Grima Wormtongue Comparison

I fell pretty hard for Grima/Eowyn in 2007. Thus began my Brad Dourif obsession and I basically spent a year working on my Grima costume while watching just about every Brad Dourif movie or TV show I could get my hands on. That was the year that Brad actually came to Dragoncon and did panels and autograph sessions. He was super nice and patient, especially considering I forgot how to talk and basically babbled at him for three minutes with a Chucky doll strapped to my chest.

I had a ton of help from and over the years, none so much as this year.

2008:
The first run of the costume I tried to use a polyester burnout velvet for my underrobe that was actually green on black. After I dyed it, it was kind of a muddy yucky green/black. Burnout velvet has become my nemesis, considering how important accuracy is to me. The over-robe was Joanns royalty 3 velvet (which is awful, stiff, and looks terrible in pictures.) I attempted to smock a collar but it basically wound up being bunched up fabric with random knots in it. The horrible "wooly" collar was a clusterfuck full of invisible thread and sadness. The wig I used for this, while not terrible, wasn't a lace front and because my hairline at the time was so low, it looked dreadful.

2011:
My long distance girlfriend   finally moved down after a year of back and forth travel and drama. Considering Grimawyn is the reason we met, we naturally decided our first Dragoncon costumes should be Grima and Eowyn. I made her the white wool gown and revamped my Grima with "better" materials, actual distressing on the robes and collar, and a new lace front wig. (If you don't know the joys of lace front wigs, get on dat shit)

2014:
Now, after five years of searching, remaking things, tearing things apart, buying several different fabrics and deciding all of them are rubbish, I finally have a Grima costume I'm fairly happy with.

I finally found a burnout velvet that I was happy with in the form of two Urban Outfitters brand curtain that cost more than I care to talk about. I learned how to actually smock my undercollar after a co-worker pleated my fabric for me. My costume distressing skills are finally at a level where things are looking like they're actually used and functional. I updated and tooled my belt for a more authentic look, repainted and distressed my medallion with a really awesome new gold leafing paint, purchased a new short-sword and made a hanger for it, trimmed and greasified my wig, and came to terms with the fact that I needed to wear three layers of sleeves. 

Also new this year was my makeup and contacts. I've long had a love/hate relationship with contacts. I love the way they look but my eyeballs are so small it's a fucking war to get any in without damaging my eyes. My makeup skills have definitely improved since the first time and I have learned how to block out my eyebrows for that "I am a freakish Dunlander who does not belong" feel.


Fun fact: Even after all these years, I'm still wearing the same damn Doc Martens. >_<