Retro Sailor Mars

Retro Sailor Mars

Retro Inspired Sailor Scouts by abbydraws

Made by: Group effort of Senshi in the City - Fall 2021

Appeared: Senshicon 2021, New York Comic Con 2023

Status: Active

The Northeast group of girls I cosplay with, Senshi in the City, fell in love with the retro-futuristic designs for the Sailor Senshi done by Abby Draws, and we agreed that it should be the next group costume we tackle. I asked if anyone was up for a commission, because I'd rather it go to someone in group so that everything can match, but to my utter surprise, they assured me that, with help, I could conceivably make this costume myself. To be honest, when they talked about it, it didn't sound that hard. And after twenty years of cosplaying, wasn't it about time I construct a costume myself? And making costumes in a group isn't really all that unusual; in fact, for big groups, I understand it's par for the course. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So in September of 2021 I started buying premade pieces off of Amazon; a white leotard, and white boots, and I believe someone else bought a pack of white gloves for all of us. In October I went to a fabric store in the garment district and bought 2 yards of matte Milliskin Tricot fabric in crimson, and one yard in violet, and one yard of Foil Stars Sheer Organza in purple from Etsy. Then it was back to Amazon for 3 sheets of Labzhang White EVA Foam, and, just, so much interfacing you guys. I also bought headphones with an actual attached mic and a set of good acrylic paint. The one thing I did commission was my friend LunaChandalure to 3-D print me Mars's zap gun, as I knew there was no way I would ever be able to sculpt anything on my own.

And with that, we were off! A bunch of us met up the second weekend of October to have a "cosplay sweatshop", and we got SO. MUCH. DONE. We had one person cutting out fabric, one person cutting out foam (we used the foam to make the triangle for the collars), and as for me, I learned how to iron interfacing LIEK A BAHWSS. Nina took the sheets of colored plastic out to the garage, and used one power tool I didn't recognize to cut them into shape, and then another power tool I didn't recognize to heat them so they could be bent into shape. We didn't get quite everything done we wanted to that Saturday, so I drove back on Sunday and we created fabric tubes and stuffed them with poyfil to create the rings on our "sleeves", glove cuffs, and boots. And we still weren't done! I spent the next week painting my black headphones red, and I tried to print the Mars symbol on a sticker but I couldn't get it to lie smooth on the curved surface, so I ended up freehanding it. Rae made all of the resin gems we needed for the chokers, bows, and waistbands, and when we met up for Senshicon (because we had decided not to try doing such a large group at New York Comic Con, especially since Covid was not quite gone and not everyone felt comfortable attending just yet), we were *still* putting on the finishing touches; spraying glitter onto the skirts and hanging them to dry in the backyard. I wish I had kept more notes during the construction process, since it was the most involved I ever was, but honestly everyone did so much that it would be hard to say anything other than "We made these, together."

Photos

New York Comic Con 2023

Photo by Rich Wexler

Vintage Annals Archive on Instagram

3-D glasses required!

Photo by Rich Wexler

Vintage Annals Archive on Instagram

3-D glasses required!

Photo by Rich Wexler

Vintage Annals Archive on Instagram

3-D glasses required!

Photo by Rich Wexler

Vintage Annals Archive on Instagram

CGs and Fanart