Queen of Naboo

Because I didn't have enough challenges in my life, I decided that the next Damn Dress (aka "3D") would be Queen Apailana of Naboo. I thought it would be a good, challenging yet doable, winter project. Granted, my last records are two years at a minimum, but I thought that after two dresses (two and a half, counting Junior) I might actually know what I'm doing.

This is partly because I caught Revenge of the Sith the other day, and also because The End is in Sight for Damn Dress Dos. I should finish the primary beading tonight on the second sleeve, which leaves me post-construction beading and the little bit on the neckline, which I currently don't have because it's still in Wichita. Besides, it's a cool-weather outfit and I doubt I'll actually wear it until October. The point is, Dos is almost done and I must start on something new.

I decided to fully immerse in my delusion of grandeur, so I began research. This is partly for my own information, but also because I know (having spent so many years lurking in the LotR fandom) that I will be called out on my ignorance. And rightfully so. Fortunately, Apailana seems to be a good old-fashioned fringe character, free of any Boba Fett-level obsession, so I was able to gather a good amount of information quickly. That's the good news. The bad news is that I may have already bitten off more than I can chew, and it's my own fault.

I became somewhat familiar with the 501st Legion through Planet ComicCon in Kansas City, and by "somewhat familiar" I mean "I'd heard the name before." I understood them to be a costuming guild (not that I've seen that word used; that was my impression.) The 501st was at this year's event too. I appointed myself as Liam's babysitter, so we walked around quite a bit, past the R2 units (which fascinated Liam to no end) and also past the gamers (because the kid is hard-wired for technology, I swear). We also saw several members of the 501st, including a very friendly Darth Maul who desperately wanted to hold Liam. Liam wasn't scared, but he does have a naturally suspicious expression, and Darth Maul tried very hard to make friends. He even took off his glove in an attempt to show Liam that he wasn't completely a red-and-black monster, that he had a regular human hand. Liam remained unimpressed. A few hours passed before, in making our endless rounds, we once again passed Darth Maul and Liam allowed himself to be held for a picture.

So, fast forward to this weekend, and I've begun my research. The 501st is a not-for-profit group that seems to do mostly charity appearances, which is funny because they're dedicated to the villains of the galaxy. Therein lay my first problem --Apailana is on the good side. (In canon she defied Order 66 and harbored Jedi on Naboo, which is why she was eventually assassinated by...drumroll please...the 501st!) So that led me to discover the Rebel Legion, which seems to be the exact same organisation, only with good guys. In fact, it looks like the Rebel Legion was also at Plant ComicCon, but I probably didn't notice them because I was too busy trying to keep Liam from crawling on top of R2.

So far so good. Being a costuming guild, they have specific garb requirements for every character, including Apailana, and one cannot actually join the group without having a "professional" grade costume. No problem -- because when it comes to costumes, my mother-in-law is the queen. (I haven't told her about any of these plans, which I imagine she'll greet with a sigh and "Oh, if you MUST" attitude, bwahahahah!) I also have located (thank you, Google image search) several full-length photographs of Apailana, which is good because she is shown on-screen in RotS for approximately two seconds, from the waist up.

The head-dress will give me trouble, I know. I don't mean the beading -- that'll be time-consuming, not difficult. And the feather/fan part, I think I have an idea of how to do that. It's the paste and base, the actual "helmet" part I view with uncertainty.

Turns out, the head-dress is the least of my troubles. Apparently the main fabric is impossible to find. IMPOSSIBLE. Like, it doesn't exist outside the original costume. The costuming standards do offer some leeway, but my sources indicate that I may have been a little too optimistic when I thought the base materials for the whole outfit would come in under $400. I hope that Sharon will dip into her magical well of fabric-finding power to help me find something that won't make my checking account cry out for mercy.

The moral of this story is, at one moment I'm thinking that this thing may be what drives to drink, but one the other hand...there aren't many Apailanas out there. Of the 393 Dignitaries of the Old Republic (Senate and Royalty) costumes found on the Rebel Legion site, only two are Apailana, and none are in the United States. Google images reveal a handful of cosplayers, but in terms of being part of a recognised organisation, with a distinctive, quality costume...all that may feed my beautiful and terrible need for acclaim.

And that, my friends, may be my undoing.