottle some come in sets with both included, so it would be easy to replace often. I find that the
ears range in price from $9.99-$15.00 USD. An optional item would be a bottle of Liquid Latex. This I
used on the seam between my real ear and the appliance, to build up a smooth border rather than a
huge line between the two, it kind of blurs the line for you, then when you use your normal foundation
liquid makeup, and powder over this, it looks more convincing. Just a suggestion.
-Pendant (You can buy yourself one, or make yourself one like I did see Pre-Raphaelite Woman site for
more)
-Belt Buckle (see Belt Buckle Page) Now, at the Noble Collection site, you can buy a version of this
buckle! It is made of Sterling Silver and costs $75.00 USD, but it only measures 2 inches across, making
it more of a brooch than buckle and much smaller in scale than the original. But you can decide that for
yourself. Check it out at www.noblecollection.com/
-Elbow Length Gloves in Gray Color
I found an online retailer called Finale Gloves. I found that they have two styles of gloves that might work
for this costume. Styles are: Matte Finish Cotton, and Matte Spandex. Neither of these glove styles is
shiny. Since the original gloves worn are probably made of suede leather, you want to go with a Matte
look. I am going with the Matte Spandex, because my upper arms (me being a Pre-Raphaelite woman)
are probably larger than they make most of their gloves to fit. The spandex will stretch. Prices on the
gloves are $28.00-$40.00 USD for the Matte Cotton and $25.00 USD for the Matte Spandex. The
Spandex is "one size fits all". The Spandex has a light gray color called platinum available. I would go
with the 12 button slip on style or longer.
Spandex:
http://www.finalegloves.com/612-612dia.html
Matte Cotton:
http://www.finalegloves.com/cotton.html
I have the gloves in hand now, and they are pretty nice! Made very well. The platinum color is a light
gray color. I plan on dyeing mine to get them darker in color and I'll let you know how they turn out. The
coolest thing about ordering from Finale Gloves is: When you place an order for the one pair of gloves
you get a second pair FREE! So I got a pair of the platinum color and a pair of the same style in white
for FREE. Now I can use those for another costume if it calls for elbow length white gloves. Or if I "mess
up" during the dyeing process, I can start over. Plus, you get FREE SHIPPING. Totally cool. So you get
two pairs of gloves for only $25.00 USD. Very nice indeed.
My forearm right at the elbow measures about 12" around on my right side (the larger side) and these
gloves fit me snugly but comfortably. I can't speak for the matte cotton, if you have arms like mine I'd go
with the matte spandex for comfort. They are not shiny at all, and breathe well. The finger tips are not
poorly made they are nice and uniformly made, very professional. I highly recommend this online retailer.
-Gray Colored Leggings Or Tights
I bought some plus sized white cotton leggings at my local Target store, for only $14.99 USD, I plan to
dye them to match my costume. You can find plus size active wear at Junonia Active Wear, Target,
Wal-Mart, and online at Roaman's too. Roaman's has two items, one is in the regular summer 2003
catalog area, and there is an ad in the clearance area for leggings. In the regular catalog area they
have the leggings in a gray color or white so you could dye them. They have average, petite, and tall
sizes from 14W-40W. $14.99-$18.99 USD. And then in the clearance pages they have some for $7.49
USD! I believe they would be average and sizes are 14W-36W. Grey is available. Check them out here:
www.roamans.com/
-Boots or Boot Tops (see below).
-Sword (optional) *especially if you're making this for a child you wouldn't want a real sword, a plastic toy
sword of any kind would work for a child I am sure for effect. If you're against the sword idea, just skip it.
If you're really into detail You can purchase replicas of her Sword. United Cutlery has announced that
the "Sword of ..." will be released as an addition to the adult collectible reproduction sword line. You can
purchase the United Cutlery Line at Blades by Brown here: http://www.bladesbybrown.com/
Chase Scene Hairstyle :
-To achieve the hairstyle you must either have long straight hair already, or purchase a wig or
hairpiece, or go with your own length and improvise.
-When picking out colors of wigs or hairpieces, rather than go for her hair color (unless this is close to
your own color already and the color does not look terrible on your skin complexion) go for matching
your own hair color. You will find that matching your own hair color will inevitably look more flattering on
you. You will still "look like an elven princess" but with your own natural color.
The style consists of these elements:
-All one-length hair style no bangs. Hair is parted to one side in front, softly, not pulled tight.
-Hair falls to the mid back area.
-There are three plaits or braid done in the herringbone style.
One is larger and is placed down the center of the back of the head, and the other two are a bit smaller
one on each side of the back of the head. (see pics for details).
You can achieve this look with the help of a friend who knows how to do the herringbone braid, if you
need help learning that technique, you can find help on the LOTR costume research page.
