Malon Costume

It's September, so you know what that mean... it's almost Autumn! That means it's almost my birthday which happens to be one of the coolest holidays! That would be the day before El Dia de los Muertos. Halloween! Three years ago I put together an ensemble I've always wanted to do (I have a list of costumes I must wear before I die including Harpo Marx, Weird Al, Dana Scully, and a Rubik's Cube). This is pretty much the best costume I've ever worn even though I've seen better versions of this, and I could have done better myself with more cash and time. I was still pretty satisfied with the result. What is it, you ask? Malon, the minor character from Lon Lon Ranch in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (I love inserting links for Link-related stuff). I love red hair, so I relished the opportunity to play a redhead for a day. Here is what she looks like in the game:

The first thing I worked on was the apron she wore.

I bought some brown canvas cloth and sewed the raw edges closed.

Then I free handed the design with pencil and painted over it with acrylic paint.

Here it is pinned to a purple skirt I found on ebay. I tried to find something the right color without having to buy fabric, buy a pattern, and sew a skirt... It has embellishments, but is more or less the right color.

I also had quite the time trying to find a ribbon color that was a matching shade (rather than indigo or navy or bright-arse neon purple) in order to make the design on her skirt. I pinned the ribbon in place and sewed it on. Unfortunately, I made the ribbon a little too tight and it tightened the size of the skirt.

I bought a plain white t-shirt at Target and used fabric paint to add the design. Above is a close-up of the design.

You may have noticed that the original Malon wears a Bowser brooch on her shawl/handkerchief. I used polymer clay and sculpted one of my own, then painted over it with metallic acrylic paint. The handkerchief was just some yellow fabric sewn in a V-shape to stay around my shoulders.

The Triforce belt buckle was made with the same materials as the Bowser brooch, in silver. I just made a superficial outline, then bought cloth belt material.

I dyed it dark brown from white, and sewed on snaps. Then I used a hot glue gun to add the Triforce to the uppermost flap.

Myself and my little sister (who was dressed as a butterfly whose wings were pulled off).
Below: The only full-body pic I have.

The wig was actually the closest thing I could find that wasn't $100. I was working on a very tight budget with the aid of my husband (who was my boyfriend of one year at the time). He just enjoyed seeing my handiwork enough to be my patron. The occasion was my birthday, so these were some of the pics taken from the party. I made a special cake for the occasion, and will post more on that later.

So, all in all the details are pretty accurate, but the colors/proportions are a little wonky. Malon wore her skirt much higher than mine, but since mine was much shorter I didn't want to wear it any higher! It's an "adaptation" from the concept of the video game, it's not supposed to be 100% accurate, right?
Coming soon: Another costume I helped make for my date. Hint: He's a mad scientist with excellent pipes.