Lujei Piche - Grim Grimoire/Soul Nomad
Debut: Katsucon 2009; This costume has been retired
Cost of materials: $53
Awards: N/A
Curious about the game Grim Grimmoire upon hearing about it from a friend, I tried the game and also fell in love. Why is it that Vanillaware makes such great games? Anyway, I decided to cosplay from Grim, and Lujei got the better of me. I mean, a woman who was once the most powerful witch in the world and helped vanquish a most evil foe, who then became entrenched in the search for the Philospher's Stone, only to be betrayed by her student lover who assasinated her with a poisonous blue rose (whom Lujei later killed and mounted his head on a staff), all to end up as a ghost that haunts the halls of the school she taught at in an attempt to continue her search for the Philospher's Stone. What a story!!
Lujei's costume did provide a bit of a challenge. For one, being dead is great and all, but gravity still binds the living, so having the "gravity defying" hair and flowy bits of skirt was a bit out of the question. The other part is the strapless and very low cut but still front-closing dress. That was a much easier challenge to face. I used white and blue Casa satin for the dress and under skirt. The top is completely strapless, with boning in the bodice for support, a front closure, and both an inside and outside wrap-around closure to make sure the dress stays closed. The skirt edges are burned to give a tattered look, with a couple of holes here and there for effect (as seen in the various pictures of Lujei).
The vines were a lot of fun to make. For the main body vine, I cut out thorns from cardboard and glued those on, then I used floral tape to secure the leaves on in various places. This was also done for the head, arm, and staff vines, but minus the thorns (I didn't want to get hurt or poke an eye out). All the vines, roses and leaves were sprayed using Floral spray in various shades of blue. The staff was made using a PVC pipe, a wooden ball, a plastic skull Halloween decoration, and wire for the jaw. The pipe and skull were painted, then glued together and decorated with the vines.
The scars on my arms, legs and face were made using a light purple paint marker. Blue eyeshadow for the lips, black fingernails, and red contacts finished the look. I actually really enjoyed wearing this costume, despite the freezing temperatures outside. It's quite pretty and oh-so-fun to be a sexy, evil ghost! I think I'll have to list this costume as one of my favorites ^.^
Picture Credits: Popecerebus, Eurobeat King, David Dunn