-Necessity being the mother of invention (especially on movie sets) Her hair is styled in the front with
two long straight pieces of hair hanging out on each side of her face..This is most likely done on all
elves in the film to cover up any seams on the ears (even though they are pretty hard to detect).
I have styled a wig for a friend in the "chase scene" style.
She purchased a wig from WOW wigs; the wig she purchased was the "Deluxe Witch" wig in Med.
Chestnut Brown. The wig price was $24.95 USD. Another good alternative is the "Misty" wig they have
for $48.95 USD. (See pics above).
*Please refer to my Angel Dress Hair page for more information on using and buying hair extension
kits.*
When browsing through the Wigs.Net site, I found these items that seem to best fit for that "elven
princess" style look for the:
Long straight clip
Long Straight Comb
Long Straight Pony
The Wigs.Net web site has a great many options for you to find out what is the best match to your hair
color. They even do a hair swatch sampler on loan program where you pay for the swatches, then
return them within 10 days for a store credit towards the purchase of the hairpiece! Cool.
Generally, wigs are fuller than a normal head of hair. To remove some of that bulk you can get to your
local hairstylist and ask her or him to texturize it for you. Texturizing is a technique where a special pair
of scissors that has teeth to the blades is used to remove small amounts of hair everywhere in an area
where it is used, and this removes bulk. You can also do this for yourself, but be careful with this. Go
slowly checking all along the way that you are not destroying your newly purchased wig. When I did my
friend?s wig I just used regular shears and snipped various spots lightly with a feather light touch all
around an area and then stopped and combed out the hair to see how I did, see how much was
removed to make sure it looked ok still.
You should not use texturizers on your own hair, my stylist says..She recommends leaving that up to a
professional! And I do too ;0) You can purchase texturizers at Sally Beauty Supply stores, and I saw a
pair in the beauty department of Wal-Mart as well! See pic above for examples.
I suggest if you are going to style your own wig, buy yourself these accessories to make your life easier:
-Wig Comb or Pic WIDE TOOTH
-Gentle Shampoo to remove any funny wig smells and softens pre-styled hairdos. You want to be
comfortable in the wig, and you won't be if it stinks...
-Synthetic Hair Conditioner in Spray-On or Soak In form, this will help you detangle after washing.
-Wig Cap or a left over thigh high stocking cut off and tightened with rubber band would do, this keeps
all your hair down smooth and flat so your hair will not make the wig sit on your head wierd.
-Styrofoam Head & "Manikin Holder" or glued to weight on bottom. This is a must. I hot glued a
Styrofoam head to a glass brick (used for glass walls) because it can easily be removed later since hot
glue doesn't stick forever to glass. The Styrofoam heads have a hole up the center and there is a
device available at Sally Beauty Supply store called: "Manikin Holder" for $6.99 USD. This is a clamp on
the bottom that secures to a table, and a long pole on top that inserts into the styrofoam heads. The
pole is adjustable and can be tightened. See the pic above for example. This is a cool gadjet.
-"T-Pins"..These are long thick straight pins like the ones used for sewing, but instead of small pin
heads, the head has a bar across the top and so the pin looks like the letter "T"-hence the name
"T-Pin" LOL..These you can use to pin the wig onto the Styrofoam head and it will not move.
-Bobby Pins, or Hairpins & clear ouchless rubber bands or ties, you need them. The clear ones do not
show up in the hairstyle, the brown or black ones work well too.
I found "T Pins" at Michael's Craft Store in the Jewelry making area; I found synthetic hair conditioner,
wig caps, combs, Styrofoam heads, and texturizers at Sally Beauty Supply and online at WOW Wigs.
Sally has the styrofoam heads for only $2.99 USD, but online at WoW Wigs they are $6.95 USD.
I started by washing the wig in gentle shampoo. Don't wring or scrunch the wig when doing this, keep in
mind the more knots you create here, the more you have to remove and fight with later. Just swish,
swirl, and let it soak. Then I used a soak of the synthetic hair conditioner to detangle. Then I let air-dry.
I shook the wig gently from side to side to remove excess water, never wring. A cool place I found to let
a super long wig like this air dry is by hanging it on your showerhead. Then it just drips into the
bathtub. If you put it outside, unless it was a super still day, the wind would tie it in knots. Try not to put
it on anything that would stretch out or distort the shape of the cap. You could even place it on the
Styrofoam head to dry.
Then I thinned the sections with a regular pair of shears, removing all the extra bulk by making gentle
varying snips through the hair just snipping little bits, then I would stop and remove the hair with the
comb and stand back to see it looked alright before continuing. You can take your wig to your hair
stylist if you do not want to do this yourself, I would imagine they would charge about the price of a
men's haircut for this task. Depending on what you would like them to do to it I'm sure.
