Helena Douglas - Dead or Alive

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Helena has always been my favorite character in the Dead or Alive franchise. I admire her strength of character and the grace and poise that reflects in her fighting style. She's a very elegant and regal character who can still dish out the hurt! Also, on a completely unrelated note, she's the only character I can actually beat Remi with! XP 

Costume made and modeled by: Noelle d'Arda
Photography by: Vapor Photography 

Construction notes:

- The body-suit is made of spandex, lined, and surged. I drafted the pattern for it myself, adding some unconventional seams for an extra-smooth fit.

- The vest and sleeves are made of lambskin and garment-weight cowhide. The top cuff on the sleeves is lined with satin taffeta.

- The hair-bow is made of satin taffeta and stiffened with multiple layers of inter-facing. 

-The wig....ugh...*dies*
The wig was a monster. Since I was making the DOA 4 version of Helena which still featured her trademark, giant, anime-style bangs, rather than her more scaled-back, realistic look from DOA 5, I knew I'd have to do some drastic styling. I started with a Le-Tigre wig and two, long ponytail clips from Arda Wigs. The bangs themselves are Styrofoam pieces covered with wig-fiber, that I attached to the wig using caulk and covered with even more wig-fiber. The ponytail is stubbed for added length and the bow attaches to it via snaps, in order to make it interchangeable.