Armoured Red Riding Hood

I've been planning an outdoors photoshoot with my scale mail corset. This means trying out different garments that might work with it so that I can have the perfect combination when the shoot actually happens. Bringing a bunch of stuff that in the end does not work together is only a pain in the behind. Or shoulders, as I'll be lugging all the stuff around in huge Ikea bags.

 

I'm not absolutely sure about the skirt. It's nice on its own (well as the pair, there's a tulle skirt underneath) but the corset comes so low on the hips that it makes me look short when the skirt puffs out only on the hips, not at the waist. Oh well, the skirt will still work great with any top that can be worn with a corset underneath and either can be tucked under the skirt or flares out at the waist. A mermaid skirt would work better with the corset, but I only have a lace mermaid skirt in my closet, it's too busy.

But I do love the cloak! I spent ages pondering if I should sew one my self or order one, and in which colour combination. This one is from a British eBay seller and was available in many colours. In the end I decided to get an all red one (you got to choose the lining and the outside colour) so it would go well with my red and black things. And if it was nice, I planned to get something in the shades I usually use (purple, teal, black) to go with the rest of my wardrobe, if it seems to be useful. 

The cloak feels a bit cheap, but then again it was only something around 30 euros, so I could not have even bought the fabric for one with that amount. It's a very decent 30 euro cloak, I say! And looks better in photos than IRL, which is a plus because I intended it for photos. The final nail was the skirt, which I found at a thrift store for 7 euros. My usual colours would not have worked with the moss green, so a red cloak it was!

The next hurdle was to try out wigs. I got a few recently, so I have more natural shades to choose from. I thought the red one would be interesting, because I couldn't say if it would work with the bright red cloak. In the photos it's quite nice, but holy hell what an uncomfortable wig it is! It's a bit small so it digs into my forehead and because it has no bangs, the hair is always getting in my face. And it wants to tangle and get stuck on earrings, necklaces and scale mail.

N. Finsternis suggested on the last post I did on the scale mail that a sleeve I had worn earlier would work well with it. I thought it was a great idea, so here's the sleeve with the corset! I think it gives a nice steampunk vibe to the outfit :)

 What do you think of the skirt with the corset? I'm thinking of scouring the flea markets for a mermaid skirt or trying an overskirt on top of the corset, maybe something that ties in the front with ribbon so it wouldn't hide much of the corset.