This year, to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Tomb Raider game I have decided to work on a couple of my favourite costumes from the series.
Having been a fan since the late 1990s, I wore my first Tomb Raider costume in 2001 for my brother’s fancy dress birthday party. You’re probably fortunate that I have no photo immediately available, because it was not great! The latex top was a plus, the terrible wig that made me look like Norman Bates’s mother was a definite minus.
Around 2003 I joined a wonderful online forum called Raiderquest where I met a big bunch of wonderful people who shared my love for Lara. While their fantastic costumes were inspiring and I had grand ideas of making my own, I just never got around to it (and we’re back to the “I’m very disorganised” point. This seems to be a common theme in my posts).
But I’m now in a better position than ever to get down to some proper Lara costuming, even if there are no conventions to go to. So I’m embarking on an ambitious plan to complete not one, but three costumes this year. Over the years I have collected lots of bits and pieces for the ‘plans that went nowhere’, so it’s going to be a little less challenging than it might otherwise have been.
My first costume will be the classic costume as seen in the original game series. It will likely end up being a bit of a mish-mash of the main costume from the first three games. It’s such an iconic look, that no wardrobe of Lara Croft costumes should be without it. In any case, I’m sure it will look better than it did for my 2001 attempt.
The second is the standard Legend costume. I really enjoyed that game in terms of its look and locations and, the changing of Lara’s back story aside, I thought it was a great game. It certainly had some wonderful costumes and lots of them! It was a toss-up between the main game outfit or the winter with no coat, and I figured that since winter is on the way out the outfit with shorts is probably more sensible.
The final outfit is the desert tank top from the Syrian level of Rise of the Tomb Raider. I will readily admit that I’m not the biggest fan of the recent trilogy. The 2013 reboot was a full on shoot ‘em up action game with laughable tombs, and the character was so pathetic in Shadow of the Tomb Raider that I couldn’t even bring myself to finish the game. But Rise of the Tomb Raider is a very enjoyable game with a good story and a good action adventure balance. If I had the time I’d consider the Remnant Jacket or Hope’s Bastion outfit, but both will have to wait for a while.
So those are my plans. There are many unanswered questions. Will my procrastination get in the way again? Will I have the practical skills I need? Can a 40-something woman carry off short shorts and a crop top? I hope you’ll join me on my Tomb Raiding adventure to find out.
Good luck with that ice axe! You’ll need a 3D printer. Or sleep with someone who has one.
I’ll bear that in mind 😉