I trimmed at least 1 foot or 12 inches off the bottom because I knew it was out of proportion for her
height. When I did this, I trimmed the back not straight across but in a gentle "v" shape as if it had
grown naturally that way. Shorter on the sides that would fall to the front, and longest in the center
back.
Then I sprayed extra synthetic conditioner on the hair as I went to work braiding the herringbone
braids. I used a couple bobby pins on the sides to pull back the braids and keep them in place, and I
used clear ouchless bands to keep them braided. I trimmed the braids in a natural shape, to remove
any long out of shape hairs.
I braided the back center braid next. You'll have to leave enough bulk down to cover up the wig netting,
but gathering enough to make a decent braid. Then I pulled out the two side pieces that cover up your
ear seams in front. I cut them shorter than the rest of the hair so they would lie on the chest up front. It
only took me about an hour or two to do this.
I highly suggest getting an adult to do this project for you, or a professional hair stylist if you are not an
adult, please be careful with scissors and ask for help. Also, if you have a tiled or linoleum floor in an
area in your home, do it there so that you can just let the hair fall to the floor, sweep it up and vacuum
up the hair later. If you would like to find out how to learn the herringbone braid technique
check out the book for young girls titled: "Braids and Bows" (Spiral-bound) by Anne Akers
Johnson, Robin Stoneking. Available at Amazon.com.
-To achieve the hairstyle you must either have long straight hair already, or purchase a wig or
hairpiece, or go with your own length and improvise.
-When picking out colors of wigs or hairpieces, rather than go for her hair color (unless this is close to
your own color already and the color does not look terrible on your skin complexion) go for matching
your own hair color. You will find that matching your own hair color will inevitably look more flattering on
you. You will still "look like an elven princess" but with your own natural color.
The style consists of these elements:
-All one-length hair style no bangs. Hair is parted to one side in front, softly, not pulled tight.
-Hair falls to the mid back area.
-There are three plaits or braid done in the herringbone style.
One is larger and is placed down the center of the back of the head, and the other two are a bit smaller
one on each side of the back of the head. (see pics for details).
You can achieve this look with the help of a friend who knows how to do the herringbone braid, if you
need help learning that technique, you can find help on the LOTR costume research page.
-Necessity being the mother of invention (especially on movie sets) Her hair is styled in the front with
two long straight pieces of hair hanging out on each side of her face..This is most likely done on all
elves in the film to cover up any seams on the ears (even though they are pretty hard to detect).
I have styled a wig for a friend in the "chase scene" style.
She purchased a wig from WOW wigs; the wig she purchased was the "Deluxe Witch" wig in Med.
Chestnut Brown. The wig price was $24.95 USD. Another good alternative is the "Misty" wig they have
for $48.95 USD. (See pics above).
*Please refer to my Angel Dress Hair page for more information on using and buying hair extension
kits.*
When browsing through the Wigs.Net site, I found these items that seem to best fit for that "elven
princess" style look for the:
Long straight clip
Long Straight Comb
Long Straight Pony
The Wigs.Net web site has a great many options for you to find out what is the best match to your hair
color. They even do a hair swatch sampler on loan program where you pay for the swatches, then
return them within 10 days for a store credit towards the purchase of the hairpiece! Cool.
Generally, wigs are fuller than a normal head of hair. To remove some of that bulk you can get to your
local hairstylist and ask her or him to texturize it for you. Texturizing is a technique where a special pair
of scissors that has teeth to the blades is used to remove small amounts of hair everywhere in an area
where it is used, and this removes bulk. You can also do this for yourself, but be careful with this. Go
slowly checking all along the way that you are not destroying your newly purchased wig. When I did my
friend?s wig I just used regular shears and snipped various spots lightly with a feather light touch all
around an area and then stopped and combed out the hair to see how I did, see how much was
removed to make sure it looked ok still.
You should not use texturizers on your own hair, my stylist says..She recommends leaving that up to a
professional! And I do too ;0) You can purchase texturizers at Sally Beauty Supply stores, and I saw a
pair in the beauty department of Wal-Mart as well! See pic above for examples.
I suggest if you are going to style your own wig, buy yourself these accessories to make your life easier:
-Wig Comb or Pic WIDE TOOTH
-Gentle Shampoo to remove any funny wig smells and softens pre-styled hairdos. You want to be
comfortable in the wig, and you won't be if it stinks...
-Synthetic Hair Conditioner in Spray-On or Soak In form, this will help you detangle after washing.
-Wig Cap or a left over thigh high stocking cut off and tightened with rubber band would do, this keeps
all your hair down smooth and flat so your hair will not make the wig sit on your head wierd.
