John from the Worlds Saga Costume

Worn: Halloween '01 Awards Won: Honorable Mention, BW3's / K92 Costume Contest Components: Tunic (hand modifed) Men's Vest Long Reversible Cloak Boots Longsword & Scabbard Tights Belt, Bracers, and Cloak Brooch View Construction Details

I purchased most of the parts of this costume after a depressing incident with my HandiStitch-style sewing machine and Sir Bedivere's tunic from Monty Python; I simply didn't feel I could sew successfully at the time. Most of the components come from Chivalry Sports, an excellent online retailer.

This costume represents a version of the John character in the Worlds Saga. Perhaps the most powerful mage to have ever lived, John spent some of his younger days adventuring and thus might have been found with sword in hand before passing the blade along to friend Michael and eventually daughter Rydia.

The costume went through a number of iterations, beginning with just the tunic, sword, and a pair of black tights. The boots came multi-purpose for this costume, my then-planned Jedi costume, and a potential Tom Baker Dr. Who costume sometime down the road. As I wanted something to wear out for Halloween, I added the vest, bracers, and cloak shortly before the holidays in '01 and swapped out for a better coordinating pair of tights bought sheepishly from the local Lady Foot Locker (men's tights apparently don't come in grey).

The photo above was taken for Halloween '01, when my sisters Erika and Brooke came up to visit, both in store-bought costumes. We went out to my favorite local bar, BW3's, where I won an honorable mention at their costume contest and put up with a lot of comments from the DJ about men in tights!