November 2017 Costume Writeup: Milla Maxwell

What they're from Tales of Xillia (video game)
Variation Maid and butler DLC
Created June-July 2015
Debuted Otakon 2015
Also worn
 N/A
Group Trimeriad Cosplay with Tomoyo as Rowen J. Ilbert and Niho as Alvin vint Svent
Kirameki Cosplay as Leia Rolando
Marjoly Cookie as Jude Mathis
Light of Hope Cosplay as Elize Lutus
Wig Arda Chibi in Titanium dip - and dunk-dyed with iDye Poly in yellow, orange, and brown
Arda Long Wefts in Platinum dip - and dunk-dyed with iDye Poly in yellow, orange, and brown
Leftover wefts from Muzét
Ahoge made by Niho of Trimeriad Cosplay
2 styrofoam eggs from JoAnn
Special Makeup N/A.
Patterns Original slopers with the help of Niho of Trimeriad Cosplay
What went wrong:
Oh my god. How many times did I dye test this wig. SO MANY TIMES. I couldn't figure out how to make that honey-gold brown that most of Milla's hair is, so I had a few sessions of attempting to make the color right, and more than a few pots of wasted dye.

What went right:
Almost everything! This was the first costume that I probably could have competed. I think my favorite features include the horsehair braid and neatly-tacked bias tape! The apron in general is fun to wear. I also like what I did with the collar; the lace looks better than I could have imagined.

What I'd do differently:
I wanna remake the ahoge. Don't love it. And I wish I could make my own thigh-high stockings to match the model better. If I had time to do it again, I'd line it, as well. But other than that, no complaints! I'm still very proud of this work to this day.

Would I wear it again?
Absolutely! I'd love to do our whole group all at once. Each shoot, were always missing at least one person, unfortunately.

Why I chose this character:
Quite simply, I liked her design the best out of the Maids and Butlers DLC pack. I don't feel a particular connection to Milla, unfortunately, but I do like a lot of her fashion choices, especially her X2 default. I also wanted the challenge of making hair buns—turns out, I'm quite good at them!

Any other anecdotes?:
That year at Otakon, there was a business conference that coincided with the con and occurred on the 2nd floor of the Hyatt (which is open to the lobby). We were trying to be quiet on Friday morning as we milled around and shot in various locations before moving to another hotel. However, we were getting quite silly with our props, which included heavy metal teapots and plastic teacups. We tried to balance them on our heads and ended up breaking one, and attempted to laugh quietly while Hyatt staff gave us the stink-eye. In the end, it was Alvin's fault, for he betrayed the cup (but this was before we knew Niho would have the Reaper's Curse, too!!). I loved shooting this with Madster Cosplay and Photography. She really knew how to show us having fun during this shoot, even if we started a little later than we thought we would!

Photos by Madster Cosplay and Photography & Notsoprophoto Photography

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