Prototype: Arwen Coat

The elven coat is made from our usual faux suede in a shade of teal blue and the lacing in a silk chiffon. It's lined in faux silk and fastens down the front with hooks and eyes. The lacing down the front and back is largely decorative rather than to make the garment hugely adjustable. The lacing begins rather higher up on the chest than is necessary or aesthetically pleasing, but we hadn't time to remove the extraneous loops before the shoot.

It's borrows much more heavily from Arwen Evenstar's Chase Dress than anything else, though it of course lacks much of the sumptuous detailing of the original.

In a fit of ambition, we did try to put the Pillywiggin's hair into some form of elven coiffure, using the most excellent and comprehensive Imaginary Styles as a guide.

It went rather better than the time I tried to braid my own hair for a different elven shoot (photos pending). I must conclude, though that I'm still really rather rough on my fishtail braids (the favoured braid of the Peter Jackson films it seems) and in the end, the Mercenary settled on the Legolas braid instead of any of the more elaborate hairstyles.

Some of the photos are taken with the Archaeologist wearing a corset underneath and some without. She's also wearing a shirt borrowed from Treasure Trap's infamous Armoury and a black stretch silk full circle skirt from the Mercenary.

To commission a similar coat from the Mercenary would cost in the region of £90-100. The teal prototype itself has been sold, but a black version should but available on Character Kit for £90 shortly.

More photos of the chase dress under the cut.