Celebrity guest panels, fantastical art and crazy late-night parties are all good reasons to go to Dragon*Con. However, probably the most enticing motivation for a trip down to Atlanta on Labor Day weekend is a peek at the incredible costumes. While many of these costumes can just be purchased online, these five attendees did all the work of putting together their own costumes for their weekend at Dragon*Con.

SHAAK TI (Star Wars)
Name: Meredith Bailey
Boston, Mass.
Costume: $400, took 80 hours, used silk,
polyester, and mostly looked for fabrics that draped well.
“I noticed that George Lucas has very few female characters, and I didn’t want to be just another Leia.”

DRYAD QUEEN (Character in fantasy, ballets)
Name: April Hall
Irondale, Ala.
Costume: $150, took seven months, materials from Hancock and Michael’s and leaves from Ebay.
“I’m a nature lover and there is a dryad in the book I’ve been reading.”

RORSCHACH (“Watchmen,” comic book series)
Name: Jamie Kruger
Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Costume: $200, took three days, clothes off Ebay and used acrylic paints to splatter the jacket.
“He’s an absolutist, so he’s not the typical good guy.”

MANNEQUIN (“Condemned 2: Bloodshot”, the videogame)
Name: Deanna Bee
Detroit, Mich.
Costume: $100, took a few months, found fabric scraps around the house and bought elastic.
“I like the Silent Hill nurse thing, but I probably wouldn’t be able to do one of those, so I chose this.”

HAWKGIRL (DC Comics)
Name: Leighann Montoya
Springhill, Fla.
Costume: $300, took a couple months, wings are made of headliner foam with a metal rod running through them as a frame.
“It was hard to do because the wings are so daunting, but I like the
challenge.”

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