time completed: End of August 2007
hours spent: 8 - 10
worn at: Dragoncon 2007

Why I chose to make this costume:
My outfit is ridiculously simple and by itself would never warrant a gallery, but I also made parts of the Spartan costume that Brian wore at Dragoncon this year, hence this page!
We have wanted to make a Spartan costume for him ever since we saw the movie and were blown away by it. Right as Dragoncon rolled around and his got finished, I decided last minute to make a gown inspired by the costume design sketches from the movie to match my Spartan!

How I made this costume:
Brian had been working out a lot and made all his armor parts and the leather shoulder harness, while I created his cape, codpiece and scabbard. We found a bolt of gorgeous red wool and I used over 8 yards for the cape which we modeled after King Leonidas' Beauty cape. (You know, the super long elaborate one he wears for the epic Goodbye and walking away shots, not the lighter/shorter one for action scenes.) Brian weathered the cape and we figured out the shoulder harness together. The result is a multi-layered heavy flowing cape that looks beautiful but can be stepped on easily lol. The codpiece was interesting as I had to draft the pattern on Brian's body and make a mock-up which had to be altered over and over again. It ended up working out fine, as did the scabbard for his sword.
My Spartan gown is a concoction of strips and sheets which were wrapped and snapped in various parts on my body. It was made from left over wool so it matched Brian's cape perfectly, and I had him make an extra emblem which I attached to my gown as well.

My thoughts on this costume:
We only wore these outfits for a short time at Dragoncon (there was too much fun stuff happening!) so we certainly want to reprise these costumes soon. Brian was a hit at the show and I was his humble cape-bearer on escalator rides lol.

Reference pictures