-Styrofoam Head & "Manikin Holder" or glued to weight on bottom. This is a must. I hot glued a
Styrofoam head to a glass brick (used for glass walls) because it can easily be removed later since hot
glue doesn't stick forever to glass. The Styrofoam heads have a hole up the center and there is a
device available at Sally Beauty Supply store called: "Manikin Holder" for $6.99 USD. This is a clamp on
the bottom that secures to a table, and a long pole on top that inserts into the styrofoam heads. The
pole is adjustable and can be tightened. See the pic above for example. This is a cool gadjet.
-"T-Pins"..These are long thick straight pins like the ones used for sewing, but instead of small pin
heads, the head has a bar across the top and so the pin looks like the letter "T"-hence the name
"T-Pin" LOL..These you can use to pin the wig onto the Styrofoam head and it will not move.
-Bobby Pins, or Hairpins & clear ouchless rubber bands or ties, you need them. The clear ones do not
show up in the hairstyle, the brown or black ones work well too.
I found "T Pins" at Michael's Craft Store in the Jewelry making area; I found synthetic hair conditioner,
wig caps, combs, Styrofoam heads, and texturizers at Sally Beauty Supply and online at WOW Wigs.
Sally has the styrofoam heads for only $2.99 USD, but online at WoW Wigs they are $6.95 USD.
I started by washing the wig in gentle shampoo. Don't wring or scrunch the wig when doing this, keep in
mind the more knots you create here, the more you have to remove and fight with later. Just swish,
swirl, and let it soak. Then I used a soak of the synthetic hair conditioner to detangle. Then I let air-dry.
I shook the wig gently from side to side to remove excess water, never wring. A cool place I found to let
a super long wig like this air dry is by hanging it on your showerhead. Then it just drips into the
bathtub. If you put it outside, unless it was a super still day, the wind would tie it in knots. Try not to put
it on anything that would stretch out or distort the shape of the cap. You could even place it on the
Styrofoam head to dry.
Then I thinned the sections with a regular pair of shears, removing all the extra bulk by making gentle
varying snips through the hair just snipping little bits, then I would stop and remove the hair with the
comb and stand back to see it looked alright before continuing. You can take your wig to your hair
stylist if you do not want to do this yourself, I would imagine they would charge about the price of a
men's haircut for this task. Depending on what you would like them to do to it I'm sure.
I trimmed at least 1 foot or 12 inches off the bottom because I knew it was out of proportion for her
height. When I did this, I trimmed the back not straight across but in a gentle "v" shape as if it had
grown naturally that way. Shorter on the sides that would fall to the front, and longest in the center
back.
Then I sprayed extra synthetic conditioner on the hair as I went to work braiding the herringbone
braids. I used a couple bobby pins on the sides to pull back the braids and keep them in place, and I
used clear ouchless bands to keep them braided. I trimmed the braids in a natural shape, to remove
any long out of shape hairs.
I braided the back center braid next. You'll have to leave enough bulk down to cover up the wig netting,
but gathering enough to make a decent braid. Then I pulled out the two side pieces that cover up your
ear seams in front. I cut them shorter than the rest of the hair so they would lie on the chest up front. It
only took me about an hour or two to do this.
I highly suggest getting an adult to do this project for you, or a professional hair stylist if you are not an
adult, please be careful with scissors and ask for help. Also, if you have a tiled or linoleum floor in an
area in your home, do it there so that you can just let the hair fall to the floor, sweep it up and vacuum
up the hair later. If you would like to find out how to learn the herringbone braid technique
check out the book for young girls titled: "Braids and Bows" (Spiral-bound) by Anne Akers
Johnson, Robin Stoneking. Available at Amazon.com.
Chase Costume Footwear
When I looked around for ideas on the right footwear for my Chase Scene costume, I found several
options.
-You could buy yourself an authentic replica pair of Elven Princess Riding Boots from the man
who styled and made the shoes for the movies. The price for these boots would be $1200 (NZD
New Zealand Dollar) per pair, which translates to $662.69 USD the last time I checked the conversion
rate. This does NOT include shipping, handling, or customs fees you pay when you buy something out
of the country and it is delivered to you in the US. His web site is here:
http://www.ringstyle.co.nz/contact.htm
If you cannot afford the boots from the artist, this year (2007) is the best year for you to find you plus
sized gray boots! They are popular this year finally. I have been looking and looking every year since I
wrote these pages for some grey boots for plus size girls. Every year nothing. Until this year.
Silhouettes Microsuede boot in charcoal Item #401858
JC Penney's Arizona 'Vanessa' Scrunch Bootie Item # FC022-7605Q
Target Mossimo Garnette Back Lace Boot in Gray #10584735 ASIN: B000PRWKLK
Macy's Steve Madden Tianna Flat Boot in Grey #994467
-You could make your own boots (see the Pre-Raphaelite Woman site under boots for more on that),
or have some made for you by a shoemaker in a similar style out of real gray suede leather. Check in
with your local shoemaker and ask some questions, bring in some photos from the Internet. The
pictures on the LOTR costume research page would work.
