A Cosplay of “Grand” Proportions

 

A random clutter of some of my geek creations and works-in-progress, including: a Rey staff, two patterns for Elf dresses, a Jawa hood, green suede for a soon-coming Tauriel cosplay, a red dress for an Ahsoka inspired-by outfit, my Rebel Alliance purse, elf ears, a Sabine Wren jacket I made for my sister’s birthday, a random scrap of Star Wars print fabric, a pattern for an Imperial officer rank badge, cloth for Imperial officer-inspired dresses, a Nerf gun painted to look like a Scout Pistol, the Evenstar necklace, yarn for a hat based off Sabine Wren’s hair, the belt from my Rey costume, a Rebel “Hope” shirt I made, and a jumble of other sewing and crafts supplies.

Something people need to know about me is that I’m a geek. If you’ve listened to the podcast, or even if you’re just looking at this site, you know that already. It’s pretty hard to miss.

But here’s something else: I’m a crafty geek. I love to make stuff, generally un-needed mathoms that clutter up the house and make everyone else who lives here want to pull their hair out. I’ve definitely got some hobbit genes in me somewhere.

And it just got worse. Much worse.

See, there’s this thing out there floating about the galaxy. A thing that no one ever should have let me find out about. Seriously, it should have had a tag that says “Never let Shay come in contact with this!” put on it, then been locked up in that government warehouse where they put Indy’s slightly more unsettling discoveries.

What, you may be thinking, could this thing possibly be?

Well, it’s this little thing called….

COSPLAY!!!

Yes, yes, yes, it’s AWESOMENESS!!!

I already love to put together “inspired-by outfits”, like a green dress with brown leggings and my hair in Elf braids when I’m in a Tauriel mood. So of course cosplay was just for me. And now it just adds to the clutter of other geeky crafts I make.

 

So.

When I first started this blog, I told you guys that there would be craft and cosplay tutorials. And I’m about to make good on that offer. Because I have a very awesome cosplay project that I’m currently working on to share with you.

A very grand cosplay.

Can you guess what it could possibly be?

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Introducing….

My very own, original, make-it-up-as-I-go-along….

Grand Admiral Thrawn cosplay!!!

But here’s what makes it even better.

Remember when I said I already loved inspired-by looks?

Wellll….I’m genderswapping it.

So in other words, it’s a female version of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s uniform, complete with a dress and leggings in exchange for the standard Imperial tunic and pants.

The pattern I’ll be using for the dress/tunic part of the outfit.

Oh yes. Oh yes, I am doing this. And I am so excited to get it finished, I seriously can not wait!!

Grand Admiral Thrawn has become one of my favorite bad guys of all time just since his re-introduction to Star Wars canon though Star Wars: Rebels. I love how he completely defies the typical stereotype of loud, crashing, sharp-voiced, all brawn, no brains Imperial officers. He’s quiet, refined, and polite, but behind his glowing crimson eyes is a mind that’s razor sharp, always gathering evidence to support his theories, and analyzing your every move. He sees the world as an immense game of chess, and he always seems to be one step ahead of the Rebels in everything they do. Not to mention his almost creepy obsession with art. And he’s Chiss! Probably the only high-ranking Imperial of non-human descent in canon.

Now don’t get me wrong. In any other case, I’m all Rebel. I have the Rebel Alliance symbol proudly appliqued to my purse and always by my side. My homemade “Rebel Hope” T-shirts are some of my favorite wearables that I own. I love that bright orange that you can always find someplace in there, like on Ezra’s jackets, Luke’s jumpsuit, and Poe’s X-Wing (ok, yeah, he’s technically Resistance, but it’s close enough for this example.) In most circumstances, I just like the good guys.

But when it comes to Thrawn (or Loki), I just have to bring out the bad girl side for a little bit.

Fangirl rant done for now, this post serves as the official start of my genderswapped Grand Admiral Thrawn cosplay tutorial. Over the course of the next several weeks I’ll add updates and the next parts of the tutorial as May the 4th draws nearer (cause I’m making this outfit to wear for Star Wars Day; why else?)

Here’s a little teaser to hold you over for the next part:

My set-up while making the rank badge, belt buckle, and epaulets (while I listened to a loop of music from all 3 seasons of Rebels.)

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This article was written by Shay S., Creator, Chief Editor, and Podcast Host for The Elven Padawan, and first appeared on ElvenPadawan.com