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[Beyla]

Hey, I'm new to this forum, but I've been lurking around quite a while.

I'm thinking of cosplaying as Erik, the phantom of the opera, this year (it's gonna take a while, but then I have plenty of time to prepare, especially since there are some hurdles to take...)
First of all, I'm a lady... and well... Erik is not... so I will have to make myself look more manly, lol (having small breasts is an advantage this time!), but one of the tricky things is also that the kind of suit Erik wears of course only come in man's sizes... will require some fiddling and patience to find one that fits me, lol

Also I have one other problem and that is that I have dreads, only very young ones, but still... the volume they give makes it impossible to wear a wig, and I'm not even speaking of slicking it back with gel which I'm not even going to try (especially because dreads have the tendency to absorb stuff, and I'm worried I might not get the gel out anymore... ) Of course shaving/cutting is not an option, so I thought getting a large hat and seeing if I can fit my hair in there... uhhhm, fingers crossed? :s

Also I'm a student, so I'm kinda low on money, like REALLY low. Mostly it's the clothes that are bothering me... the deformity (which I WILL be doing!) will probably be the easiest hurdle since I also larp and have some experience creating fake wounds, scars, that sort of stuff. On a smaller scale, yes, but it will probably be easy to extrapolate that experience to my entire face. Also I already have makeup and such, only thinking of getting latex prostetics...

So if anyone has some advice... I'd be glad to hear it!
Ever since I saw the Phantom of the Opera it's been a small dream of mine to cosplay as Erik some day, and though it might be tricky... I really hope that can become reality. Maybe not soon, but some day anyway...

Greetings, Beyla

[Phantomtango1]

Check out my site, links are below in my sig. Lots of info on the site itself, with YouTube tutorials and hopefully a lot of inspiration. Let me know if you have any questions about what you want to do.

[Beyla]

Oh, awesome, thanks! I wish I found your site sooner!
Where did you get the mask, the broadway replica I mean, and how much did it cost?
Really... wow, amazing you made your OWN wig! for now I'm going to skip that, maybe hire one or find another solution for my hair, but maybe... in the future? I must say it looks very nice, I'm of course no wig proffesional or anything NEAR but I couldn't tell you made it yourself!!

[Phantomtango1]

Thank you! The Broadway replica was made by an artist friend of mine. Email me at phantom(at)phantomonabudget(dot)com and I'll send you a list of suppliers. Most good masks run from ~ $50 to well over $300.

[Libis]

As for the suit, what if you look in older children's sizes? Sometimes you can buy suits that used to be rentals for cheaper.

[Ororo Monroe]

I'm not sure how your hair can be a problem? I have very thick long hair and I don't have a problem with a wig. I have more problems finding hats that fit. Have you tried a wig cap or a large size wig?

[Beyla]

No, not yet. But I will. Lately I was at a place where they sold wigs and they told me I wouldn't be able to wear one however. As my hair is basically a 'collection' of all my hair over the past time I had these dreads, they have a pretty big volume. I tried just tying them back though, and that already looked better, though I should find a way to make it a bit more... neat!

And $50 is a pretty nice price, that's still in my budget range
Lately I was thinking however, to make it myself. Would that be possible? I read some tutorials on leather moulding, etc. and it seemed quite easy to do, and it would leave me with a mask I can fine tune to my own preferences for a much lower price too.

I'm quite tall, so I'm not sure if childrens sizes fit me (that was a long time ago) but, yeah, boys are a bit bigger so maybe I can actually find a fitting size. I also found a discounted tailcoat on Amazon, for about $30, if it's really as good as the picture shows I might consider buying that one. But it's almost so cheap that I'm wondering if there's something... behind it.

Anyway, thanks for the tips! I hope I will be able to finish my costume. It's always been a bit of a dream for me to cosplay Erik. (unfortunately I also have my sex against me, but anyway... I AM quite tall and thin though (nope, no anorexia or anything. I can eat the clock 'round and still be like this, lol!))
Some day I'd also love to do a Leroux Erik cosplay, only I'm still thinking... the nose... how would you cosplay someone without a nose!? Make up can fix some things, but still... not really.