Sometimes I like to pick really obscure projects. One of my favorite shows is NCIS and my favorite character is Abby. A goth lab rat? Gotta love that. The biggest problem is that none of the costumes will have that instant recognizability of the Kaylee fluffy dress. However, in the third season, Abby shows up in her bowling outfit. I knew instantly that this is my kind of costume. Really quite obscure but it makes a great costume on its own without people getting the reference. I finally got around to getting started on it for Dragon*Con 2007 but it didn't get done in time. It did get done in time for CostumeCon 2008 though.

Reference pics (There are so many because there isn't a single time when you can see the full costume!)



Making of/construction notes

The front of the costume from a distance looks like a rather typical 50s poodle skirt outfit. Lots of pink. However, there are a lot of goth touches to it. Seen from the back, the goth touch is pretty obvious. The back of the pink satin jacket has a big skull on it. The shirt has a bowling scene painted on the back of it and 'Abby' embroidered on the front. Black trim and buttons. The skirt gets back to the goth touch. The poodle on the skirt is actually a skeleton. I've gotten all manner of comments on this one ranging from 'Cool!' to 'That's so twisted...' And of course no poodle skirt is complete without a petticoat. More pink!

But a costume is really made by the details. Black and white striped socks with black lace and bowling shoes to a skull necklace and glasses. And of course the belt. The belt made a surprisingly large difference on how flattering this costume was.

And of course, no Abby costume could be complete without the black hair and tattoo. Dyeing my hair black isn't really an option with other costumes I would like to wear the day before/after so that means a wig. Much fussing happened and will continue to happen to make it look less wiggy. The tattoo is also a work in progress. I have one tattoo ink that is great for staying put and coming off only when you want it to but it doesn't read as a tattoo. Another one looks really red and doesn't come off that well but will work really well for another idea. The last one is the perfect color and reads as a tattoo but it was rubbing off on my collar after just a few hours.

And now for pics of it all put together... (The last one is thanks to Llyra!)



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