Why Jessica Rabbit?
Probably by far my most infamous costume, Park Ranger Jessica Rabbit came about as sort of a whim. I was watching the Roger Rabbit shorts and thought it would be cute to cosplay as one of Jessica's alternative outfits. I started this in the summer of 2013, but didn't finish it until 2015 where I wore it to WonderCon. And then I didn't get really nice photos of her until late 2016. It was in December of 2016 that this costume went viral, mostly for the side by side that I had posted of myself and a shot of her from the Trail Mix-Up short!
Costume Stats
Started: June 2013
Completed: March 2015
Status: active
Wig by: Arda Wigs - Matilda in Pumpkin Orange
Worn at: WonderCon 2015
Awards: none
About This Costume
The shirt I had made and completed in 2013, using Kona cotton. I patterned everything on my own, and even designed it specifically to fit the two bombshell bras that I wear with it! It was supremely difficult to sew the pockets onto the blouse for that reason!
The shorts I initially tried to make out of Kona cotton also, but the pattern proved difficult. It was 33 individual pieces, and was extremely difficult to get proper fitted and all the seams to match up. I ended up abandoning this pattern and gave up on this cosplay until 2015 when I decided to repattern and remake it with a heavy knit fabric that allowed me to design it with less pieces. This was much easier and I wish I had done this from the beginning! It's quite comfy too, with real pockets!
I had left my original hat at home in the Midwest when I was in California, so I used this Indiana Jones hat from the Disney Parks merchandise line until I was reunited with it. The gloves were bought online, and the belt was made of black mystique layered over wide elastic, and I used Instamorph to form the wide belt buckle.
Why Jessica Rabbit?
I started this cosplay shortly after lockdowns in the United States began in the face of the 2020 COVID outbreak, so even though I had the idea long before I was aware I was going to be hiding out in my house for several weeks, I was lucky that I had all the materials on hand to make it!
The idea was spurned from another fan art print I had gotten from an Artist Alley back in 2015. It depicted Jessica more "accurately" dressed as Roger, without any shirt on, and in longer pants. Knowing I wasn't going to be quite comfortable going the topless route, and the fabric I had on hand wasn't going to be enough for pants, I designed my own take on Jessica wearing a pin-up version of Roger's classic look!
I drew up the sketch for the idea in a notebook, and outlined it in Illustrator and colored it in digitally. It was fun to do, since it had been a while since I have drawn a full pic. Perhaps I will get to design more like this in the future again!
Costume Stats
Started: March 2020
Completed: March 2020
Status: active
Wig by: Arda Wigs - Matilda in Pumpkin Orange
Worn at: not yet debuted at an event
Awards: none
About This Costume
Luckily, I had all the materials on hand to make this, so even though my state was not on mandatory lockdown while I worked on this, I made it a point not to leave my home except for groceries to be on the safe side. I have no shortage of craft supplies, luckily!
The ears and tail I had on hand for when I plan to cosplay Mirko from My Hero Academia. The ears attach via a headband that sits under the wig, with wires sticking through the netting of the wig. The furry part of the ears are more like little "socks" that slide over the wire, so that it can appear to be attacked directly to the head without any obvious visual giving it away!
Of course the shoes, wig, and shapewear undergarments I had on hand from when I did Park Ranger Jessica Rabbit. Speaking of which, I used the old shorts pattern from that costume to create an updated pattern for this look! Sadly, I only had three yellow buttons on hand, so the back of it is missing one until quarantine is over, haha!
The bow tie was scrap fabric from a summer-friendly Anna skirt remake (that I have yet to finish), and the yellow for the gloves was from some fabric I have been saving to do Pixie from X-Men. To create the polka dots on the bow tie, and the cartoon marks on the gloves, I used heat transfer vinyl.
Why Jessica Rabbit?
Before leaving for my first Disney College Program in California, I was wondering what to use some of my scrap fabric for. I had over a yard of red sparkly spandex, and wondered if I could manage to make some form of superhero suit for Jessica Rabbit. I toyed with some concepts and finally settled on a Powergirl crossover design, as I figured it would be nice to double dip the pattern for an actual Powergirl cosplay down the line!
