AhhhhhhHHHHhhhh! *cue the singing of angels*

Please take a look at one of the Holy Grails we are looking for ------------->

So. The River costume from the 'Safe' episode. It's one of our personal favorites, after the Maidenhead outfit and the red outfit (not sure which one, but COP is certain of what it is).

This one is not too difficult, although it involves the making of a sweater. We have found the yarn, a mohair blend, and will be experimenting with staining it the faded fuchsia. YaY! for yardsales. Still have to make the dress, although other than time, and matching of the tiered skirt, not super hard. Although COP and FM have had discussions regarding the shades of pink on her dress. I have seen several cosplay costumes, and some have been all white. I see a light and lighter pink, so that is still in committee as far as what colors we will use. Light cotton, for sure.

But the kicker is always the boots. We found threads going back 4 years discussing the challenge of River's Firefly boots. (There was another set made for Serenity, they are slightly different.) According to Shawna, she bought them at Hideout Fashions on Melrose, which has since gone out of business. No other info on style, brand, etc. Apparently, Hideout Fashions has another location, but upon searching, I have only ever found the defunct location listing.

We have been searching all week for engineer/motorcycle boots that would work, would be capable of being modified. Fireflyfan.net was most helpful with links, although the links for the T.U.K. Gladiator steel plate boots showed as being out of stock (which sucks, since with the plate removed, they match River's boots). So another link directed us to Vixens and Angels, which is the web site for the store Fashion Nation in Denver, CO. They have a style of boot from Underground called the Judge St boot. It is listed on their sale page, and is listed with very limited sizes.

Upon learning how close we are to Fashion Nation, we take a trip over to see what else they might have that potentially is not listed on the site. We find the Judge St boot, and the sales girl says it is their last pair. They look close in size for the FM, so we ask them to bring out the other boot. Lo and behold, when the sales guy (who was AWESOME, by the way, and I didn't get his name) comes out with my boot, he tells COP that rather than being a solo pair, he actually has more than this one lonely only. So COP asks for her size, and he brings out a man's boot in a comparable size.

Lovelies, they fit. Both the COP and FM have muscular calves, and have had this problem with foot oriented haberdashery before. BUT - both of us fit into the boots, when buckled, and the sizes were and are very comfortable.

I am going to put the link for the store, on the particular boot, so as to perhaps help someone else who is desperately searching for River's boots from Firefly. I would recommend calling the store to see what is actually in stock, because what was listed on the site was not exactly what was in the store. In their total defense, they list a LOT of shoes. But call them.

And tell them what you are after, and why. We had to promise to send pics of the completed costume.

While this is not the EXACT match, it is the closest we have found. Had we been able to find the T.U.K. gladiators, it might have been even more of a match, but these two were the closest style I could find.

Thanks SO much to the people at Fashion Nation, aka Vixens and Angels online, because I am sure they were internally LTAO when the suburban mommies rolled up in the mini van, toddlers in tow, looking for boots and a bathroom. They were SO helpful, and nice, and didn't bat an eye (that we saw) at our somewhat unruly offspring.

Here is the link for the boots, and you can get their number off this site as well. Scroll down to see the Judge St and the Dredd St styles, both of which would work. Not sure you can remove the plate for the Dredd St, though. Got so excited about finding the right size, we forgot to ask.

http://www.vixensandangels.com/Item.cfm?Type=291&v=1

Also, to age them without actually beating them up, white sidewalk chalk is looking good thus far.

The first three pics are as follows: The FM, The Amazing Duo, and The Capn.