-You could make some costume boot tops. They are worn over your own shoes and look like boots but
are not real boots, they have elastic that goes under your shoe bottom to keep them on as well as
Velcro or laces in the back. This can be done really inexpensively if you are into doing this for yourself,
if you dig in the upholstery bargain bins at the fabric stores or upholstery shops that might carry left
over remnants of vinyl, leather, and suede. See below for how I went about making mine.
-You could find yourself a nice fold down or ankle length gray boot, ready to wear from a shoe store. I
found some last fall at Wal-Mart, as well as at Payless Shoe Source for under $20.00 USD.
~.~.~.~.~.~I Made My Own Boots~.~.~.~.~.~
What You Will Need:
- 1-3 yards of material such as Vinyl, Faux Suede, Faux Leather, something water resistant is probably
best considering you might be walking around outside in these and wet feet aren't fun. Try for a dark
gray color.
-One bolt of 1/4" wide satin ribbon in a dark gray color, or something you can make the lacing loops
out of. You could do grommets, but the originals have self-fabric (suede leather) loops not grommets.
Cut the ribbons into 2" long pieces and you will need 32 of these. I could only get 16 loops (8 on either
side of each boot) per boot, the originals appear to have 10 loops on each side of each boot making it
20 loops per boot. You decide though.
-Laces. I bought white suede leather laces, only because when I went to pick some laces out, my
choices were brown, brown, brown, or white. LOL. You can go with whatever you like best. I am still on
the hunt for some dark gray laces, and these would be your first choice. I bought one bolt of leather
lacing from Michael's arts and crafts store and it had about 3 yards I believe on it. I used almost all of
it. Smaller calves equal less lacing I think.
-Plain and simple canvas tennis shoes (OPTIONAL). If you want to do as I did, you can hot glue the
boot tops to a simple white canvas tennis shoe after you have removed the shoe's laces making it a
slip on shoe. If you do not want to do this, you can attach the boot tops to your own shoe with some
black or white 3/4" elastic loops on the bottom of the boot tops. You will need at least 1/2 yard of
elastic for that, maybe less. I purchased the tennis shoes at the local Wal-Mart for $5.00 USD.
-Fabric Paint or Water Resistant Paint. (OPTIONAL) This is only necessary if you choose to do like I
did and hot glue the boot tops to a shoe, this way you can paint the bottom sides of the tennis shoe
from white (distracting) to the same gray color as the boot top so that it blends in. I just used the acrylic
paint I had on hand already mixed with textile medium. Since you cannot iron on a shoe I used my blow
dryer at the hottest heat (you could also use a heat gun- but BE CAREFUL with that) to heat set the
paint, and hopefully it will last, if not I can always re-paint with something more permanent. Bottom line
is, if you choose to do it this way paint with something water proof.
-Boot Top Pattern.
I used an old pattern I had from 1997. It is a "Star Wars" pattern from Butterick #5174. This is probably
discontinued and no longer available in stores. You might be able to find one on eBay. Another pattern
is available new, it is Simplicity 9753 and it has some quasi-boot tops there. You can also wing it on
your own, buy some muslin fabric, and make your own pattern. Check the Pre-Raphaelite Woman site
under boots for more on making your own boot patterns.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Technique:
First, I want to say this is not easy. Then again nothing is..or rather nothing about this costume is!
LOL. This takes fiddling, figuring out, and concentration. 80(
I started with some examples of the original boots. These are hard to come by. They are NEVER
shown in the film, and hardly shown in the behind the scenes books, specials, pictures etc. The best
bet for figuring out these boots would be to head over to the LOTR costume research page and look
at the pictures they have there.
These are pictures of the patterns (pics 6-7). This is the way the boot top pattern came out of the
package (pic 8). There is the simple white tennis shoe, and the other items you will need for the job.
I knew I had a pattern for some boots tops already on hand and I grabbed for it when I got to this point.
Nevertheless, as I posted above, you can go about this many ways. You do not even have to use a
pattern. The first thing I did to my pattern was cut the top on a slant angle (pic 9). I wanted to replicate
the angle on the original, so I folded the shaft pattern piece in half-length wise and cut on an angle.
The angle slopes from the front of your calf to the back. Lower in the back than it is in the front. See
originals for this.
Then I wanted to create the two pieces that wrap around the front, that compromise the "petal" shape
(pic 10-11), so I first cut the shaft pattern piece in half on a curve down the center (pic 10), then cut a
curve on the outer edge (pic 11). This gives you two overlapping pieces for the front so you can create
that petal look.
I had to come up with something on my own for the back of the boot. I cut a piece of white muslin fabric
in about the same size length as the front pieces in a slight curve (pic 12).
