Blink Days of Future Past costume research thread (PIC HEAVY)

[merkymerx]

Hello everyone! After watching X-Men: DoFP, I find myself wanting to make a Blink costume for a con in 2015. I found a number of reference images but if you guys would have any other sources, feel free to add to this thread. I hope this would help other people who are making this same costume as well

Generally, I think her costume is a lot simpler compared to some of the other mutants. The most difficult parts seems to be all those gold and silver ornamental details sewn on to the collar, lapel, shoulders, sleeves, gauntlets, and her back.

Lots of these photos are hi-res. Open them in a new tab to view the full sized image




Here is a clear shot of her front from the bust up. Do buckles like those actually exist? I've been trying to locate them without success.

The borders of the panels with the decor look like they're made out of zippers, which is what I was planning to use.

Part of her sleeves and waist are constructed out of a mesh material (I'm reminded of the TDK mesh fabric).




The little gold and silver decor seem to be made out of a multitude of different materials. I can identify a few parts like beads and some pyramid studs, but the rest, I'm not sure where to get. Is there a place online where these may be ordered? Are these also normally sewn on or glued?

Here are a couple more shots showing the decor:









The photo above shows her gauntlets. They appear to be made out of leather, perhaps the same material the rest of the coat is made out of. There is padding inside so I'm thinking of applying the construction method people have used for their Captain America TFA costumes (shoulder pads).

Also, was it only her right arm that had the decor on it?



We can see more of the arm's construction in the photo above. The tails of her coat are partially visible as well.

Below are some photos showing the silhouette of the costume:



Her pants seem simple enough to do. Seems to be in a high waist fashion. Not as much detail as her coat, thankfully lol.





One thing that confused me a bit was the color of the leather parts in the costume. Though I'm pretty sure it's black, it looks like a very deep green in this shot:



Could just be the lighting or post processing. I looks nice green though haha. Takes some cues from her original outfit.

Unfortunately, I have no clear shots of her back



The only shot of her javelins I was able to find. They look like candy.

HAIR AND MAKEUP:

Here are some selfies Fan Bingbing took during the makeup process.



I'm planning to use Ben Nye makeup for her markings. We've had lots of success with it as it could withstand a full day without getting smudged.











The front of her hair seems to be a lace application. The others are probably extensions. Her contacts are of a large diameter, and are in a solid green color.







For the wig, I have found 2 possible options.

The first would be the ones available on eBay: Newest x Men Blink Clarice Ferguson Black Purple Long Braid Styled Cosplay Wig | eBay

These wigs actually look decent if you can manage with the front jutting out a bit. Perhaps some makeup / shadowing on the hairline could help in blending the hairline better. The braid would need to be retied as well to a fishtail style.

Another possible option would be Arda Wigs' lacefront wigs: Imladris | Arda Wigs

A lot of work would just need to be done as it's a solid black wig that's fairly thin and short. Extensions would need to be installed as well as additional pink / purple fibers sewn into the hairline. I may go with this version.

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That's currently all I have right now. Will be adding more if I find any. Hopefully, more behind the scenes photos will be released so we can see the actual color of the materials.

I'm crossing my fingers that the screen used costume will be displayed somewhere.

Anyone is free to add to this thread

Thank you!

 

[merkymerx]

I believe I found the exact type of buckles used for her costume:



Image is from: WaterField Designs HardCase Review :: The Gadgeteer

These are paragliding buckles.Unfortunately, I haven't found a source that sells just the buckles. Any leads would be great

 

[Jango Wes]

This should help.

Para Gear - Hardware Page 1

Wes

 

[merkymerx]

This should help.

Para Gear - Hardware Page 1

Wes

WOW! Thank you so much for the link! That's extremely helpful.

Do you have any experience with them?

 

[Jango Wes]

Yes, I have ordered several buckles from them for BSG gear. They are quick and easy to deal with.

 

[Yrien]

Have you considered any of the other Arda lacefronts? The Matilda is longer and fuller than the Imladris, and would give a much better braid. I'm still not sure it's long enough, though. You may want to look at the Arwen (the part can be hidden by combing the hair back) or the Tauriel (though you'd have to remove the widow's peak. Either way, you'd have to add in the purple wefts (or get a purple wig to start, and dye parts of it black). I've never added wefts or dyed a wig, but there are some great tutorials on the Arda site.

 

[Vemsseak]

I'm also doing this costume for my 8 year old daughter. I'm also in the early stages but on amazon I found cheap pyramid and round metal circles for the shoulders and right arm. just search "pyramid studs" "dome studs" "double cap rivets" and "brass grommet" you can get a hundred or so in various sizes for about $5.00.

I don't have a good picture but if you look at the magazine cover of warpath you can see blink's back and it looks to have the same adornment as the shoulders and right arm. Since the costume I'm making is a child size I have to balance cost with accuracy so I probably won't do the back. I'll keep checking back here and let you know if I find anything else helpful. Thanks for starting this thread.

 

[merkymerx]

Have you considered any of the other Arda lacefronts? The Matilda is longer and fuller than the Imladris, and would give a much better braid. I'm still not sure it's long enough, though. You may want to look at the Arwen (the part can be hidden by combing the hair back) or the Tauriel (though you'd have to remove the widow's peak. Either way, you'd have to add in the purple wefts (or get a purple wig to start, and dye parts of it black). I've never added wefts or dyed a wig, but there are some great tutorials on the Arda site.

I think the Tauriel may actually work if I'm able to successfully alter the hairline. The length is definitely a lot better than my first choice. The Imaldris I think, just has the best starting shape among all of them. But yeah, you are correct that either way, wefts and extensions will need to be added. And as you've mentioned, Arda seems to have lots of great tutorials for that!

I'm also doing this costume for my 8 year old daughter. I'm also in the early stages but on amazon I found cheap pyramid and round metal circles for the shoulders and right arm. just search "pyramid studs" "dome studs" "double cap rivets" and "brass grommet" you can get a hundred or so in various sizes for about $5.00.

I don't have a good picture but if you look at the magazine cover of warpath you can see blink's back and it looks to have the same adornment as the shoulders and right arm. Since the costume I'm making is a child size I have to balance cost with accuracy so I probably won't do the back. I'll keep checking back here and let you know if I find anything else helpful. Thanks for starting this thread.

Thank you for the info on the terms! That helps me narrow down my search!

You're totally right about the Warpath magazine cover! I missed that!

 

[Yrien]

My understanding with a lacefront is that you can literally just cut off the parts that you don't want (since you have to cut back the excess lace anyways), so I think you should be able to just cut the widow's peak off. Though keep in mind I've never worked with a lacefront before, but I have watched a couple of tutorials and that's what it looked like to me!

 

[jedielf]

This is what I did for Hallowe'en, and I wore it to the X-Men movie (with more rudimentary makeup). I couldn't do the contacts cuz they don't come in my prescription. Buckles are from my local Joann's fabric store. Made from two thrift store jackets. Lots of beads, brads, fishing lure spoons, watch bands, etc.