I promised a more detailed series on how my Monster High Twyla cosplay came together, and here’s the first!
Having identified the main silhouettes, colours and general shapes and vibe I wanted (tiered mini skirt, top with spiderweb patterns, purple & mint & turquoise, spooky but cute) I set off in search of my outfit base.
What I already had
Always starting with a hunt through my own costume collection and wardrobe, I found possibilities including purple and lilac netting, turquoise sparkly netting, turquoise velvet fabric, a vintage but untouched Urban Decay lipstick in exactly the right shade of purple, and a sky blue belt, but I had an alarming lack of anything purple in my wardrobe.
I was very relieved to find the lipstick though – from samples for this product shoot years ago – because MAN, I struggled to find lipstick on a budget in anything other than boring shades anywhere else!
Next stop is always preloved – charity shops, Vinted and a brilliant preloved boutique called Consciously Clothed which is based very near my studio are my first stops when I need new bits for a costume.
The skirt
While I quickly found a suitable top, the skirt was by far the most difficult part of this whole project. Purple hasn’t been in fashion for a while, and although tiered / rara mini skirts are two a penny, purple ones are very much not! I eventually stumbled across one that I thought would work in the Next sale, so panic-ordered, collected and breathed a sigh of relief when it fitted and it worked perfectly with my plans.
The top
I’d found a top in the right colour, and initially had bought black fabric paint to do the pattern that is on quite a few of Twyla’s outfits in both doll & animation form. She has spiders, webs or both on almost every outfit I’ve ever seen her in.
And then with time before the event running out I remembered I had some sparkly spiderweb organza stuff on a roll from a few Halloweens ago (spooky season is all year round in my house, to be fair). Got it out, cut it (badly), pinned it to the top and sewed it on, only to have to re-do it because 1) I am bad at sewing and 2) I had managed to sew the front and back of the top together at the same time.
Second attempt was more successful, and a bit of trimming round the neckline and it was good to go!
Opted to only add it on the front as I wasn’t sure if I’d want a coat / cardigan on the day, and knew I was going to have to detach it in order to wash the top.
So at some point I guess I might upgrade this but it worked brilliantly for Invasion, and I love how it looks, despite hating actual spiders with a vengeance!
The accents
Twyla has lilac skin, so I chose a pair of lilac lace fishnets from Snag Tights as my legs base. I’d planned to paint on them but they were so pretty I didn’t want to spoil them, so kept them just as they came.
In at least one of her outfits she has a black ribbon bow on the front of her top / dress – this was an easy accent to add, I found some grosgrain ribbon, tied it in a bow so all the loops and all the tails faced the right way, and then pinned it to my top once it was on.
A sky blue belt from a Collectif dress already in my wardrobe was a close enough match in colour to be part of the costume this time. For future I’d like to maybe make a more detailed one.
Purple lace gloves were a last minute addition as in both the dolls I was basing this cosplay on, her hands are a different, darker purple colour than her arms and legs. The ones I bought were a bit small for my hands, but did the job nicely for photos, though it was too warm to wear them for the whole day.
The shoes
True cosplay shoes are still in progress, because I couldn’t find a style I liked that would also be comfortable in time for the event. So I customised my favourite black Dr Martens boots with netting and gilding wax I also already had:
I’m honestly not sure my studio will ever recover from the glitter the blue netting dropped, but it was totally worth it – I’ve worn them like this almost every day since and I love them!
The outfit budget
Things I bought
Purple rara mini skirt, new (sale), £12.50, Next
Top, thrifted, £2.50
Thigh’s The Limit Timewarp Lace Fishnets in Periwinkle, £14.99, Snag
Purple lace gloves, £4.99, Amazon (I know, but it was proper last minute!)
Total spent: £34.98 (but closer to £29 in reality as I had a voucher for tights)
Things I already had
Purple netting
Spiderweb organza, £1.49, The Range
Blue sparkly netting
Gilding wax
Dr Martens boots
Belt
Lipstick