I cut out the pieces of gray vinyl (pic 13). When it comes to cutting your material only a few things need
to be kept in mind. The shoe front piece needs to be cut on the fold so that there is not a seam on the
boot shoe. The back of the boot shaft piece needs to be cut on the fold so that there is not a seam on
the back of the boots (pic 12-13). In pic 13, I put some red lines with arrows. This is because I wanted
to show that I cut the front of the boots and the back of the boots about 4" longer than the pattern
piece so that I could attach the pieces directly to the shoe. I do not think you would need to do this if
you are using elastic. Not sure. Therefore, for each foot you will end up with one foot piece, two front
pieces, and one back piece. Four pieces for each foot.
Then I did a decorative stitch on the upper, side, and lower edge of the back of the boot shaft pieces
(pic 14). I used the same stitch as the bodice stitch just to give it some character. I folded over about
3/8" on the top, sides, and bottom and did the stitch so that the edges were not raw.
I did the same thing to the front pieces, except to create the look of the original I made a very narrow
fold on the curves and did a straight stitch instead of a decorative stitch. This was to create the
"piping" effect the original has on these areas (pic 15). I did do the decorative stitch across the tops of
the pieces though. You want to finish off the pieces of the shaft so that when you put them all together
you do not have any raw edges anywhere.
Then I stitched the two front pieces together on the curve to create the overlapping petal shape. I
stitched in the same seam as the piping effect so that I would not create multiple seams (pic 16). I left
about 4" open unstitched from the bottom so that I could wrap the pieces around the foot (red arrows).
I pinned and spaced out all the loops. There are eight on each side of a boot front, making a total of
16 on each boot. I put the first loop 3" from the top, and then spaced them about 1" apart. I stitched
them on with a straight stitch in the seam that was already there so I would not create multiple seams
(pic 17).
I stitched the back panel to the front panel. I lined up the bottoms and let the back panel be a few
inches shorter than the front as the original is. I left about 4" open at the bottom between the back
panel and front panel (red arrows) so that I could wrap the shaft around the shoe (pic 18).
Then I stitched the boot foot together at the back seam, about 3/8". I trimmed off extra on the seam so
that it would get as close to the shoe I was gluing it onto as possible (pic 19). Then I glued the foot to
the shoe. I had already painted the bottoms because this was my second attempt at making these
boots. I just was not satisfied with how they first turned out. !Do Over! LOL. (pic 20).
I worked on gluing the shaft to the foot. This is tedious, working in tight spaces getting the piece to
stick together, but it will finally all come together (pic 21-22). The foot has to attach to the front of the
overlap. At the point where the overlap meets the foot is the most difficult to get it to stay together, you
might even consider hand stitching in some places with double thickness thread and a needle thick
enough to go through vinyl, etc. If gluing will not make it stay, find a way to make it stay! LOL. You are
the master of the boot. LOL. I think part of my problem is or was, the material I was working with. Vinyl
is rigid in a sense even though it does fold. If you were working with a softer, more supple perhaps
even flexible material that you could somehow get to "wrinkle" or scrunch like the originals you might
have an easier time gluing. The front of the boot foot kept popping out of the overlap and this is most
likely due to the stiffness of the vinyl. Keep this in mind when shopping for fabric. Water resistant,
flexible, gray in color.
The shaft opens up on the bottom of the overlap, because you haven't closed it. One side of the
overlap opening goes to the left and one side goes to the right of the foot section, almost like a band.
And the back of the shaft is glued right to the bottom of the heel. I reached inside the shoe and
pressed the hot glue to the sides as best I could but it took a while to get all the pieces to stay in place.
Finally, I cut the laces into two pieces, one for each boot, laced up the back, and tried them on.
Luckily, they fit. Try them on all along the way, making sure they still fit.
The finished boot (pic 23). They are probably a bit higher up the leg than the original. My boots come
right up to my knees. You can adjust this and make the pattern shorter for ankle length boots, just
follow the technique and you can make them any height you want. I am considering buying a trim to go
along the seam of the foot piece and shoe. If I can find something that will lay flat, I might go for it.
-Total time spent making boots 3 hours
-Total spent on boots $15.00 USD
When I looked around for ideas on the right footwear for my Chase Scene costume, I found several
options.
-You could buy yourself an authentic replica pair of Elven Princess Riding Boots from the man
who styled and made the shoes for the movies. The price for these boots would be $1200 (NZD
New Zealand Dollar) per pair, which translates to $662.69 USD the last time I checked the conversion
rate. This does NOT include shipping, handling, or customs fees you pay when you buy something out
of the country and it is delivered to you in the US. His web site is here:
http://www.ringstyle.co.nz/contact.htm
If you cannot afford the boots from the artist, this year (2007) is the best year for you to find you plus
sized gray boots! They are popular this year finally. I have been looking and looking every year since I
wrote these pages for some grey boots for plus size girls. Every year nothing. Until this year.
