Handmade Costumes
As a young teen, I spent my free time creating outfits for paper dolls and making costumes for myself and my siblings. I fell in love with costuming as a wearable art form. And the rest is history.
Alice & the Mad Hatter
2021 | Photographs by Jacob Parker
Inspired by Tim Burton’s wonderfully weird take on Alice in Wonderland - and my brother’s stunning golden hair - I designed and created gender-swapped costumes for Alice and the Mad Hatter.
Alice
I transformed my brother into a gentleman of fashion with an Edwardian coat made of blue satin.
His incredibly long curly hair seemed a fitting oddity for the rebellious Alice.
The Hatter
The Hatter’s costume took on a life of its own as I let my love for color and quirkiness run wild.
After all, the Hatter’s winning combination of madness and artistic genius could only produce a fantastic outfit.
The Hat
I constructed the ridiculous hat from sheets of craft foam, wire, duct tape, rubber cement, satin, hand-stitching, pins, beads, and a generous share of blood, sweat, and tears.
Maid Marian
2019 | Photographs by Jacob Parker
Robin Hood and Maid Marian are two of my favorite characters in folklore. For my undergraduate senior thesis, I designed and made a costume to bring Marian to life as an outlaw of Sherwood Forest.
This project involved extensive research on the story of Maid Marian and on the society and clothing of medieval England.
Accessories: side quiver, belt, dagger, hunting horn, and leather pouch
Hand-embroidered sleeve, neck, and hood edges
Hand-stitched suede shoes fitted over regular women’s shoes.
Side lacing with hand-stitched eyelets
The final design, materials, and construction were based on my research combined with my own interpretation of Marian’s story and character, as well as practical functionality for wearing the costume in a modern setting.
Process Sketches
In order to get a better feel for Maid Marian’s story and character, I sketched out multiple costumes that she might wear throughout her journey from English lady, to outlaw of Sherwood, to wife of Robin Hood.
Lady Thor
2018 | Photographs by Jacob Parker
For HeroesCon 2018 in Charlotte, NC, I designed, made, (and modeled) a gender-swapped Thor costume using thrift store finds and a Walmart curtain.
I loved the creativity of working with whatever materials I could find. In the end, I had a finished product that was totally unique and very cost effective!
“Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?”
Professional
Costumes
At Fell & Fair Productions, my job was to create costume concepts for various projects; work on the sewing team to bring those concepts to life; and often model the finished products. I loved being involved in all parts of the costuming process.
Ahsoka Tano
2021 | Fell & Fair Productions
To celebrate The Mandalorian Season 2, Fell & Fair created a medieval take on Din Djarin, Boba Fett, Bo Katan Kryze, and Ahsoka Tano, and teamed up with photographer Nicolas Bruno to capture an epic series of photos. I was thrilled to design and model Ahsoka’s costume.
My Grogu doll (from Walmart) was a stellar model
For Ahsoka’s head tails, we styled a wig to look like a medieval lady’s hairstyle, and I wore it underneath a pointed fabric hat and leather headband. This photo shows about how far I could turn my head.
Photographs by Nicolas Bruno
Costume, wig, makeup, and props - Fell & Fair Productions
Location - Blue Ridge Mountains, NC
Kings & Queens of Narnia
2020 | Fell & Fair Productions
To view the finished costumes displayed in stunning photographs by Lillian Liu, visit Fell & Fair’s Instagram page.
BTS photographs by Sean Kerr
Costume, wig, makeup, and props - Fell & Fair Productions
Costume Illustrations
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2019 | Watercolor | Winthrop University
The Importance of Being Earnest
2019 | Colored Pencils | Winthrop University
It all started when…
At age 15, I made my first complete costume: an 18th century coat, corset, shirt, and pants for my pirate character, Long-feathered Lillian. (I wore it again for Halloween 2023!) My costuming journey has been one of timelessness, authenticity, and pure delight.
