The Response Was Utter Insane. In A Good Way! We Had 18 (including Myself) Total, Forming A Conga Type

The response was utter insane. In a good way! We had 18 (including myself) total, forming a Conga type line, snaking ourselves through the con floor. We even had people leading us shouting, “Make ways for the queen!” It was surreal. We had such an amazing time. Plus all the photos we posed for the crowds were astonishing as well.

The most interesting stories we definitely the responses we were getting from the crowds. Multiple people bowed for us, several people were just amazed at the shear size of the parade. Plus our two bearded handmaidens in the back of our line were getting lots of attention.

I decided on the decoy dress first. I really wanted to create it. That certain dress has a bit of a challenge to it and I knew I needed something fresh for Star Wars celebration in Chicago. But as I thought about it more, I thought it would be fun to make a group out of it! I had a couple of friends waiting to do something big for SWCC and boom, flamemaiden army 2019 was born! That dress has always been a favorite of mine plus the handmaidens. It felt like the perfect time to cosplay these magnificent ladies from Phantom Menace. PLUS we then figured out that it would the 20th anniversary of the film too. PERFECTION!

My outfit was put together pretty organically. There was a lot of experimenting with polyester velvet fabric manipulation with a heat gun. I used some cheap Halloween spider webbing decor I found from Joann’s plus lovely silk dupoini from Silk Baron. It was all over the place. The handmaidens also creates some of their gowns. It’s a tough look especially with trying to achieve the flame ombré. They did such a wonderful job. Also others purchased some from eBay then altered and weathered to their style. The amount of craftsmanship these creators put into their gowns either bought or made was incredible.

Getting recognized was the icing on the cake. The best part of the day was just being a part of this group. I’m honored to be their Sabé. It was an amazing day.

—-  JediManda

Photo : ALeeStudios 

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