Silhouettes Microsuede boot in charcoal Item #401858
JC Penney's Arizona 'Vanessa' Scrunch Bootie Item # FC022-7605Q
Target Mossimo Garnette Back Lace Boot in Gray #10584735 ASIN: B000PRWKLK
Macy's Steve Madden Tianna Flat Boot in Grey #994467
-You could make your own boots (see the Pre-Raphaelite Woman site under boots for more on that),
or have some made for you by a shoemaker in a similar style out of real gray suede leather. Check in
with your local shoemaker and ask some questions, bring in some photos from the Internet. The
pictures on the LOTR costume research page would work.
-You could make some costume boot tops. They are worn over your own shoes and look like boots but
are not real boots, they have elastic that goes under your shoe bottom to keep them on as well as
Velcro or laces in the back. This can be done really inexpensively if you are into doing this for yourself,
if you dig in the upholstery bargain bins at the fabric stores or upholstery shops that might carry left
over remnants of vinyl, leather, and suede. See below for how I went about making mine.
-You could find yourself a nice fold down or ankle length gray boot, ready to wear from a shoe store. I
found some last fall at Wal-Mart, as well as at Payless Shoe Source for under $20.00 USD.
~.~.~.~.~.~I Made My Own Boots~.~.~.~.~.~
What You Will Need:
- 1-3 yards of material such as Vinyl, Faux Suede, Faux Leather, something water resistant is probably
best considering you might be walking around outside in these and wet feet aren't fun. Try for a dark
gray color.
-One bolt of 1/4" wide satin ribbon in a dark gray color, or something you can make the lacing loops
out of. You could do grommets, but the originals have self-fabric (suede leather) loops not grommets.
Cut the ribbons into 2" long pieces and you will need 32 of these. I could only get 16 loops (8 on either
side of each boot) per boot, the originals appear to have 10 loops on each side of each boot making it
20 loops per boot. You decide though.
-Laces. I bought white suede leather laces, only because when I went to pick some laces out, my
choices were brown, brown, brown, or white. LOL. You can go with whatever you like best. I am still on
the hunt for some dark gray laces, and these would be your first choice. I bought one bolt of leather
lacing from Michael's arts and crafts store and it had about 3 yards I believe on it. I used almost all of
it. Smaller calves equal less lacing I think.
-Plain and simple canvas tennis shoes (OPTIONAL). If you want to do as I did, you can hot glue the
boot tops to a simple white canvas tennis shoe after you have removed the shoe's laces making it a
slip on shoe. If you do not want to do this, you can attach the boot tops to your own shoe with some
black or white 3/4" elastic loops on the bottom of the boot tops. You will need at least 1/2 yard of
elastic for that, maybe less. I purchased the tennis shoes at the local Wal-Mart for $5.00 USD.
-Fabric Paint or Water Resistant Paint. (OPTIONAL) This is only necessary if you choose to do like I
did and hot glue the boot tops to a shoe, this way you can paint the bottom sides of the tennis shoe
from white (distracting) to the same gray color as the boot top so that it blends in. I just used the acrylic
paint I had on hand already mixed with textile medium. Since you cannot iron on a shoe I used my blow
dryer at the hottest heat (you could also use a heat gun- but BE CAREFUL with that) to heat set the
paint, and hopefully it will last, if not I can always re-paint with something more permanent. Bottom line
is, if you choose to do it this way paint with something water proof.
-Boot Top Pattern.
I used an old pattern I had from 1997. It is a "Star Wars" pattern from Butterick #5174. This is probably
discontinued and no longer available in stores. You might be able to find one on eBay. Another pattern
is available new, it is Simplicity 9753 and it has some quasi-boot tops there. You can also wing it on
your own, buy some muslin fabric, and make your own pattern. Check the Pre-Raphaelite Woman site
under boots for more on making your own boot patterns.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Technique:
First, I want to say this is not easy. Then again nothing is..or rather nothing about this costume is!
LOL. This takes fiddling, figuring out, and concentration. 80(
I started with some examples of the original boots. These are hard to come by. They are NEVER
shown in the film, and hardly shown in the behind the scenes books, specials, pictures etc. The best
bet for figuring out these boots would be to head over to the LOTR costume research page and look
at the pictures they have there.
These are pictures of the patterns (pics 6-7). This is the way the boot top pattern came out of the
package (pic 8). There is the simple white tennis shoe, and the other items you will need for the job.
I knew I had a pattern for some boots tops already on hand and I grabbed for it when I got to this point.
Nevertheless, as I posted above, you can go about this many ways. You do not even have to use a
pattern. The first thing I did to my pattern was cut the top on a slant angle (pic 9). I wanted to replicate
the angle on the original, so I folded the shaft pattern piece in half-length wise and cut on an angle.
