Before I even had my Rebel Legion approved Jakku Rey finished, I had already set my sights on my next costume:

Resistance Rey

When I first saw this costume at the end of The Force Awakens, I immediately gasped and thought: THAT is a costume I want to wear. But having been a member of the Rey Cosplay Community on Facebook for a few months, I’d seen the struggles these ladies went through while trying to get their vests and gauntlets just right.

But thanks to Jakku Rey, I had a LOT of the parts for this costume already: the staff, belt, boots, leg holster and even the blaster (which was totally a “tipsy on Etsy” purchase that I DO NOT REGRET). I needed, essentially, just a few pieces:

• vest & gauntlets
• gray gauze wraps (for under the gauntlets)
• wrap shirt
• pants

Considering I’d done my share of research and – let’s be real, creeping – on the folks who had built this costume before me, I was fairly certain I’d be able to commission most of it and give the pants a try on my own.

I didn’t dwell on it too often though; my Jakku Rey build took up most of my time, and my initial rejection after my pants were too green (more on that later) left a sour taste in my mouth for a minute. But instead of being a Petty Betty, I continued to watch and admire all those beautifully crafted vests and gauntlets from talented seamstresses in our group and thought “Maybe if I hit the lottery.”

Well, turns out I didn’t need the lottery – just a surprise bonus at work and a grateful Scavenger Sister who discounted her work to nearly half the usual price!

Wendy of Chic and Geeks is a real life ANGEL, you guys.

Seriously. Just look at that detail:

Not only did she NOT reach through the phone and slap me silly when I went bananas trying to figure out my measurements, but she created the vest, gauntlets, AND bag for me at an incredible price – AND she even threw in the gray arm wraps for me at the last minute!

They are so far beyond anything I could have created myself – seriously, my plan was to just wing it with gray gauze fabric and hope for the best. Instead, she wrapped, stitched, and color matched these babies to the whole outfit so I don’t have to waste another month of work on that “tiny” detail.

And don’t even get me started on the bag, and the gauntlets. Seriously. The attention to detail she has is second to none. I drool just looking at these things. Knowing that they’re here waiting for me just gives me the happies.

So now that I’ve got roughly 75% of the whole costume done, I’ve just got the shirt and the pants to do! The shirt I’m looking at commissions for at the moment, and the pants… well… let’s just say I have approvable pants and I’ve started on them. More on those in another post if and when I’m successful!

Basically I went from dreaming about wearing Resistance Rey in May to possibly having a Rebel Legion approved build by the time I headed to New York Comic Con that October!

How about you: what are you currently working on? Share in the comments!