I didn't buy this for cosplay. I had a *very* rough end to 2023 and an even rougher beginning of 2024, when Vixen by Michelle Pitt came out with these beautiful Labyrinth pieces. Most of them were "inspired by", but the blouse and vest (complete with amber pin) were so close to screen accurate, my I had to buy them. I grew up wanting to *be* Jennifer Connelly, I didn't want to wear them to a con, I wanted to wear them in real life, to look like the version of myself I unconsciously held in my head. I had just gotten a rather generous Christmas bonus at work, so I decided to treat myself a little.

And to absolutely no one's surprise, as the year went on, I changed my mind. I figured this would be a good "test" Sarah, before I went and dropped beaucoup bucks on her ballgown (which is still my ultimate dream costume.) So I ordered a barrette (which, in retrospect, should have been a larger one) and a comfortable pair of loafers off of Amazon, a bracelet from RoseSenpaiCrafts on Etsy (which was perfect), and a pair of actual vintage "mom jeans" from...for the life of me, I don't remember where I bought the jeans from. None of the usual suspects, which meant I must have really gone far afield looking for them. And so I wore it to the con and...I hated it. No one recognized me, I didn't see a single Jareth, and I don't know if it was because it was Day Four or I did my makeup badly or what, but I felt like I looked terrible. Oh, I loved the clothes, and I look forward to wearing them as Crissy. But I have to admit, this has me seriously considering whether I want to try any of Sarah's other outfits. (On the plus side, those are so much more "special", I won't feel the need to try as hard with her makeup, so...we'll see.)