The angle slopes from the front of your calf to the back. Lower in the back than it is in the front. See
originals for this.
Then I wanted to create the two pieces that wrap around the front, that compromise the "petal" shape
(pic 10-11), so I first cut the shaft pattern piece in half on a curve down the center (pic 10), then cut a
curve on the outer edge (pic 11). This gives you two overlapping pieces for the front so you can create
that petal look.
I had to come up with something on my own for the back of the boot. I cut a piece of white muslin fabric
in about the same size length as the front pieces in a slight curve (pic 12).
I cut out the pieces of gray vinyl (pic 13). When it comes to cutting your material only a few things need
to be kept in mind. The shoe front piece needs to be cut on the fold so that there is not a seam on the
boot shoe. The back of the boot shaft piece needs to be cut on the fold so that there is not a seam on
the back of the boots (pic 12-13). In pic 13, I put some red lines with arrows. This is because I wanted
to show that I cut the front of the boots and the back of the boots about 4" longer than the pattern
piece so that I could attach the pieces directly to the shoe. I do not think you would need to do this if
you are using elastic. Not sure. Therefore, for each foot you will end up with one foot piece, two front
pieces, and one back piece. Four pieces for each foot.
Then I did a decorative stitch on the upper, side, and lower edge of the back of the boot shaft pieces
(pic 14). I used the same stitch as the bodice stitch just to give it some character. I folded over about
3/8" on the top, sides, and bottom and did the stitch so that the edges were not raw.
I did the same thing to the front pieces, except to create the look of the original I made a very narrow
fold on the curves and did a straight stitch instead of a decorative stitch. This was to create the
"piping" effect the original has on these areas (pic 15). I did do the decorative stitch across the tops of
the pieces though. You want to finish off the pieces of the shaft so that when you put them all together
you do not have any raw edges anywhere.
Then I stitched the two front pieces together on the curve to create the overlapping petal shape. I
stitched in the same seam as the piping effect so that I would not create multiple seams (pic 16). I left
about 4" open unstitched from the bottom so that I could wrap the pieces around the foot (red arrows).
I pinned and spaced out all the loops. There are eight on each side of a boot front, making a total of
16 on each boot. I put the first loop 3" from the top, and then spaced them about 1" apart. I stitched
them on with a straight stitch in the seam that was already there so I would not create multiple seams
(pic 17).
I stitched the back panel to the front panel. I lined up the bottoms and let the back panel be a few
inches shorter than the front as the original is. I left about 4" open at the bottom between the back
panel and front panel (red arrows) so that I could wrap the shaft around the shoe (pic 18).
Then I stitched the boot foot together at the back seam, about 3/8". I trimmed off extra on the seam so
that it would get as close to the shoe I was gluing it onto as possible (pic 19). Then I glued the foot to
the shoe. I had already painted the bottoms because this was my second attempt at making these
boots. I just was not satisfied with how they first turned out. !Do Over! LOL. (pic 20).
I worked on gluing the shaft to the foot. This is tedious, working in tight spaces getting the piece to
stick together, but it will finally all come together (pic 21-22). The foot has to attach to the front of the
overlap. At the point where the overlap meets the foot is the most difficult to get it to stay together, you
might even consider hand stitching in some places with double thickness thread and a needle thick
enough to go through vinyl, etc. If gluing will not make it stay, find a way to make it stay! LOL. You are
the master of the boot. LOL. I think part of my problem is or was, the material I was working with. Vinyl
is rigid in a sense even though it does fold. If you were working with a softer, more supple perhaps
even flexible material that you could somehow get to "wrinkle" or scrunch like the originals you might
have an easier time gluing. The front of the boot foot kept popping out of the overlap and this is most
likely due to the stiffness of the vinyl. Keep this in mind when shopping for fabric. Water resistant,
flexible, gray in color.
The shaft opens up on the bottom of the overlap, because you haven't closed it. One side of the
overlap opening goes to the left and one side goes to the right of the foot section, almost like a band.
And the back of the shaft is glued right to the bottom of the heel. I reached inside the shoe and
pressed the hot glue to the sides as best I could but it took a while to get all the pieces to stay in place.
Finally, I cut the laces into two pieces, one for each boot, laced up the back, and tried them on.
Luckily, they fit. Try them on all along the way, making sure they still fit.
The finished boot (pic 23). They are probably a bit higher up the leg than the original. My boots come
right up to my knees. You can adjust this and make the pattern shorter for ankle length boots, just
follow the technique and you can make them any height you want. I am considering buying a trim to go
along the seam of the foot piece and shoe. If I can find something that will lay flat, I might go for it.
-Total time spent making boots 3 hours
-Total spent on boots $15.00 USD