Ju-Ju-Judy Nails

So I’m working on my Halloween costume this year: Judy Nails from Guitar Hero.

DAMN has it been a lot of hassle! No wonder I only do a new costume every 4-5 years. Geez.

Here’s a shot of her from the game:

And here’s how it’s coming along…

Hair	I thought I’d be able to find a wig that was black at the scalp and red at the ends that I could put up in a ponytail, but NOOOOOOO. I got a long black wig and red spray-in haircolor. Just gotta style the wig and color it. Not tooo big a hassle.
Sunglasses	Found these just fine at Spirit, yay.
Makeup	Sephora had red eyeshadow for $18. I managed to find some at Hot Topic for $2, score!
Necklace	Home Depot FTW. Couldn’t find a padlock in silver, but brass will do.
Shirt	This is where things start to go wrong. I ordered a couple raglan shirts from a company through Amazon, and when they arrived I failed utterly to try them on for a couple weeks. They turned out to be way too big, but I was past the return-by date and nobody at the company would talk to me. Fortunately, a couple of calls to local sports stores turned up a place that had one in my size. Moral of this story: try local before the damn internet. At least locally you can try shit on.
Vambrace & belt	Another damn horror story. A friend of a friend offered to make the belt and vambrace for $120 — she’s building her portfolio of leather work. Awesome, right? But it took her a while to make them as she was moving, and then the courier company messed up the shipment. It now looks like she’ll be overnighting them to me once she gets them in her hands again. Good grief.
Leather wristband	Picked this up at Hot Topic when I got the eyeshadow. Not too bad.
Skirts	Even worse! See that plaid? It’s a variation on Clan Cameron’s tartan, but I can’t find it anywhere. I looked all over the internet, plus at THREE fabric stores around the Bay Area (including Britex, which is FAMOUS for its selection) with NO LUCK. A friend in Minnesota (hi, Annie!) found me a plaid in the right size but with the colors reversed (red lines with green squares) and I decided to just go with that. But now I’m trying to actually sew the damn thing, and I’m discovering that (a) plaid is a bitch to sew with well and (b) the game designers who designed Judy’s skirt don’t actually know anything about sewing. There are no pleats OR a waistband on that skirt. And magically, the plaid runs straight from waist to hem. WTF. SRSLY. Oh, and that stripey underskirt? I couldn’t find THAT anywhere either. Finally turned up some online, but the shipping is taking forever.
Stockings	Ordered these from Sock Dreams (shoutout to the folks who pointed me in that direction!). They sent me white ones. I complained and they sent me black ones, with a totally different top to them. I am now trying to get hold of them so I can get the ones I ORIGINALLY ORDERED — black, vertically striped, with a tall top.
Boots	I’m just going to use my wedding boots. Screw it.

Wheeeee!

The sad part is, I kind of actually enjoy all of this. I think I thrive on challenges or something. Or maybe I”m just a masochist.

Many thanks to everyone who’s offered tips and links and help and a shoulder to vent at.