Making Captains Shakespeare was relatively simple, the majority of the elements were purchased, with only a few needing fabrication. If you are looking for information and resources for your own Shakespeare, or vaguely Victorian underwear cosplay (that’s a normal thing, right?). Then this tutorial walks you through how I made and found all the different pieces.
This cosplay and tutorial was made possible by my generous Patrons, head over to Patreon to check out awesome rewards!
Corset
The centerpiece of this cosplay is very much the corset, which I made from scratch. I used the same basic corset pattern drafting instructions I have used many times before, which you can check out over at Foundations Revealed, this pattern offers simple step by step instructions (though they do require some math), that you can use to draft a corset to your own measurements. Alternatively, you can grab the pattern I made over in my store.
For the materials I used a light pink brocade from Jo Anns, though the pattern was larger than I wanted, there really aren’t that many light pink brocade options out there. I lined the corset with duck canvas for stability. The corset materials, such as boning and the front busk came from CorsetMaking.com, they have a great selection of sizes and thicknesses.
For more resources on assembling your own corset, you can read my corset write up.
Under Shirt
The other part of the costume I made was the undershirt or camisole. It was hard to find exact reference images, especially as often most of it was covered by feather boa and of course the corset, so I improvised a fair portion of it.
The base of the shirt is just a rectangle made from white shirting cotton, essentially making a tube that I can slip on over my head. I gather a small portion in the center front and added some lace trim and buttons. The straps were made out of the same white cotton, and trimmed with the same eyelet lace trim that I used on the front. I sewed them in place in the front, decided how long I wanted them to be then trimmed them down and sewed them in place in the back.
The Rest
The rest of the cosplay’s pieces were purchased:
- Petticoat – I chose this one as it already had a lacey trim. It was also about the right length. Plus this one was made of stiff organza rather than tulle so it has an overall nicer finish.
- Necklace – you’ll note I forgot to wear this in any of the pictures, but I did have it. Though the ones I could find were smaller than I would have wanted.
- Boa – it shed everywhere, but that’s kind of just and unavoidable boa issue.
- Fan – a great shade of light pink, and not as sheddy as I thought it might be.
- Tights – any plain white tights will do.
- Boots – I wore my Doc Martins I already had on hand. Technically you want some sort of Victorian boot.
- Hair – I lightened mine using Ben Nye Snow White.
- Tattoos – I found several images online, and created the pin up style one on my own, I then printed them onto tattoo paper.
