Lady Deathstrike
X2

time completed: End of August 2004
hours spent: 30+
worn at: Dragoncon 2004, Dragoncon 2005, Starfest 2006, Dragoncon 2006

Why I decided to make this costume:
Eventhough I never collected the XMen comics, I've always liked the story and characters in the Series. I enjoyed the first Movie throroughly and was thrilled when the Sequel came out. Aside from the fact that a few close friends suggested Lady Deathstrike to me as a costume project, I thought she was a cool villain who deserved way more screen time than given - so what better way for me to show my support than to cosplay as her? ^_^

How I made this costume:
Because it was hard to find good reference pictures of her, I patiently waited until the DVD came out before even starting to gather materials for the outfit. By pausing the fight scene and drawing sketches, I figured out what the suit looks like. It is a jacket/corset, laced through silver eyelets down the back, and with a zipper in the front. Thin leather strips are sewn on the sleeves and shoulders, and the high collar and side panels are also leather with a stitched pattern.
I found a great ribbed fabric for the main parts of the jacket, and cut up a pleather coat from a thriftstore to use for the leather accents. I remember, it took the duration of one "Futurama" Episode to sewn one and a half strips of pleather onto the fabric. LOL!
Naturally, Lady Deathstrike would not be complete without her awesome adamantium claws! Brian created these awesome metallic looking claws that could be attached straight to my fingers. The form is more defined so they would show up well in photos.
I had leather pants and Heels already, and styled my hair accordingly (except my hair parts in the opposite direction naturally). The only accent I am missing at his point are the contacts. Kelly Hu is shown with her normal brown eyes in the movie at the end, so I didn't feel TOO bad for not having them.

Thoughts on this costume:
This was such a High Energy costume! I was totally hyped and loved wearing it, eventhough I could not do ANYTHING with the claws on. People seemed really happy to see this costume, maybe because we all felt like this character was underappreciated in the Movie. It was so cool running into two Wolverines during the con, and battling it out right there in the lobby, lol.
My fingers started getting numb after a while, and the claws held on so well that we had to pry them off me at the end. Still, it was a great experience and I can't wait to wear this costume again.