Many years ago, my friends and I dressed up as the Misfits for an 80’s Party. Not the punk band, but the amazing cartoon band from Jem and the Holograms. I was Roxy and making her costume was really hard! Unlike Pizzazz and Stormer, Roxy’s outfit is very specific fabrics. She has a fuzzy/eyelash purple top and metallic spray painted pants. This was impossible to find at the time.
A few years later I was in Joann’s around Halloween and found the perfect fabric for Roxy’s pants. So I bought a few yards. That fabric has sat in my stash for years and I figured with the new terrible Jem movie that just came out, this costume is as relevant as its every going to be! So I started off using the Cigarette Pants pattern from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, then I used some other pants patterns that fit to adjust the crotch curve.
The resulting pants were ok, but the legs were to wide and I couldn’t really bend my knees. Also, the fabric I had is flannel backed and the metallic printing on the front was flaking off everywhere but especially in the crotch area. Eek!
So I put them to the side and started focusing on my top. I found this purple eyelash fabric on fabric.com. It’s metallic which isn’t really accurate but it was the best and cheapest thing I could find.
I used the shirt pattern 403 from Burda Plus A/W 2012. Leaving off one sleeve of course! This actually fits pretty well so I may make it out of a normal fabric too!
Next up was the belt, so I was off to Joann’s. It was during lunchtime a few days before Halloween, so of course it was insanely busy. Let me give you a tip – whenever you are buying fabric go to the cutting counter and check what number is in the dispenser and what number they care cutting. If it’s over 10, definitely take a number. That gives you about 15-20 minutes to shop.
Anyway, while wandering around looking for the faux leather I came across the performance fabrics section. There I spotted a pretty good looking fabric for my pants! I wasn’t intending to buy more fabric, but when I spotted this spandex I knew it would take me less time to whip up a pair of leggings than to try to fix my flaking pants. So I grabbed it. It was thankfully not on sale so I was able to use a coupon to get it down to $8.50/yd. I used the Cake Patterns Espresso leggings to make the final pants. This is a TNT legging pattern for me so I knew I could make them really quickly.
Finally I got over by the home decor and spotted the vinyl and they had a yellowy green that would work perfectly for my belt. It was $20/yd but also not on sale and I only needed 1/4 yard so it was $2.50! While looking for something to fasten my belt, I came across an unknown brand that had magnetic snaps and studs that were around $3. Since they only required cutting a slit into the vinyl, I picked up a set of magnetic snaps and some rounded studs to finish my belt.
Practicing my snarl with my friend Mary
The finishing touches on my costume were the wig and makeup. I got this white wig from Amazon for $15 and it’s quite nice. I had to cut it a bit to get the style right, then I teased and sprayed it into submission. For makeup, I picked up a $3 Revolution Orange lipstick at Ulta. Everything else I had. My lipstick is MAC Vegas Volt.