The idea of blue for the cape came from me wanting something that stood out from the body's colors, so not also red or purple. I had this blue peach skin on hand since I was saving it for a Sheryl Nome cosplay that has yet to happen! It also works great since the curtain in the nightclub scene where she sings is also blue, so it's almost like her own personal backdrop that always followers her around! Edna Mode may be saying "no capes", but Jessica Rabbit rocks it!
Costume Stats
Started: December 2014
Completed: March 2015
Status: active
Wig by: Arda Wigs - Matilda in Pumpkin Orange
Worn at: WonderCon 2015, Cincinnati Comic Expo 2015,
D23 Expo 2022
Awards: none
About This Costume
The whole outfit is patterned by me and made using items that I had on hand! The red sparkly spandex was leftover from Elastigirl and Space Faerie, the purple mystique I had a scrap of from when I was working at Joann Fabrics and just bought cool looking remnants. The blue was fabric that I was originally saving for another cosplay!
I also had the boots on hand from Elastigirl. I bought the wig back in 2013 for Park Ranger Jessica Rabbit, although she was not completed until 2015, along with this outfit. The gold rope was scraps from another cosplay that I was also working on that I've yet to finish, and the belt buckle is Instamorph painted gold, along with the gold button on the shoulder.
Related Cosplays
Why Jessica Rabbit?
I was inspired to do this outfit when I saw these adorable pins of Jessica Rabbit sporting a really snug Santa dress while researching what sort of Disney pins I wanted to collect when I got to Disney for my first College Program. I decided to make Tinkerbell my main collection with Jessica as my side, for the record! There all sorts of really interesting and rare Jessica pins that I'll probably never even see in my lifetime, but I can always cosplay them, haha!
Costume Stats
Started: December 2017
Completed: December 2017
Status: active
Wig by: Arda Wigs - Matilda in Pumpkin Orange
Worn at: Louisville SuperCon 2018
Awards: none
About This Costume
This costume I had also been planning since December of 2014. I also made a pattern for it that was intended to be used with a non-stretch red velvet, but it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted (luckily I didn't cut the velvet though!) so I ditched it once again. I decided to revisit the look in 2017 when I got a great deal on this red stretch velvet from Joann for only $8 for two yards! Thus, the patterning began again, and this costume was born!
Other than the stretch velvet, this cosplay once more uses all items and materials I had on hand. Reused the wig and shoes, had the large poms leftover from when I did my Christmas Tinkerbell cosplay, and the fur was remnants that I acquired for a good deal from the LA Fashion District when I was living in California. The poms on the shoes have little hair clips so they can be easily removed without damage to the heels. The Santa hat also has built in hair clips so it'll never slip off of my wig! Also nifty for when I'm wearing the hat by itself, haha!
Related Cosplays
Why Jessica Rabbit?
Jessica Rabbit has always been such an alluring character to me. I always admire those sort of Hollywood glamour looking characters, with classy long dresses, and gloves! Plus her character is absolutely charming, loving her darling Roger for his sense of humor, and going to great lengths to protect him. Jessica and Roger Rabbit are such an adorable couple for that very reason- relationship goals!
Costume Stats
Started: February 2012
Completed: March 2012
Status: retired
Wig by: Wig Fashion
Worn at: A&G Ohio 2012, Anime Central 2012
Awards: none
About This Costume
Since this was one of my earlier costumes I made (I mean we're talking like roughly the 5th costume or so made completely from scratch), it currently leaves a lot to be desired as far as craftsmanship goes! However, I had fun wearing it, and learned a little bit from making it, despite its extremely rudimentary construction.
The dress is made of stretch sequins and has no lining (ouch!) and is hastily sewn onto a very cheap push up bra. The dress lacks structure so requires the use of clear straps to stay up. Of course, now I know how to make strapless garments, so if I were to design it now, this would be very different! I am, nonetheless, pretty impressed that I was able to create this look with just one yard of fabric. Despite all of it's construction flaws, it was a very successful silhouette.
The gloves were made of a Jet Set knit from Joann. I dislike how they seemed to catch on everything, so I have another matte metallic spandex set aside for when I remake these gloves! I opted to make my own since finding super high opera gloves that fit my small arms was difficult at the time.
I bought the hell shoes online, and as much as I really wanted to go for silhouette accuracy on them, I've learned now that it's best to pick function over form. It was almost impossible for me to safely walk in these! The hell shoes are now gone, haha!