June 2019 Costume Writeup: Zoya the Destroya

What they're from GLOW - Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (TV Show)
Variation "Official" broadcast outfit for the show-in-a-show's pilot
Created October 2018
Debuted Youmacon 2018
Also worn Tekko 2019
Groups Fractali as Brittanica
Wig NO WIG :D Okay, no wig initially when my hair was as long as Ruth's. Just a lot of hairspray, gel, bobby pins, and patience. I've been growing it out, though, so now I use a hair clip in my hair color from so long ago that I don't even know where it came from. It's beautifully messy.
Special Makeup Picked up some glitter shadow from Nyx, as well as a green-black lipstick and gold lipstick. I have a pair of obnoxiously long and glitzy eyelashes from my ballroom days that I use with this look, as well.
Patterns I took Aqua's patterns out for this, however, it ended up not helping with the legline. Truthfully, I had to make a mockup from the actual fabric first and hope my edits would work on the second try. It was really risky, especially for the sleeve!

What went wrong:
Don't look too closely at the elbows... Also, due to health issues, this one fluctuates in fit depending on where I am, so some of the elastic can be loose. For the same reason, the lining isn't super successful and bunches at the center. Luckily, there's a belt there! Woohoo!

What went right:
Finishings! The snaps and velcro make it super easy to take off for bathroom purposes. Which we all know is the #1 concern with cosplay! I'm also happy with the leg elastic, both the double-needle topstitching and the shape. It hits at a really flattering spot. I wish I could tailor everything to be that flattering. I'm also a huge, huge fan of the boots I found—they're jazz boots with a soft bottom. So rather than feeling like a fake fake-wrestler, at least I bought something that's useful for me outside of the cosplay and relates to something I actually do. (Wrestling shoes are expeeeensive, yo!!)

What I'd do differently:
I'd like to remake the belt buckle. If I had a choice of any kind of fabric from the start, I'd want a 4-way stretch matte leather for the leo and a stretch faux leather for the belt. I'd also take my time with the lining and use what I wanted, not what was available.

Would I wear it again?

Absolutely! Anytime.

Why I chose this character

Leotard. Oh, sorry, I was supposed to have a serious answer, too... but leotard is the primary answer. Glitter? Glitter is secondary. Thirdly? I have a history with Russians. Fourthly? Add a skirt and ta-da, you have a formal ball outfit.

Any other anecdotes?:

I'd already wanted to cosplay Zoya, but SPOILERS, when season 2 dropped and Ruth broke her left ankle, it endeared me even more. I sprained my left ankle twice, the first time quite badly and the second time minorly, but at after-prom, about three weeks away from my senior year dance recital. I know that crutch life!! I sorta wish I'd kept my air cast and crutches. Hopefully I'll never need them again, but who knows. I'm expecting all sorts of fun foot, knee, and hip pain in my future! Also I just want to point out that my old ballroom coach said when she was a kid in actual Soviet Russia, there was such a thing as "marching class." I think about that a lot. Marching class.

Photos by me.

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