Zoe Washburne

Character: Zoe Washburne
From: Firefly
Made: 2005

Of the many, many shows prematurely cancelled by Fox, I miss Firefly the most. So when my husband and I got tickets for an advance screening of the Big Damn Movie Serenity, we decided to go in costume, and who better to dress as than Zoe and Wash, who had one of the strongest, most stable marriages on TV? We only had a couple of days to throw the outfits together, but I think they came out pretty well. (His was entirely bought-- a green jumpsuit and a thrift-store Hawaiian shirt.)

Serenity Screening, Las Vegas, May 2005

Construction


Vest 

The vest and the holster are both made of the same brown vinyl that I had on hand. If I'd had more time, I would've gone and found a softer, more accurate pleather for the vest, but we only had a couple of days to do this, and I frankly didn't have the energy after working like crazy on Debby's wedding dress for the previous week and a half. To make the pattern for the vest, I took my old mockup for my Arwen chase dress bodice and cut it along the new seamline that I wanted, to get that squared-off princess seam in the front. Then I just snipped away until I got the neck and armhole shapes I wanted. The real vest attaches at the sides, with straps that buckle. Again, not something I really had time for, so I used thin strips of vinyl. I sewed them down completely on the right side of the vest, and on the left side I sewed them on the front and then attached them with Velcro to the back, so I could get in and out. It's not the sturdiest thing in the world-- bending over tends to make the Velcro unfasten-- but it looks fairly decent.

Gun Belt/Holster

This one I basically freehanded. The shape of the flat piece came from a wrongly-cut center front piece from the vest. I laid the gun down on it and added a larger piece of vinyl on top, pinned the vinyl down so the gun was held snugly, and sewed the vinyl in place. Then I added a 2" wide strip to make the belt part, added Velcro so it could fasten at the back of the holster, and added the leg strap, which fastened similarly. The gun was originally a neon-green-and-orange toy rifle that Rogue bought at Kay-bee. He sawed off most of the front and a bit of the back, and painted it black and brown. I added a little cardboard piece to cover the gaping hole in the end of the newly sawn-off stock, and ta-da! Pretty decent-looking Zoe gun.

Everything Else

The pants and shirt I bought at a thrift store for a grand total of $5. I didn't bother looking for specific colors; Zoe wears several different color shirts and pants throughout the series, so when I found black and khaki I figured that was just fine. The boots I've owned for years; they've made appearances in numerous costumes. The necklace is actually just a piece of black leather lace from Joann, bought in the trim section. On the drive to the screening in Vegas, I pin-curled my hair, but it ended up looking pretty much nothing like Zoe's. Oh well!