Non-leather Shadow Guard boots (and belt)
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2023 5:39 am
I put together a budget Shadow Guard costume for Celebration in London earlier this year, with the intention of slowly upgrading components over time to get the costume where I'd really like it to be. I think I did well considering the time and money crunch (ended up having to forgo armour at the time, and rely on robes, as I just didn't end up finding enough time to finish printing, assembling, and attaching things), but most of that work is done now and I'm starting to look toward making a few upgrades. There are a lot of great, high-quality boots and belts out there, but they all seem to be real leather, which I unfortunately can't wear, so I'm looking for recommendations.
I ended up using the following boots back in April:
https://www.magicwardrobes.com/rogue-on ... -6623.html
Needless to say, you get what you pay for and these are cheap Halloween-costume boots that weren't built to last. They have zero support, the material rips when confronted with a strong breeze, and they slowly slide down my legs because they just aren't rigid enough. Does anyone have recommendations for a faux leather boot that looks the part but is also a functioning piece of footware, that will hold up with any amount of usage? There are a number of nicer (but identical) looking options in the $50 to $75 range on eBay/Amazon, all from Chinese sellers, but I've already seen what $50 buys me from a Chinese factory, so I suspect the pictures make them look nicer than they actually are.
As for belts, I have a great buckle, and I was able to find an appropriately-sized strip of faux leather to use as the belt, but couldn't find anything with the appropriate incised lines. Does anyone either know where I might be able to find a 2" faux leather belt with the lines, or know how I could incise them myself? I had thought about using a soldering iron and just burning the lines in, but I suspected I'd either end up with vaguely squiggly lines or wind up setting whatever straight edge I use on fire. I made the hole for my buckle with a soldering iron, so I know the material takes it well, but I don't know what I'm doing and didn't know if anyone had any experience doing these lines properly.
I know the ideal costume is made with real leather, but that's not an option for me, so I appreciate any suggestions anyone might have!
I ended up using the following boots back in April:
https://www.magicwardrobes.com/rogue-on ... -6623.html
Needless to say, you get what you pay for and these are cheap Halloween-costume boots that weren't built to last. They have zero support, the material rips when confronted with a strong breeze, and they slowly slide down my legs because they just aren't rigid enough. Does anyone have recommendations for a faux leather boot that looks the part but is also a functioning piece of footware, that will hold up with any amount of usage? There are a number of nicer (but identical) looking options in the $50 to $75 range on eBay/Amazon, all from Chinese sellers, but I've already seen what $50 buys me from a Chinese factory, so I suspect the pictures make them look nicer than they actually are.
As for belts, I have a great buckle, and I was able to find an appropriately-sized strip of faux leather to use as the belt, but couldn't find anything with the appropriate incised lines. Does anyone either know where I might be able to find a 2" faux leather belt with the lines, or know how I could incise them myself? I had thought about using a soldering iron and just burning the lines in, but I suspected I'd either end up with vaguely squiggly lines or wind up setting whatever straight edge I use on fire. I made the hole for my buckle with a soldering iron, so I know the material takes it well, but I don't know what I'm doing and didn't know if anyone had any experience doing these lines properly.
I know the ideal costume is made with real leather, but that's not an option for me, so I appreciate any suggestions anyone might have!